BCLI welcomes reforms to rules on terminating a strata
October 8, 2015
BY Kevin Zakreski
Bill 40, which was introduced today in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, contains proposed amendments to the Strata Property Act that will improve the rules governing termination of a strata corporation. The proposed changes are based on recommendations found in BCLI’s Report on Terminating a Strata, which is the first report issued in BCLI’s Strata Property Law Project—Phase Two.
“As strata buildings in British Columbia age,” said Patrick Williams, chair of BCLI’s Strata Property Law (Phase Two) Project Committee, “more and more strata owners will be confronted with the difficult decision of whether to renew or terminate their stratas. On behalf of the committee, I applaud this bill, which acts on the committee’s recommendations and, if enacted, will give strata owners a more realistic framework for considering termination.”
The key provisions of the bill reduce the voting threshold for authorizing termination from the unanimous consent of owners to the approval of 80 percent of all owners and set out a process for confirming the decision to terminate by the British Columbia Supreme Court.
BCLI’s Strata Property Law—Phase Two Project has been made possible by funding from the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, the Notary Foundation of British Columbia, the Ministry of Natural Gas Development and Responsible for Housing for British Columbia, Strata Property Agents of British Columbia, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia, the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors, the Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association, and the Condominium Home Owners Association.
Copies of the Report on Terminating a Strata may be found on the Strata Property Law (Phase Two) Project webpage, along with all other publications issued over the course of the project. The first-reading text of Bill 40 has been posted to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia website. The Ministry of Natural Gas Development and Responsible for Housing for British Columbia has issued a media release and backgrounder on the bill. The backgrounder notes that:
“In developing these proposed changes, the provincial government consulted extensively with the British Columbia Law Institute Strata Property Law Project Committee, which includes: expert strata lawyers; representation from the Urban Development Institute, and the two major strata associations: the Condominium Home Owners Association and the Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association. In 2014, the provincial government asked the BC Law Institute to review strata termination requirements. The proposed changes to the Strata Property Act are based on the BC Law Institute’s recommendation to government and are widely supported.”
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Contact:
Kevin Zakreski
Staff Lawyer
(604) 827-5336
