The Role and Responsibilities of a Strata
Council
1. General Role of The Strata Council
The strata council’s role is to:
- act as the managing body for the strata corporation;
- make daily decisions that
enable the strata corporation to operate smoothly;
and
- operate within any restrictions created by
the Act, Regulations, bylaws, or a
majority vote of the owners.
The Act states that the strata council’s role is to: “exercise
the powers and
perform the duties of the strata corporation, including
the enforcement of bylaws
and rules”.
The strata council can hire a strata manager to perform
some or most of the
functions of the strata council. However, if a strata
council has delegated its
powers to a strata manager, the strata council is still
ultimately responsible for
ensuring that its obligations under the Act are fulfilled.
2. Limiting the Powers of the Strata Council
The strata corporation can pass a resolution by majority
vote at general meetings
to direct or restrict the actions of the strata council.
However, the strata corporation can never restrict or
limit the strata council if the
restriction or limitation:
- is contrary to the Act, Regulations, or bylaws;
- interferes with the strata
council’s ability
to decide based on the facts whether:
- a person has breached a bylaw or rule;
- a person should be fined;
or
- a person should be restricted from using a recreational
facility.
3. Eligibility to Sit on Strata Council
The following persons are eligible to sit on strata
council:
- all owners, including existing or past strata council
members unless:
- their strata lot can be liened for money owing to
the strata corporation, and
a bylaw permits this restriction;
- there are multiple owners
of one strata lot, in which case, only one
owner
can sit on the strata council, unless all
owners are on council (but each lot
only has one vote). The Standard Bylaws provide that if
there are fewer
than four strata lots or owners, then
all owners must sit on the strata
council;
- representatives of corporate owners;
- tenants who have been assigned the
owner’s
right to vote, by either:
- being a family member, as defined in the Regulations;
- entering
into a lease of three years or more;
or
- the landlord delivering
a written notice to the strata corporation
which
discloses the terms of the voting
assignment;
- different classes of persons, if a bylaw is created
to permit certain classes
of
persons to sit on strata council,
such as spouses or children of
owners.
4. Election of Strata Council
The strata council is elected every year at the annual
general meeting.
The number of persons on the strata council is determined
by the bylaws.
The number of strata council members set out in the Standard
Bylaws is between
three and seven members. However, if there are fewer
than four lots or four
owners, then all owners are required to sit on the strata
council.
5. Strata Council Terms and Early Removal from Term
The following provisions dealing with strata council
terms and the early removal
from a term are set out in the Standard Bylaws:
- a current
strata council term ends and a new strata council term begins
at the
end of every annual general
meeting in which the new strata
council is
elected;
- a strata council member can be removed, with or without
cause, by a majority
vote of the owners at
a general meeting, and
the owners must then
elect a
replacement strata council member; and
- if a strata council member is unwilling
or unable to perform his or her duties
for two months or longer,
he or she can be replaced
by a new strata council
member to be appointed by the existing members of strata
council. The new
strata council member will hold the
seat for the remainder of the replaced
member’s term.
6. Pay
Strata council members may be paid if their pay is permitted
by one of the
following:
- the bylaws;
- a resolution passed by a ¾ vote
of the owners; or
- the annual budget.
7. Strata Council Meetings
The following provisions dealing with strata council meetings
are set out in the
Standard Bylaws:
- at the first meeting of the new strata council, members
must elect from
amongst themselves
the following:
- a president;
- a vice-president;
- a treasurer; and
- a secretary.
- a member can hold more than one office, so long as
it is not both
president
and vice-president;
- any strata council member can call a strata council
meeting:
- by giving other members at least
one week’s
notice
specifying the reason
for the meeting; or
- by giving less than one week’s
notice if:
- the strata council members agree; or
- the meeting is required
to deal with an emergency situation, and strata
council members
either consent
in advance of
the meeting,
or
- are unavailable to provide consent after reasonable
attempts to contact
them.
[Please refer to section
8 for an explanation about
how the notice period runs.]
- an owner can requisition a strata council meeting
to
have a hearing, and the
purpose of the hearing
must be specified in a
written application. A
meeting
requisitioned for a hearing must be held
within a month minutes of strata council meetings need to be taken
and
the strata council must
inform owners of the minutes
of all strata council meetings
within two weeks
of the meeting;
- at the outset of a strata council meeting, members
should determine if the
required quorum under the
bylaws is met;
- strata council members can attend a strata council
meeting by electronic
means, so long
as all members
(or participants)
can communicate with
one
another;
- decisions at strata council meetings are made by a
majority vote of strata
council members;
- owners may attend strata council meetings as observers
only, but they may not
attend portions of meetings
related to:
- bylaw enforcement proceedings;
- rental restriction bylaw exemption hearings;
and
- matters where a person’s privacy would be
unreasonably
interfered with.
8. How the Notice Period Runs
Under the Interpretation
Act, if the reference to
time includes phrases such
as
“clear” days or weeks, or “at least” in
reference to days or weeks, the time must
be calculated by excluding the first
day and the last day
of the period. Another
way of thinking about the days that
must be excluded is to think that nothing
can
happen on those days.
Thus, when calculating the number of days
within the one week notice period for
calling a strata council meeting, the day the notice
is given (Day
1 on the chart
below) cannot be counted
as one of the days. The strata
council meeting cannot
take place on the last day of the notice period (Day
8 on the chart below). It can
only take place on any of the
days following the last day of
the notice period (Day
9 on the chart below).
Example Of How the Notice Period Runs
| Notice is Given |
When Notice Period to Run |
Notice Period Stops Running |
When Strata Council Meeting Can be Held |
| Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 8 |
Day 9 or later |
9. The Strata Council Member’s
Standard of Care
In exercising the powers and performing the duties of
the strata corporation, each
council member must act honestly and in good faith with
a view to the best
interests of the strata corporation, and exercise the
care, diligence and skill of a
reasonably prudent person in comparable circumstances.
The Standard Bylaws provide that strata council members
are not personally
liable for anything they do or do not do in the course
of acting as a strata council
member, so long as they are acting honestly and in good
faith.
However, strata council members will still be liable
for judgments against the
strata corporation in their capacity as owner.
The strata corporation can obtain errors and omissions
insurance to insure strata
council members for any liability resulting from mistakes
incurred while acting as
a strata council member. However, before obtaining such
insurance, the strata
corporation may wish to amend the Standard Bylaws, in
order to remove the
bylaw which limits the personal liability of strata council
members.
10. Conflict of Interest
Strata council members must ensure that they refrain
from acting in their capacity
as strata council member if their personal interests
conflict with those of the strata
corporation.
Strata council members must:
- disclose any personal interest they have in a contract
or transaction under
consideration by
the strata corporation;
- refrain
from voting on that matter at strata council
meetings;
- leave strata council meetings when that matter is
being discussed; and
- not participate in bylaw contravention decisions if
they are the alleged bylaw
or rule offender, unless
all owners sit on council.
11. Specific Duties of the Strata Council
The specific duties of the strata council
include the following:
- keeping a list of the names of owners and
tenants, and similar documents;
- paying strata corporation bills;
- making themselves
accessible by providing a telephone number or some other
method of contact;
- entering into strata corporation contracts
and supervising the performance of
duties under those contracts;
- hiring and supervising employees
of the strata corporation;
- keeping all strata corporation
records;
- making records available for inspection and
copying for the owners for a
charge of not more than 25 cents per page;
- calling and conducting
general meetings;
- completing “Information Certificates” (Form
B) and “Certificates of
Payment” (Form F);
- preparing the budget and financial
statements;
- directing investments and expenditures;
- collecting
strata fees and other money owed to the strata corporation;
- enforcing
the bylaws and rules;
- obtaining adequate strata corporation
insurance;
- approving strata lot alterations;
- granting owners
and tenants short term exclusive use of common property;
and
- exempting the application of rental restriction
bylaws for individual owners
based on hardship.
12. What if No One or Not Enough People are Willing to
Sit on the Strata
Council?
If no eligible person or not enough eligible people in
a strata corporation are
willing to sit on the strata council, then the strata
corporation, or an owner, tenant,
mortgagee or other person having an interest in a strata
lot, may apply to the
Supreme Court for the appointment of an administrator
to exercise the powers and
perform the duties of the strata corporation.
The court may appoint an administrator if, in the court’s
opinion, the appointment
of an administrator is in the best
interests of the strata corporation.
This may result in the administrator taking on the responsibilities
of the strata
council, but it may also eliminate or interfere
with the normal democratic
functioning of the strata corporation and the rights of
owners under the Act.
In particular, the court may:
- appoint the administrator for an indefinite or set
period;
- set the administrator’s
remuneration (which will
be paid by the owners
as a
strata corporation expense);
- order that the administrator
exercise or perform some or all of the powers and
duties of the strata corporation;
and
- relieve the strata corporation of some or all of its
powers and duties.
|
