Quorum: when your strata meeting can lawfully decide things
Decisions made without quorum are open to challenge. The thresholds are different for council meetings and general meetings, and the minutes must show the count.
Quorum is the minimum attendance a meeting needs before its decisions count. It exists so a handful of people cannot commit the whole strata corporation. It is also the first thing a tribunal checks when a decision is disputed, which is why every set of minutes should record it explicitly rather than assume it.
Council meetings: Bylaw 16 sets the number
Under Standard Bylaw 16, quorum for a council meeting depends on the council's size: two members for a council of two, three, or four; three members for a council of five or six; and four members for a council of seven. Check your registered bylaws, because stratas sometimes amend this. Council members attending by phone or video count toward quorum as long as everyone can communicate with each other. The minutes should say something like "Quorum was established with four of five council members present."
General meetings: one third of eligible votes
For AGMs and SGMs, section 48 of the Strata Property Act sets quorum at one third of the strata corporation's eligible votes, present in person or by proxy, unless the bylaws provide otherwise. Note that this counts votes, not people: one person holding five proxies represents five votes at the registration desk. This is why registration numbers belong in the minutes: "27 of 60 eligible votes were represented, 19 in person and 8 by proxy. Quorum was established."
If quorum is not reached within half an hour of the scheduled start, the Act's default is that the meeting stands adjourned to the same time and place the following week, though bylaws can modify what happens. Record a failed quorum too; it is part of the corporation's history and explains why the levy passed a week late.
Practical points councils miss
Eligible votes can shrink. Some bylaws suspend the vote of an owner in arrears for certain matters. If yours do, the eligible-vote denominator changes and the registration desk needs the arrears list. Handle this carefully and discreetly; our privacy guide explains why names and arrears do not belong in the minutes themselves.
Losing quorum mid-meeting. If enough people leave that quorum is lost, the meeting can generally no longer transact business. Note the time and adjourn rather than pushing through one more motion someone will challenge later.
Electronic attendees count. Owners attending a general meeting by video or phone count toward quorum. See our guide to electronic strata meetings for how to run and minute them.
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. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.