AGM vs SGM: BC Strata Meetings Explained

Every BC strata corporation holds general meetings, and there are only two kinds: the annual general meeting (AGM) and the special general meeting (SGM). They follow most of the same procedural rules, but they exist for different reasons — and confusing them is one of the more common sources of governance headaches in self-managed stratas.

What Is an AGM?

The AGM is the strata corporation's once-a-year business meeting. Its defining feature is the budget: under s.103 of the Strata Property Act, the strata corporation must prepare a budget for the coming fiscal year for approval by majority vote at each annual general meeting. The proposed budget must go out with the notice of the AGM and be accompanied by a financial statement, and it can be amended by majority vote at the meeting before the budget itself is voted on.

AGMs also typically deal with:

• Electing the strata council for the coming year
• Approving the budget (and therefore strata fees, which are allocated by unit entitlement)
• Any resolutions requiring a 3/4 vote, 80% vote or unanimous vote that council or owners have put on the agenda

Interestingly, the AGM can be skipped entirely — but only in a narrow case. Under s.41, the strata does not have to hold an AGM if, before the last date the meeting must be held, all eligible voters waive the meeting in writing and consent in writing to resolutions approving the budget, electing a council by acclamation, and dealing with any other business. Where two or more people share one vote for a strata lot, all of them must consent.

What Is an SGM?

A special general meeting is any general meeting that isn't the AGM. It exists to deal with business that cannot wait for the next AGM — a special levy resolution, a bylaw amendment, an urgent significant-change decision, or a replacement budget after a defeated one.

The important structural difference is who can force one to happen. Under s.43, persons holding at least 20% of the strata corporation's votes may, by signed written demand, require the strata to hold an SGM to consider a resolution or matter specified in the demand. The strata must hold that meeting within 4 weeks after the demand is given (8 weeks if the demand concerns a winding-up resolution). The president may call the meeting without holding a council meeting first, and the demanded item goes first on the agenda, before any other business. If the strata fails to hold the meeting in time, the owners who made the demand may hold it themselves, following the Act, regulations and bylaws for calling and holding SGMs.

Agenda control otherwise sits with council. Under s.46, council determines the agenda — except that owners holding at least 20% of the votes may by written demand propose a resolution or raise a matter, which must then appear in the notice of, and on the agenda for, the next general meeting.

Notice, Quorum and Voting: Mostly the Same Rules

Notice. Both AGMs and SGMs require at least 2 weeks' written notice under s.45 to every owner, to mortgagees who filed a Mortgagee's Request for Notification, and to tenants assigned a landlord's right to vote. A meeting considering a winding-up resolution requires 4 weeks. 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, plus the date, time and place, and electronic-attendance instructions if applicable. Watch the delivery rule: notice that is mailed, faxed or emailed is conclusively deemed given 4 days after it is sent under s.61(3), so an emailed package should go out well before the 14-day mark. Our deeper walkthrough is in BC Strata AGM Notice & Quorum Requirements.

Quorum. Under s.48, and subject to the bylaws, quorum is eligible voters holding 1/3 of the votes present in person or by proxy — or 2/3 where there are fewer than four strata lots or fewer than four owners. Your own registered bylaws may set something different, so check them.

Voting. Under s.50, matters are decided by majority vote unless the Act or regulations require or permit a different threshold. A 3/4 vote means at least 3/4 of the votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy who have not abstained (s.1) — not 3/4 of all owners, and abstentions do not count against it. An 80% vote and a unanimous vote, by contrast, count all eligible votes in the corporation.

All BC strata corporations may hold electronic or hybrid general meetings and accept electronic votes without passing a bylaw, as confirmed by the Province's guidance on conducting a general meeting. Section 49 sets the practical conditions: notice must include instructions for attending electronically, the platform must let all attendees communicate with each other, and the chair must be able to identify whether an electronic attendee is an eligible voter. See Electronic Voting at BC Strata Meetings for the mechanics.

Quick Answers

Can an SGM approve the annual budget?
A general meeting other than the AGM can approve a budget in some circumstances — most commonly where a proposed budget was defeated and a replacement must be put to owners. But s.103 ties the regular annual budget approval to the AGM itself.

Do we need an SGM to approve an owner's renovation request?
Usually no. Alteration requests are approved by the strata corporation in writing — in practice by council — not by an owners' vote. An owners' vote only enters the picture where the work is a significant change in the use or appearance of common property, which turns on what is being altered and what the strata plan shows.

Who chairs an SGM, and can council refuse to hold one?
Council cannot simply refuse a valid 20% demand under s.43. If the meeting isn't held in time, the demanding owners may hold it themselves.

Are bylaw amendments restricted early in a strata's life?
Yes. Under s.127, in a bare land strata plan or an all-residential strata plan, no bylaw amendment may be made before the second AGM unless passed by a unanimous vote. Different rules apply to all-nonresidential and mixed plans.

Keeping the Paper Trail Straight

Both meeting types generate records owners will later ask for — notices, minutes, budgets, waivers and consents. Self-managed councils often use tools like ManageStrata to track notice dates and meeting packages, and buyers or owners reviewing years of accumulated minutes sometimes use SearchStrata for AI-assisted analysis of strata documents. Neither substitutes for reading your own registered bylaws, which can vary quorum, proxies and meeting procedure. If your strata is weighing whether to keep running meetings in-house, How to Choose a Strata Management Company in BC sets out the trade-offs — noting that nothing in the Act requires a strata to hire a manager at all.

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.