Strata Bank Accounts and Signing Authority in BC

Every BC strata corporation handles other people's money — monthly fees, contingency reserve savings, sometimes six-figure special levies. Getting the banking structure and signing authority right is one of the cheapest forms of risk control a self-managed council has, and one of the easiest to get wrong.

The account belongs to the strata corporation, not the council

From the moment the strata plan is deposited in a land title office, a strata corporation is established, and the owners of the strata lots are its members under the name "The Owners, Strata Plan [the registration number of the strata plan]". The corporation has the power and capacity of a natural person of full capacity (Strata Property Act s.2) — which is what allows it to hold accounts, sign contracts and borrow in its own name.

Practically, that means:

• Accounts should be opened in the corporation's exact legal name, matching the strata plan number.
• Strata money should never sit in a council member's personal account or a bookkeeper's account.
• Council members are signatories on the corporation's account — they are not the owners of the funds.
• Most financial institutions will want a council resolution and minutes confirming who the current signatories are, so signing cards need updating after every election.

Where strata money can be held and invested

The Strata Property Regulation defines an "insured account" for the purposes of the Act as an account with a deposit, all or part of which is eligible to be insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or guaranteed by the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (Regulation s.1.1).

For money held in the contingency reserve fund or collected on a special levy, the Regulation adds a list of permitted investments beyond those in the Act (Regulation s.6.11), including:

• A savings or chequing account at a financial institution outside BC where the deposit is eligible for CDIC insurance;
• Term deposits and GICs that are CDIC-insured or CUDIC-guaranteed and carry a predetermined rate of interest;
• Government of Canada treasury bills;
• Certain bonds, debentures and other evidence of indebtedness — with a remaining term to maturity of 5 years or less, payable in Canadian dollars, rated A or higher by DBRS Limited;
• Certain Canadian-listed fixed income exchange-traded funds meeting the conditions set out in that section.

Anything outside that list isn't a permitted parking spot for reserve or levy money. For more on how the reserve itself works, see our guide to the contingency reserve fund.

Who actually gets signing authority?

Here is where councils often assume a rule that doesn't exist. The Act does not prescribe how many signatures a strata cheque or electronic payment requires, and the Schedule of Standard Bylaws does not set a cheque-signing rule either. So the answer depends on:

• Your strata's own registered bylaws — many stratas have added a bylaw requiring two signatures, or requiring that one be the treasurer;
• Your account agreement with the bank or credit union, which sets the mandate the institution will actually enforce;
• Whether council has passed a delegation resolution (below).

Two-signature approval by unrelated council members is common practice and good practice — but describe it as your bylaws and banking mandate requiring it, not as the Act.

Delegating spending powers: Standard Bylaw 20

Under Standard Bylaw 20, council may delegate some or all of its powers and duties to council members or to non-members, and may revoke the delegation. Spending powers are treated differently: they can be delegated only by a resolution that either delegates authority to make an expenditure of a specific amount for a specific purpose, or delegates a general authority to spend — and a general authority must set a maximum amount and indicate the purposes for which, or conditions under which, money may be spent.

Council also cannot delegate its power to decide, on the facts of a particular case, whether someone contravened a bylaw or rule, whether they should be fined and in what amount, or whether they should be denied access to a recreational facility.

Questions councils actually ask

Q: Can the treasurer pay routine invoices alone?
Only if council has delegated that authority by resolution in the form Standard Bylaw 20 requires (specific amount and purpose, or a general authority with a spending cap and stated purposes) and the banking mandate permits it.

Q: Can we spend from the accounts without an owners' vote?
Sometimes. The Act permits spending without approval from the operating fund up to the limit set in the bylaws — or, if the bylaws are silent, the lesser of $2,000 and 5% of the annual operating-fund contribution — and from either fund where there are reasonable grounds to believe an immediate expenditure is necessary to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage (s.98).

Q: What about the contingency reserve fund?
CRF spending needs only a majority vote in five cases: obtaining a depreciation report; repair, maintenance or replacement recommended in the most current depreciation report of common property, common assets or portions of a strata lot the strata has taken responsibility for; installing EV charging infrastructure or managing the electricity it uses; obtaining an electrical planning report; and obtaining other reports about EV charging infrastructure. Any other CRF expenditure needs a 3/4 vote (government guidance on the CRF).

Q: And special levies?
A special levy is approved by a 3/4 vote where each lot's share is calculated under ss.99, 100 or 195 — normally unit entitlement. If the strata divides the levy in another way that establishes a fair division of expenses for that particular levy, s.108 requires a unanimous vote.

The paper trail the Act requires

The corporation must prepare books of account showing money received and spent and the reason for each, and must retain bank statements, cancelled cheques and certificates of deposit, budgets and financial statements, and minutes recording the results of votes (s.35). Under Regulation s.4.1, books of account, budgets and financial statements, bank statements, cancelled cheques, certificates of deposit and minutes must be kept for at least 6 years — not indefinitely, and not for a single blanket period across all records.

Sensible controls for a self-managed council: reconcile monthly against the approved budget, circulate the bank statement with council minutes, and never let the person who writes cheques be the only person who reviews the statements. Councils using ManageStrata typically keep the approved budget, the delegation resolution and the payment record in one place so the audit trail survives a change of treasurer. If you are reconstructing years of approvals from old minutes, AI document analysis tools such as SearchStrata can help locate the relevant resolutions quickly.

Building the numbers in the first place is a separate exercise — see how to prepare a strata annual budget and how strata fees work 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.