StrataMinutes logo StrataMinutesPROFESSIONAL MINUTES FOR BC STRATAS

A strata meeting minutes template for British Columbia

Every section a BC strata council's minutes should contain, in the order experienced secretaries use, with plain-English notes on what belongs in each one.

Good strata minutes follow a predictable shape. Owners can find what they are looking for, buyers' lawyers can review them quickly, and if a dispute ever reaches the Civil Resolution Tribunal, the record speaks for itself. The template below reflects the record-keeping requirements of the BC Strata Property Act and the conventions used by professional minute takers across the province.

You are welcome to copy this template. If you would rather not fight with formatting at all, StrataMinutes can prepare the whole document from your rough notes. Your first council meeting is free.

The template

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE STRATA COUNCIL
The Owners, Strata Plan [PLAN NUMBER]
[Building or complex name]

Held on [day], [date] at [time] at [location or "by video conference"]

1. Attendance

Council members present: [names and positions, e.g. Jane Doe, President]
Regrets: [names]
Also present: [property manager, guests, owners attending]
Quorum: A quorum of council being present, the meeting was called to order at [time].

2. Approval of the agenda

MOTION: It was moved by [name] and seconded by [name] to approve the agenda as distributed. CARRIED.

3. Approval of previous minutes

MOTION: It was moved by [name] and seconded by [name] to approve the minutes of the council meeting held [date] as distributed. CARRIED.

4. Business arising from previous minutes

[One short paragraph per item. State the update and any decision made. Example: "Roof repair. The contractor completed the flashing repair on May 12. The invoice matched the approved quote."]

5. Correspondence

[Summarize letters and emails received by the council and what was decided about each. Do not copy the letters in full.]

6. Financial report

Operating account balance as at [date]: $[amount]
Contingency reserve fund balance as at [date]: $[amount]
Arrears: [number] strata lots in arrears totalling $[amount].

MOTION: It was moved by [name] and seconded by [name] to approve the financial statements for [month]. CARRIED.

7. New business

[One heading per topic. Record the decision, not the debate. Every decision should appear as a motion with a mover, a seconder, and the result.]

MOTION: It was moved by [name] and seconded by [name] that [exact wording of the decision]. CARRIED [or DEFEATED; record the vote count if requested].

8. Action items

ACTION: [Who] will [do what] by [when].

9. Next meeting

The next council meeting is scheduled for [date] at [time] at [location].

10. Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at [time].

Minutes prepared by [name].
These minutes are a draft until approved by council at a subsequent meeting.

Notes on using this template

Record decisions, not discussions

Minutes are a record of what the council decided, not a transcript of who said what. Summarize each topic in a sentence or two, then record the motion and its result. Long accounts of debate create privacy problems and give future readers the wrong impression of what minutes are for.

Every decision should be a motion

Section 35 of the Strata Property Act requires the strata corporation to keep minutes of council meetings, including the results of any votes. The cleanest way to satisfy this is to write every decision as a motion: who moved it, who seconded it, and whether it carried or was defeated. See our guide to what BC law requires of strata minutes for the details.

Watch the two-week clock

Under Standard Bylaw 19, council must inform owners of the minutes of every council meeting within two weeks, whether or not the minutes have been approved yet. If your strata has amended its bylaws, your deadline may differ, but two weeks is the standard. Late minutes are one of the most common complaints owners raise.

Keep minutes for at least six years

The Strata Property Regulation requires minutes to be retained for at least six years. In practice most stratas keep them for the life of the building: buyers and their lawyers routinely ask for two years of minutes during a sale, and older minutes settle arguments about what was decided and when.

AGMs and special general meetings need more

General meeting minutes must also cover registration and proxies, quorum under section 48, resolutions with the exact wording and vote results, and elections. We cover this separately in our guide to AGM and SGM minutes in BC.

Prefer to skip the formatting entirely?

Send us your rough notes, point form and all, and receive complete minutes in this format, checked against the record-keeping requirements of the Strata Property Act. Usually ready within minutes.

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This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. Always check your own bylaws, and see the Strata Property Act, Part 4 for the current text of the law.

Related guides

What BC law requires of strata minutes
How to take strata meeting minutes
AGM and SGM minutes in BC
A complete sample of finished strata minutes