Resolving Strata Disputes at the CRT

Most strata disagreements start small — a parking spot, a noise complaint, a fine an owner says was never properly explained. Left alone, they harden. British Columbia's Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) exists to resolve those disputes without the cost of Supreme Court, and the Strata Property Act expressly contemplates its use. Understanding the sequence matters, because one step is a legal precondition to filing.

Start Inside the Strata: The Council Hearing

Before an owner or tenant can ask the CRT to resolve a strata dispute, s.189.1 of the Strata Property Act requires that they either requested a council hearing under s.34.1, or that the CRT has directed that the requirement does not apply. This is not a formality to skip.

Under s.34.1, the hearing request works like this:

• The owner or tenant applies in writing, stating the reason for the request.
• The council must hold a council meeting to hear the applicant within 4 weeks of the request.
• If the purpose of the hearing is to seek a council decision, the council must give a written decision within one week after the hearing.

For self-managed councils, the practical lesson is administrative: date-stamp the request, calendar the four-week deadline, and put the written decision in the records. A missed deadline is often the first thing an applicant raises at the CRT.

One clarification that saves a lot of frustration: there is no statutory right to appeal a council decision at a general meeting. If a council denies a request, the routes forward are the s.34.1 hearing, then the CRT or the courts — including a claim that the decision was significantly unfair. Adding a "vote on it at the AGM" step is not something the Act provides.

Questions Owners and Councils Ask

Who can file a CRT strata claim?
Under s.189.1, a strata corporation, an owner or a tenant may ask the CRT to resolve a dispute concerning any strata property matter within the CRT's jurisdiction. The council-hearing precondition applies to owners and tenants, not to the strata corporation initiating a claim.

What kinds of strata disputes are covered?
The Act's arbitration provision, s.177, lists the subject matter that has long been treated as strata dispute territory: interpretation or application of the Act, regulations, bylaws or rules; common property and common assets; the use or enjoyment of a strata lot; money owing, including money owing as a fine; an action, threatened action or decision of the strata corporation or council in relation to an owner or tenant; and the exercise of voting rights by a person holding 50% or more of the votes. Whether a particular claim falls within the CRT's jurisdiction is determined under the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act, so check the CRT's own guidance for your claim type.

Can we go to arbitration instead?
Arbitration under s.177 remains in the Act, but s.178.1 provides that a dispute must not be referred to arbitration once an initiating notice has been given under s.6 of the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act — unless the CRT notifies the parties that it refuses to resolve the dispute. Similarly, s.178 bars arbitration once a court proceeding on the same dispute has started. You choose a forum; you don't run two.

The Voluntary Route Your Bylaws May Already Offer

Section 124 allows bylaws to create a voluntary dispute resolution process — but it cannot compel anyone to use it and cannot give any person or body power to make a binding decision. Using it does not affect anyone's right to sue, arbitrate or apply to the CRT. Anything said or produced only for that process cannot later be used in court, arbitration or a tribunal proceeding.

Standard Bylaw 29 sets out one such process: a dispute may be referred to a dispute resolution committee if all parties consent and the dispute involves the Act, regulations, bylaws or rules. The committee's job is to help the parties voluntarily end the dispute — not to rule. Whether your strata has this option depends on your own registered bylaws, since a strata may have amended or replaced Standard Bylaw 29.

Money Disputes: Don't Skip the Notice

Where the dispute is about money owed, s.112 requires the strata corporation to give the owner or tenant at least 2 weeks' written notice demanding payment and indicating action may be taken — before suing, before beginning arbitration, before a CRT initiating notice is given, and (separately) before registering a lien under s.116.

An owner who disputes the debt has an option under s.114: pay the disputed amount into court where proceedings have started and the rules allow, or pay it to the strata corporation to hold in trust once the matter is in arbitration, a CRT initiating notice has been given, or court proceedings have started. The strata holds that money and any interest in trust until the dispute is resolved, then pays it to whoever the decision says is entitled.

Reducing the Disputes You Have

Most CRT strata files trace back to process, not principle: notice that went out late, minutes that don't record what was decided, a fine imposed before the owner had a chance to respond. Governance hygiene is the cheapest dispute-avoidance tool available — see our guides on AGM notice and quorum requirements and electronic voting at BC strata meetings. Where the council is weighing outside help, our overview of choosing a strata management company covers what to ask.

Good records also make CRT participation manageable. Councils using ManageStrata keep hearing requests, decisions and correspondence in one searchable place, and tools like SearchStrata can apply AI analysis to bylaws and minutes when you need to find what the strata actually decided three years ago.

One more procedural point worth knowing: where a 3/4-vote resolution passes at a meeting with persons holding less than 50% of the strata's votes, s.51 gives holders of at least 25% of the votes one week to demand a special general meeting to reconsider it. That is an internal mechanism, not a general appeal right — and it applies only to that narrow situation.

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.