Owner Developer Turnover: The First Year of a New BC Strata

The first year of a new British Columbia strata corporation runs on a timetable most owners never see coming. The developer holds the pen at the start, the Strata Property Act sets hard deadlines for handing it over, and a few of the rules that apply in year one apply in no other year. Here is what new strata turnover in BC actually involves.

The first AGM is the developer's job, not the owners'

Under section 16 of the Strata Property Act, the owner developer must hold the first annual general meeting during the 6-week period that begins on the earlier of:

• the date on which 50% plus one of the strata lots have been conveyed to purchasers, and
• the date that is 9 months after the first conveyance of a strata lot to a purchaser.

The developer must give notice in accordance with section 45 and include the budget and financial statement required of the owner developer under Part 3. Owners in a fast-selling building often reach the 50%-plus-one trigger long before the 9-month date — so watch conveyances, not the calendar alone.

Notice: "two weeks" is longer than 14 days

Section 45 requires at least 2 weeks' written notice of an annual or special general meeting to every owner, to every mortgagee who has filed a Mortgagee's Request for Notification under section 60, and to every tenant who has been assigned a landlord's vote under section 147 where the strata has notice of the assignment. The notice must describe the matters to be voted on — including the proposed wording of any resolution requiring a 3/4 vote, 80% vote or unanimous vote — the date and time, the place if applicable, and instructions for attending electronically if that is permitted.

The trap is section 61(3): notice that is mailed, faxed or emailed is conclusively deemed given 4 days after it is sent. Emailed notice therefore has to go out roughly 18 days before the meeting. Only notice handed to the person, left with an adult occupant or put under the door of the strata lot avoids the extra count.

One piece of good news for a brand-new council: since November 24, 2022, all BC strata corporations may hold electronic or hybrid general meetings and accept electronic votes without passing a bylaw — which matters in year one, when amending bylaws is nearly impossible.

Questions owners ask about the first AGM

Can owners change the developer's proposed budget?
Yes. Under section 103, the budget is approved by majority vote at the AGM, and the proposed budget may be amended by a majority vote before the budget itself is put to a vote. If a budget is ultimately defeated, the Act requires a new budget to go to a special general meeting within 30 days, with owners continuing to pay the previous monthly amounts until one passes.

What if hardly anyone shows up?
Section 48 sets quorum, subject to the bylaws, at eligible voters holding 1/3 of the votes in person or by proxy — or 2/3 if there are fewer than 4 strata lots or fewer than 4 owners. If quorum is not present within half an hour, the meeting stands adjourned to the same day the following week, and at that adjourned meeting the eligible voters present constitute a quorum unless the bylaws say otherwise.

Can owners force an item onto the agenda?
The council determines the agenda, but under section 46 persons holding at least 20% of the strata corporation's votes may, by written demand, propose a resolution or raise a matter, which must then appear in the notice for the next general meeting and on that agenda.

Can the AGM simply be waived?
Only if all eligible voters waive it in writing before the deadline and consent in writing to resolutions approving the budget, electing a council by acclamation, and dealing with any other business (section 41). Where two or more people share one vote, all of them must consent. That is rarely realistic in a new building.

Bylaws are effectively frozen until the second AGM

This surprises almost every first-year council. Under section 127:

• Bare land or all-residential strata plans: no bylaw amendment may be made before the second AGM unless it is passed by a unanimous vote.
• All-nonresidential plans: bylaws may be amended in accordance with section 128 before the second AGM.
• Mixed residential/nonresidential plans: a unanimous vote, or the formation of separate residential and nonresidential sections.

So the developer's filed bylaws govern year one in practice. What a council can often do sooner is address day-to-day conduct through rules — see Strata Bylaws vs Rules in BC: What's the Difference? before assuming the two are interchangeable.

First-year money and reports

• For strata corporations established on or after July 1, 2027, Regulation section 6.23 requires the owner developer to pay into the contingency reserve fund, toward the first depreciation report, the lesser of $5,000 plus $200 per strata lot or $30,000 — no later than the date of the first AGM.
• Every budget must include a minimum annual CRF contribution of at least 10% of the budgeted operating fund contribution, determined after considering the most recent depreciation report (provincial guidance).
• Stratas of 5+ lots need a depreciation report — July 1, 2026 in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District, July 1, 2027 elsewhere, renewed every 5 years — and an electrical planning report by December 31, 2026 or December 31, 2028 depending on region.

Phased strata plans have their own turnover rules

Regulation section 13.4 applies Part 3's owner developer obligations to the first phase, and only in the modified ways it lists to later phases — including that the developer pays into the existing CRF rather than establishing a separate one. Under Regulation section 13.5, two additional council members must be elected from the owners in the new phase, any bylaw limit on council size is deemed temporarily increased to fit them, and where the phase has only one or two owners those owners are deemed elected if they consent.

Getting the handover documents under control

Turnover packages arrive as a pile of PDFs: the strata plan, filed bylaws, warranties, contracts, insurance policies and the developer's budget. Tools like SearchStrata can run AI analysis across those documents to surface what the plan and bylaws actually say, and ManageStrata helps a new council keep minutes, notices and records organized from meeting one. If your building intends to run without a manager, self-management is entirely lawful in BC — start with How to Self-Manage a Strata in BC and How to Prepare AGM Minutes in BC.

This article is general information about BC strata law, not legal advice; verify against the current Strata Property Act and Regulation or consult a BC strata lawyer.