Running for Strata Council: An Owner's Guide (BC)

Why owners step up

If you own in a BC strata and are thinking about joining council, the process is more approachable than it looks. Council is elected by owners at the annual general meeting, or AGM. In most stratas any owner can put their name forward, either in advance or from the floor at the meeting. You do not need special qualifications, just a willingness to help run the community. Here is how it works and what to expect.

Who can run for council

Under section 28 of the Strata Property Act, the people who can be council members are owners, an individual who represents a corporate owner, and a tenant who has been assigned the landlord's right to stand for council. A strata can also pass a bylaw allowing other classes of people, such as an owner's spouse. If a strata lot is owned by more than one person, only one of them can sit on council at a time, unless all owners are on council. Some stratas also have a bylaw that bars an owner from standing if the strata could register a lien against their lot for unpaid amounts.

How many seats there are

The number of council members is set by your bylaws. Under the Standard Bylaws, council has between three and seven members. In a very small strata, with fewer than four strata lots or fewer than four owners, all owners are automatically on council and no election is needed.

How the election works

1

Nominations are taken, either in advance through the meeting notice or from the floor. You can nominate yourself or nominate another owner with their consent.

2

If there are more candidates than seats, owners vote, often by secret ballot if anyone requests one.

3

If the number of candidates equals the number of seats, the election can be by acclamation, recorded in the minutes.

4

The new council's term begins, and at its first meeting council elects its officers: a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

What to expect in your first year

Council members are volunteers, and the role is manageable when the work is shared. You will help make decisions about maintenance, budgets, bylaws, and day-to-day operations, and you are expected to act honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of all owners. Much of a new council member's time goes into learning where things are: the bylaws, past minutes, contracts, and the strata's records. If you want to understand the role before you run, our guide on what a BC strata council actually does is a good starting point.

Getting up to speed faster

New council members spend a lot of their first months searching for documents and reconstructing past decisions. When the strata's records, bylaws, and minutes live in one searchable place, stepping onto council is far less daunting, and stepping off at the end of a term leaves the next person a clean handover. That continuity is a core reason OpenStrata exists. If you are joining council, our records handover checklist is worth a look.