Who can sit in on a strata council meeting

Few things breed suspicion in a building faster than council meetings nobody can see. The Standard Bylaws answer this directly: under Bylaw 17, owners may attend council meetings as observers. A council that runs orderly meetings in front of observers rarely has a trust problem; the minutes confirm what people saw.

Observing is not participating

Observers watch. They do not vote, and they speak only if the chair invites them to. A council meeting is a meeting of the council, and the agenda belongs to council. Owners who want a matter decided should write to council so it lands in correspondence, or request a hearing, rather than raising it from the back of the room. Councils that let observers debate every item soon find nobody volunteers to serve.

When observers can be excluded

Bylaw 17 closes parts of the meeting in two situations: portions dealing with bylaw contravention hearings, and any other matter where, in the council's opinion, the presence of observers would unreasonably interfere with an individual's privacy. Discussions of arrears, disability accommodations, personnel issues, or legal advice commonly fall in the second category. The practice is to move those items to the end of the agenda, ask observers to leave, and record in the minutes that the meeting moved in camera and why, in one neutral line. What was decided still has to be minuted with appropriate discretion; our privacy guide shows the wording.

Hearings are different

An owner or tenant who asks in writing for a hearing is not an observer: under section 34.1 of the Act, council must hold the hearing within four weeks and give a written decision within one week if a decision is required. The hearing itself is typically attended by the person who asked for it, not by the general audience. See our guide to council hearings.

Tenants, buyers, and everyone else

The Standard Bylaws speak of owners as observers. Tenants attend where rights have been assigned to them or where council permits, and buyers, realtors, and curious neighbours attend only by invitation. Check your registered bylaws before turning anyone away, because many stratas have amended Bylaw 17, some to widen it and some to add notice requirements for observers.

What the minutes should say

List council members present, regrets, and others present by role: "Also present: two owners as observers; J. Smith, property manager." Individual observer names are usually unnecessary. If the meeting went in camera, record the time and the general ground, not the private details. Minutes are distributed to all owners within two weeks under Standard Bylaw 19, so anything written about an identifiable person will be read by the whole building.

This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. Always check your strata's registered bylaws. See the Schedule of Standard Bylaws, bylaws 17 to 19, and section 34.1 of the Strata Property Act on BC Laws.

Related guides

Council Hearings
Minutes and Privacy
Meeting Notice
Electronic Meetings