Strata Tip of the Week - Does the strata have to provide general meeting notice packages?

Strata Tip of the Week - Does the strata have to provide general meeting notice packages?

If you’ve read our email titled “Review the AGM/SGM Notice Packages, not just the Minutes”, you’ll know that in addition to reviewing the general meeting minutes, we also recommend that you obtain and review the general meeting notice packages, as they often contain important information not included anywhere else.

1. So, is the strata corporation actually required to provide the general meeting notice packages?

While it’s standard to obtain the general meeting minutes, some strata corporations, or their management companies, have the incorrect assumption that they are not required to provide the general meeting notice packages.

To understand whether the strata is required to provide these documents, one must look at several different sections of the Strata Property Act:

A. Section 45 - Requires the strata corporation to give written notice of an annual or special general meeting.

B. Section 35 - Requires the strata corporation to retain copies of all correspondence sent or received by the strata corporation.

C. Section 36 - Requires the strata corporation to make the records and documents referred to in Section 35 available for inspection and provide copies to an owner or a person authorized in writing by an owner.

As you can see, reading these three sections together makes it clear that the strata should be providing the general meeting notice packages, if requested to do so.

A point of contention?

Some might ask, are general meeting notice packages “correspondence”? While the Strata Property Act doesn’t define “correspondence”, we think it’s probably safe to assume that sending general meeting notice packages would constitute a form of “correspondence” by the strata corporation. If you’ve got doubts, we recommend you obtain legal advice to confirm this position.

2. Tailor your subject clause to require the sellers to provide the general meeting notice packages

If you’re using the BCFSA Receipt of strata documentation clause, you’ll notice that this clause does not reference the general meeting notice packages. It is therefore important that you tailor the subjects, so that they clearly state that the general meeting notice packages must also be provided.

That’s it for this week. If you have any suggestions for other topics you’d like us to cover, please let us know at info@condoclear.ca.

Disclaimer: The information provided is for general purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinions of any kind. No one should act, or refrain from acting, based solely upon the materials provided, any hypertext links or other general information without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice.