Free guide · British Columbia
Your first term on the strata council
Most people join a strata council because nobody else put their hand up, and then spend a year working out what the job is. This is the short version: 10 chapters on what a BC council decides, what the owners decide, and what the law expects of a volunteer.
18 pages · No email required
- Written for volunteers, not lawyers
- BC law, named section by section
- A first-90-days checklist
- Free to print and pass on
First edition · September 2026
Who it’s for
You were just elected
You put your hand up at the AGM and nobody handed you a job description. Start at chapter one; it takes an evening.
You're handing the job over
Give it to the owner taking your seat, along with the bylaws and the last twelve months of minutes. Chapter nine is their first 90 days.
You're deciding whether to stand
Read chapters three and four before the meeting. They say what you would actually be taking on, and what you would be liable for.
What’s in it
Ten short chapters. Read them in order the week you’re elected, or jump to the one you need the night before a meeting.
- 01What you've joinedThe corporation, the council, and who decides what
- 02How you got hereElections, eligibility, officers and terms
- 03The four jobsEverything a council does fits in one of them
- 04The standard you're held toGood faith, reasonable care, and conflicts of interest
- 05The moneyTwo funds, the budget, and what you may spend
- 06Meetings and votesNotice periods, quorum and the four thresholds
- 07Records and rulesMinutes, bylaws, enforcement and the certificates
- 08Your year at a glanceThe dates that come round whether you're ready or not
- 09Your first 90 daysA checklist you can work through
- 10Words you'll hearThe vocabulary, without the legal detour
Three things it will save you
Straight from the guide. Each one is a mistake councils make every year, and each one is avoidable in a sentence.
The notice trap
“Notice sent by email or mail counts as received four days after you send it — so an emailed AGM notice has to go out 18 days ahead.”
What you may spend
“Outside the approved budget, unapproved operating-fund spending in a year must stay below the lesser of $2,000 and 5% of the year's operating contributions.”
The standard you're held to
“Act honestly. Ask when you don't know. Write down what you decided and why.”
Chapter eight covers the two reports the Act asks for and when each is due — the depreciation report is due July 1, 2027 for the rest of BC — because both take months to commission and neither arrives on the annual calendar.
Take it with you
18 pages, 10 chapters, no sign-up. Print it, send it round the council, or keep it on your phone for the night before a meeting.
Download the PDFA few notes a year on running a strata
Deadlines that catch councils out, what changed in the rules, and what we shipped. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the guide really free?
- Yes. It downloads straight away — no email address, no form, no sales call. If you want the occasional note from us afterwards you can ask for one on this page, and that is a separate decision.
- Does it apply outside British Columbia?
- The principles travel, the numbers don't. It is written for BC corporations under the Strata Property Act, and the deadlines, thresholds and forms are BC's. If you're in Alberta or Ontario, read it for the shape of the job and check your own province's statute before relying on a figure.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It is general information for volunteers, and your own bylaws may differ from the Standard Bylaws it describes. Confirm anything you intend to rely on against the current Act and regulations, or ask a strata lawyer.
- Can I share it with the rest of my council?
- Please do. Send the file around, print it for the table, or attach it to the welcome email a new council member gets. That is what it is for.
- Do I need ManageStrata to use it?
- No. The guide is about the job, not the software — it names the Act, the tribunal, the owner associations and your strata manager as the places to go next. ManageStrata gets one box on the last page.
Reading about the job is one thing; doing it for a year is another. See what a council actually runs on the council page, or keep reading on the blog.
The deadlines, the money and the meeting — in one place
ManageStrata keeps the statutory dates on a calendar that emails you first, keeps the two funds properly separate, and runs the AGM from notice to minutes. Free up to 4 lots.
No credit card required.