BC Strata AGM Checklist: How to Run It Right

Why the process matters

A BC strata annual general meeting has a few non-negotiable ingredients: proper notice, quorum, a budget vote, and a council election. Getting the sequence right is not just bureaucracy. A meeting that skips a step, such as leaving a resolution out of the notice, can have its decisions overturned later. Here is what the Strata Property Act requires, and a checklist to run your AGM cleanly.

Notice: get it right first

Most AGM problems start with notice. The strata must give at least two weeks' written notice to every owner, and the notice must include the agenda, the proposed budget and financial statement, and the exact wording of any resolution needing a three-quarter, 80 percent, or unanimous vote. If electronic attendance is offered, the notice must include instructions for joining. Notice can be sent by email only to owners who have agreed to receive it that way. A winding-up resolution needs four weeks' notice.

Quorum and attendance

Business cannot be conducted without quorum. By default, quorum is one-third of the strata's eligible votes, present in person, electronically, or by proxy. If quorum is not reached within half an hour, the meeting adjourns to the same time one week later, and at that reconvened meeting the eligible voters present form a quorum. Since 2022, stratas can hold AGMs in person, electronically, or as a hybrid, with no bylaw needed.

The AGM checklist

1

Send notice at least two weeks ahead, with the budget, agenda, and full wording of any three-quarter or higher resolutions.

2

Include electronic attendance instructions in the notice if you are offering it.

3

At the meeting, certify proxies and corporate representatives and issue voting cards.

4

Confirm quorum before conducting business.

5

Approve the budget and vote on any resolutions.

6

Elect the council.

7

Record complete minutes, including the results of votes, and store them with the strata's records.

Common AGM mistakes

Leaving a three-quarter resolution out of the notice, which can void that vote.

Sending notice late, since notice counts from when it is received, not sent.

Not keeping clear minutes of what was decided.

If you are also running a council election, our guide on running for strata council covers the eligibility and nomination side, and electronic voting and virtual meetings covers the online options.

Keeping the AGM package in one place

An AGM runs more smoothly when last year's minutes, the current bylaws, and past budgets are easy to find while preparing the package, and when this year's minutes are stored where owners can reach them afterward. Keeping these in one place, rather than rebuilding them each year, saves the secretary hours. That is the kind of continuity OpenStrata is built to provide.