How Owners Can Requisition a Special General Meeting

Owners who want a decision made do not have to wait for the next AGM. The Strata Property Act gives a minority of owners a direct, enforceable way to put a resolution in front of the whole ownership: the written demand for a special general meeting, commonly called a requisition or an owner petition.

The core rule: 20% of the votes

Under section 43 of the Strata Property Act, persons holding at least 20% of the strata corporation's votes may, by written demand, require the strata corporation to hold a special general meeting to consider a resolution or other matter specified in the demand. The demand must be signed by each of the persons making it.

Once the demand is given to the strata corporation, the corporation must hold the meeting within 4 weeks — or within 8 weeks if the demand is to consider a winding-up resolution. The president of council may call the meeting without holding a council meeting first, and the resolution or matter specified in the demand becomes the first item on the agenda, dealt with before anything else.

A separate route exists for non-urgent items: under section 46, persons holding at least 20% of the votes may instead demand that a resolution or matter be included in the notice and agenda of the next general meeting. That avoids the cost of a stand-alone meeting but gives up control over timing.

Counting to 20%

• The threshold is measured in votes, not people or square footage. A strata lot generally carries one vote; unit entitlement does not weight voting.
• It is 20% of all the corporation's votes, not 20% of the votes present at a meeting.
• Where two or more people share one vote for a strata lot, the safest practice is to have all of them sign, so the count cannot be challenged.
• Get the vote count right before you circulate. If the demand falls short, the 4-week clock never starts.

What to put in the written demand

• The exact wording of the resolution. Notice of the meeting must set out the proposed wording of any resolution requiring a 3/4 vote, 80% vote or unanimous vote, so drafting it loosely creates work and delay.
• The specific matter, if you are raising a question rather than a resolution.
• Signatures and dates for every person making the demand, with their strata lot numbers.
• Proof of delivery to the strata corporation, and a copy for your own records.

If the resolution touches the bylaws, read the strata's registered bylaws first — not the Standard Bylaws — because many corporations have amended them heavily. Our explainer on strata bylaws vs rules in BC covers which instrument does what, and tools like SearchStrata can run AI analysis over a filed bylaw set to find the provisions your resolution would collide with.

Questions owners ask about the timeline

How long does the strata have? Four weeks from when the demand is given (eight for a winding-up resolution).

How much notice must owners get? At least 2 weeks' written notice under section 45 — 4 weeks where a winding-up resolution will be considered. The notice must describe the matters to be voted on, include the proposed wording of any 3/4, 80% or unanimous resolution, state the date, time and place, and give instructions for attending electronically if that is offered.

Does an emailed notice count from the day it is sent? No. Under section 61(3), notice that is emailed, mailed or faxed is conclusively deemed received 4 days after it is sent, so an emailed notice needs to go out 18 days before the meeting. Only notice handed to the person or left at the strata lot counts on the day. Inside a 4-week window, that leaves council roughly ten days to finalize wording and send the package — one reason self-managed councils often track these deadlines in ManageStrata rather than by memory.

Can the meeting be skipped? Only under section 44: if all eligible voters waive the meeting in writing and consent in writing to the resolution.

If the strata corporation does not hold the meeting

Section 43(6) lets the persons who made the demand hold the special general meeting themselves, provided they comply with the Act, the regulations and the bylaws on calling and holding special general meetings. In practice that means giving proper notice to every owner, to mortgagees who have filed a Mortgagee's Request for Notification, and to tenants assigned a landlord's vote under section 147. Procedural shortcuts here are exactly what gets a resolution challenged later.

Quorum, voting and electronic attendance

Under section 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 4 strata lots or fewer than 4 owners. If quorum is not present within half an hour, the meeting adjourns to the same day the following week, and at that meeting those present constitute a quorum unless the bylaws say otherwise. Check your own bylaws; this is an area where they frequently differ.

Matters are decided by majority vote unless the Act or regulations require 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 — not 3/4 of all owners. Abstentions do not count against the resolution. All BC strata corporations may hold electronic or hybrid general meetings and accept electronic votes without passing a bylaw, subject to the section 49 requirements.

What a requisition cannot do

• It does not lower a vote threshold. A bylaw amendment still needs its required vote and has no effect until it is filed in the Land Title Office; before the second annual general meeting, section 127 requires a unanimous vote for residential and bare land strata plans.
• It is not an appeal of a council decision. There is no statutory right to appeal council at a general meeting; the Act's route is a written request for a hearing at a council meeting, with the Civil Resolution Tribunal or the courts beyond that.

Record the outcome properly — see how to prepare AGM minutes in BC — and if your council is running the process itself, our guide to self-managing a strata in BC walks through the surrounding obligations.

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.