Meeting notice: the deadlines that make strata decisions stick
A vote passed at a badly noticed meeting is a vote waiting to be challenged. The notice periods are short, but they are strict, and the clock starts earlier than most councils think.
Notice is the least glamorous part of running a strata meeting and the most common way a decision comes undone. If owners were not told about the meeting properly, everything the meeting decided is open to challenge, no matter how carefully the minutes were taken. The rules come in two layers: the Strata Property Act for general meetings, and your bylaws for council meetings.
General meetings: two weeks, in writing
Section 45 of the Act requires at least two weeks written notice of every annual or special general meeting. The notice must describe the matters that will be voted on, including the proposed wording of any resolution requiring a three quarter vote, and state the date, time, and place. For an annual general meeting, the notice must also include the proposed budget and the financial statement. A winding-up resolution needs four weeks. If your notice arrives late or leaves out a resolution, the safest course is to fix the notice and reschedule rather than hope nobody objects.
The four hidden days
Section 61 says a notice that is mailed, emailed, faxed, or left in a mailbox is conclusively deemed received four days later. Those four days come out of your two weeks. A notice mailed on the 1st is received on the 5th, so the earliest lawful meeting date is the 19th. Councils that plan backwards from the meeting date, adding the four days first, never get caught by this. The minutes of the meeting should record when and how notice was given, because that is the first thing anyone checks when a decision is disputed.
Council meetings: one week to council members
Under Standard Bylaw 14, any council member may call a council meeting by giving the other members at least one week of notice, and the notice does not have to be in writing. In an emergency the meeting can proceed on shorter notice if all members consent or cannot be reached. Owners are not entitled to notice of council meetings under the Standard Bylaws, though they are generally entitled to attend as observers, which we cover in who can attend council meetings. Check your registered bylaws before relying on any of this, because notice bylaws are among the most commonly amended.
What belongs in the minutes
For general meetings, record the date notice was issued and how it was delivered, then the registration and quorum numbers. For council meetings, a line confirming the meeting was duly called is enough. If notice was waived or shortened for an emergency council meeting, say so and name the emergency. Two sentences of housekeeping in the minutes can save weeks of argument at the Civil Resolution Tribunal later.
When owners force a meeting
Owners holding at least 20 percent of the strata corporation's votes can demand a special general meeting under section 43, and the meeting must be held within four weeks of the demand. The two week notice period still applies inside that window, which leaves council very little slack. If your council receives a demand, start the notice immediately; the timeline does not wait while council debates the merits.
Let us handle the minutes themselves
StrataMinutes turns your council's rough notes into complete, professionally formatted minutes that meet the requirements of the Strata Property Act, usually within minutes. Every document comes with a compliance checklist.
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This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. Always check your strata's registered bylaws. See sections 43, 45, and 61 of the Strata Property Act, Part 4 and the Schedule of Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.