BC Strata Property FAQs

BC Strata FAQ
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May the spouse of an owner who is not on title to a strata lot stand for council?

In order for the spouse of an owner who is not an owner to stand for council, the strata corporation must have a bylaw that permits the spouse of an owner to stand for council.

Please Note: Clark Wilson�s Strata Property Group represents a large number of strata corporations and strata managers. Therefore, we are unable to respond to strata-related inquiries from individual owners. If you are a current strata council member or strata manager and would like additional information on this topic, please contact our Strata Property Group.

Related Topics:

My strata corporation has a bylaw that prohibits open houses - is the bylaw enforceable?A strata corporation has a bylaw that prohibits the posting of signs in a strata lot or on common property. An owner wants to put an election sign in the window of his strata lot. Does that contravene the bylaw?If every owner who attends a general meeting votes in favour of a resolution. Is that a unanimous vote?An owner has some persons living with her that are under the age of 45. The strata corporation has a bylaw stating that all persons who occupy a strata lot must be over the age of 45. How do we enforce the bylaw? If a council member is not available to attend a council meeting, may the council member give his/her proxy to another?The council wants to levy a fine for contravention of a bylaw. What are the procedures to follow?An owner gives a Power of Attorney to a friend to manage the owner's affairs with respect to their strata lot. May the person with the Power of Attorney stand for election to council?Is a proxy a record of the strata corporation that must be provided to an owner on written request?A number of owners who live outside the strata plan are sending in their proxies by email because they do not have a fax machine and therefore the proxies are not on the "official" proxy form that was sent out with notice of the general meeting. The owners state the purpose of the proxy and to whom it is given. When we print out the email, it includes their return email address. Is that sufficient to meet the needs for a proxy?Our strata corporation has a bylaw that prohibits dogs that was passed under the Condominium Act and filed in the Land Title Office. The strata corporation never filed any new bylaws when the the Strata Property Act came in. According to the Strata Property Act, the Schedule of Standard Bylaws applies to our strata corporation, but it has a different pet bylaw. Which bylaw applies?May a strata manager hold a proxy? At a recent special general meeting, everyone at the meeting voted in favour of the resolution. Is that a unanimous vote?Our strata council has received a complaint about a council member contravening a bylaw, what do we do?Our strata corporation recently filed a bylaw in the Land Title Office and the bylaw may be contrary to the Strata Property Act or any other legislation. Is it possible to file bylaws in the Land Title Office that are contrary to the Act?

Can a strata corporation charge interest on late strata fees?Our strata corporation is entering into a contract to repaint the exterior of our building. The contract refers to the complex as Mountain Oaks, which is our building name. What is our strata corporation's legal name for purposes of a contract?

Can an owner give a proxy via email?If a rule and a bylaw conflict with each other, which one takes precedence - the bylaw or the rule?What is the difference between rules and regulations? Are they not the same thing?If the strata corporation is the owner of a strata lot, who exercises the vote for that strata lot?Our strata corporation has a painting that was provided by the developer as per the disclosure statement. We have had the painting appraised and found out it is worth $60,000. The strata council wants to sell it and use the money for future expenses of the strata corporation. Is this allowed?

Can a strata corporation amend the bylaws before the second annual general meeting?Our strata corporation has a council member who is not on title to the strata lot, however, she is the spouse of the strata lot owner. May she be a council member?May the strata corporation ban proxies?May a strata corporation prevent an owner from standing for council if the strata lot is in arrears of strata fees?Is a bylaw enforceable if the bylaw permits hard surface flooring, but only in strata lots on the first floor of the building?If there are 40 eligible voters present in person or by proxy at a general meeting and 8 abstain from voting, how many votes are required to pass a resolution by a 3/4 vote?Must a strata corporation file its rules in the land title office?May a strata corporation require an owner to reside in a strata lot for one year (or another period of time) before being allowed to rent the owner�s strata lot?

Do amendments to the bylaws have to be filed in the Land Title Office?

Is a strata corporation subject to the Human Rights Code?May a strata corporation prevent an owner from voting if the strata lot is in arrears of strata fees?May council members be paid to perform their duties?A strata corporation passed a bylaw two years ago prohibiting pets. An owner wishes to sell the owner's strata lot, but the prospective buyer has a pet. Is a "no pet" bylaw enforceable?How much notice is required before holding a special general meeting?Our strata corporation recently obtained all of our registered bylaws from the Land Title Office. It surprised us to find that Part 5 of the Condominium Act was registered as our bylaws in addition to a few other bylaws filed over the years. We thought that our bylaws were the Schedule of Standard Bylaws to the Strata Property Act. What does this mean?My strata corporation has both residential and non-residential strata lots. The residential strata lots have enough votes to pass amendments to the bylaws without considering the non-residential strata lots. Can the residential strata lots pass bylaws over the objections of the non�residential strata lots?May a strata corporation have a rule that prohibits live Christmas trees?Our strata corporation has never adopted any bylaws. Are we required to have bylaws?

Disclaimer:

This FAQ section is for informational purposes only, for the convenience of our visitors. While these questions and answers are about legal issues, they are not a substitute for consultation with a lawyer, and should not be relied on as a basis for any legal decision. As with anything of a legal nature, different circumstances can create different results.

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