Notice and agenda
Getting notice right — how the deadline is calculated, what has to be in it, how to build an agenda that survives the meeting, and the proof that it was sent.
Notice is the most procedurally exacting part of a general meeting, and the arithmetic has a trap in it that catches most councils at least once.
How the deadline is calculated
When you create a meeting, ManageStrata works backwards from the meeting date using your province's rule set and shows you the last valid day to send notice.
In BC, an emailed notice needs 18 days — not 14
The Act requires at least 2 weeks' written notice of an AGM or SGM (s.45). But a record given by email, mail or fax is conclusively deemed received 4 days after you send it (s.61(3)) — so the practical minimum for an emailed notice is 18 days before the meeting.
Only notice handed to the owner or left at the strata lot counts from the day it is given. ManageStrata sends notice by email, so it calculates 18 days; if you are hand-delivering, you have four more days than it shows.
| Province | AGM | SGM |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia — emailed, mailed or faxed | 18 days (14 + 4 deemed receipt) | 18 days |
| British Columbia — handed over or left at the lot | 14 days | 14 days |
| Alberta | Per the Condominium Property Act | Per the Act |
| Ontario | Per the Condominium Act, 1998 | Per the Act |
A resolution to wind up the corporation needs 4 weeks.
Your bylaws can be longer, never shorter
The statutory period is a minimum. If your bylaws require 21 days, 21 days is your obligation. Check them once and note it — ManageStrata calculates the statutory floor, not your bylaw.
When the deadline is tight, send earlier rather than litigating a calendar.
What goes in the notice
The essentials
Meeting type, date, time and place — or the joining details if it's electronic.
The agenda
Every item of business, in order.
The exact wording of every resolution
This is the part people get wrong. Owners vote on the words in the notice. You cannot materially reword a resolution at the meeting — if the wording is wrong, the resolution is wrong.
The supporting material
Budget, financial statements, the depreciation report, quotes — whatever owners need to vote sensibly. For an AGM, the proposed budget is usually required.
The proxy form
So owners who can't attend can still be represented.
Building the agenda
Open the meeting and add items in the order they'll be taken. A standard AGM:
- Call to order and quorum
- Approval of the previous AGM minutes
- Financial statements for the year
- Budget approval for the coming year — a majority vote
- Resolutions — each listed separately with its type
- Election of council
- Other business
One decision per item
"Approve the budget and the roof levy" is one line and two decisions. Owners may well want to pass one and defeat the other, and a combined item forces them into a vote they didn't want. Split them.
Some things belong on the agenda but are not resolutions — receiving the financial statements, hearing a committee report, an open Q&A. Only add a resolution where owners are actually deciding something. See voting and resolutions.
Sending it
Meetingsopen the meetingSend notice.
Notice goes by email to every owner on your roster, using the corporation's branding. ManageStrata records the date it was sent and to whom.
Before you send:
- Is the roster current? An owner who sold last month should not be the only person notified for their lot.
- Does every owner have an email address on file? Owners without one need notice by whatever method your bylaws permit — post it and record that you did.
- Is every resolution worded exactly as it should be voted on?
- Is the supporting material attached or uploaded to documents?
The send record is your evidence
Should a decision ever be questioned, the useful artefact is proof that proper notice went to every owner on a specific date. ManageStrata keeps that in the audit trail automatically. For owners you notified by post, note the date in the meeting record too.
After notice has gone out
Adding an item. You can't add a resolution after notice without re-noticing. Owners have to be able to consider what they're voting on in advance. Minor administrative items on the agenda are a different matter — check your bylaws.
A correction. If the notice was wrong in a material way, the safe course is to send a corrected notice and restart the notice period. Uncomfortable, and far less uncomfortable than a challenged decision.
Owner questions. Answer them, and consider posting an announcement with the answers so everyone gets the same information. Turnout and the quality of the vote both improve when owners understand what they're deciding.
Electronic and hybrid meetings
Electronic attendance and voting are widely permitted, subject to your Act and bylaws. ManageStrata supports electronic voting with a live tally on paid plans — see voting and resolutions. Whatever the format, the notice must say how owners join and how they vote.
Still stuck? Open Support in the top bar of the app, ask the Assistant, or contact us.