In a two-lot strata, both owners are the council, and neither has a tie-breaking vote. When they disagree, no council decision can pass. That was the situation in Bourque et al v. McKnight et al, 2017 BCCRT 26, a duplex on the water near Sooke. For years the two owners could not agree on repairs to a seawall or on the upkeep of one side of the property. The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), BC’s online tribunal for strata disputes, said the arrangement “effectively gives the respondent owner a veto power before the strata can take any action” and called it “untenable”. Then it made specific orders to end the deadlock on each issue.
This post covers why a duplex deadlocks under the BC Strata Property Act, what that decision ordered, and the tools the Act gives two owners who cannot agree. Our guide to when owners disagree covers three-lot stratas too.
Why two owners deadlock
The Standard Bylaws, which apply unless a strata files its own, put every owner on council when there are fewer than 4 lots (Standard Bylaw 9(2)). Then four rules meet:
| Rule | What it means in a duplex | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Council decides by majority of members present | One of two is not a majority | Standard Bylaw 18(1) |
| No tie-break at council when there are only 2 lots | The president has no second vote | Standard Bylaw 18(2) |
| No tie-break at general meetings when there are only 2 lots | Same at owners’ meetings | Standard Bylaw 27(6) |
| A 3/4 vote needs at least 3/4 of the votes cast | Both owners must vote yes if both vote | SPA s.1 |
A council member who is the subject of a bylaw complaint must not take part in the decision on it (s.136(1)). That rule does not apply when all owners are on council (s.136(2)), so in a duplex the accused owner still votes on their own complaint. The tribunal in 2017 BCCRT 26 pointed to that same section.
What the tribunal found and ordered in 2017
The tribunal member, Vice Chair Shelley Lopez, found the strata “has operated informally without complying with the SPA and the applicable bylaws”: no regular council meetings, no regular annual general meetings, no strata fees, no contingency reserve fund and no strata bank account. The duplex used the Standard Bylaws.
The decision, issued June 12, 2017, made orders on each issue:
- Seawall. The tribunal found the seawall was a structure enclosing a yard under Standard Bylaw 8, so the strata must repair and maintain it. It ordered the strata to repair the Lot A side in the same way as the Lot B side had been repaired in 2010, get 3 quotes, and let the applicants choose a contractor if the owners could not agree within 14 days. It ordered the Lot A owner to pay the entire cost of those repairs.
- Inspections. The strata must arrange a yearly inspection of each home and yard by a qualified home inspector, with 48 hours’ notice under Standard Bylaw 7. If the owners could not agree on an inspector or contractor within 14 days, the Lot B owner could hire one for the strata.
- Who pays. Each owner pays for their own yard and for the inspection of their own lot. Repairs to common property, including the driveway, the roof, windows and skylights, are shared equally.
- Day-to-day disputes. The tribunal dismissed the request to rewrite the bylaws. It ordered the strata to join a strata owners’ association, with the membership cost shared equally, and allowed the owners to agree in writing to have a third party decide a dispute.
- Fees. The Lot A owner was ordered to pay the other owners’ $225 in tribunal fees.
The tribunal also noted it cannot appoint an administrator, and that if the owners stay unable to cooperate, “an administrator may be an appropriate but expensive solution”.
Tool 1: the general meeting, and what happens if one owner stays away
A general meeting needs a quorum. When there are fewer than 4 lots, that is voters holding 2/3 of the votes (s.48(2)(b)). In a duplex, both owners.
Section 48(3) deals with an owner who does not come. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, if there is no quorum within half an hour, the meeting is adjourned to the same day and time the next week. If there is still no quorum within half an hour at that meeting, “the eligible voters present in person or by proxy constitute a quorum.”
Majority and 3/4 votes count the votes cast by those present who do not abstain (s.1). A unanimous vote counts all eligible voters, present or not. So an owner who stays away from two meetings in a row can lose their say on a majority or 3/4 vote, but never on a unanimous one. Get legal advice before relying on an adjourned meeting for a large decision, and keep the notices and minutes. Our page on AGMs in a small strata covers notice and timing.
Tool 2: a hearing, then the Civil Resolution Tribunal
- Ask council for a hearing in writing, with your reason. Council must meet to hear you within 4 weeks, and give a written decision within 1 week after if you asked for one (s.34.1). In a duplex, council is you and your neighbour. The request is still required before most tribunal claims (s.189.1).
- File with the CRT. It hears strata claims of any amount. The fee is $125 online or $150 by mail, plus $100 if you ask for a final decision. Responding is free online.
- Ask for orders that fit the problem. The tribunal can order a party to do or stop doing something, or to pay money (Civil Resolution Tribunal Act s.123), and can make orders to remedy a “significantly unfair” action or decision by the strata, the council, or a person holding 50% or more of the votes (s.123(2)). In a duplex, each owner holds 50%.
Our disputes guide explains the steps and the limits of what the tribunal can hear.
Tool 3: the BC Supreme Court
Some matters only the court can decide. The tribunal cannot hear them (Civil Resolution Tribunal Act s.122):
- An administrator. An owner can ask the Supreme Court to appoint an administrator to run the strata, paid by the strata (s.174). In Siddons v. Gilzean, 2018 BCCRT 448, another two-lot strata, the tribunal wrote that it “would not be the first deadlocked duplex to be run by an administrator”, naming a 2016 BC Supreme Court case.
- A voter for a lot. If there is no person to vote for a lot, the court can appoint someone to vote for it (s.58).
- Unanimous votes. The court override of a lone holdout on a unanimous vote (s.52) applies only to stratas of 10 or more lots. A duplex has no such route.
Tool 4: arbitration, if both agree
An owner can refer a dispute with the strata or with another owner to arbitration, a private hearing outside the tribunal and the court (s.177(2)). The dispute must be about the Act, the bylaws or rules, the common property, the use of a strata lot, money owing, or a decision of the strata or council (s.177(3)). The 2017 decision used the same idea for small day-to-day disputes: owners who agree in writing can choose a third party to decide.
Co-owners of one lot who disagree
Deadlock can also happen inside one lot. If two or more people share the vote for a lot and the chair is told they disagree on a matter, the chair must not count their vote (s.57(2)). In a duplex, that can leave the other lot’s single vote as the only one cast.
What to put in place before the next disagreement
The owners in 2017 BCCRT 26 had shared costs informally for years with earlier owners. It worked until a new owner arrived. These steps cost little and give a tribunal or a court a record to work from:
- Hold an AGM every year, with a budget passed and minutes kept (s.40, s.103).
- Collect strata fees into an operating fund and a reserve fund, at least 10% of the operating budget to the reserve (s.92; Regulation s.6.1(2)).
- Put every request for approval in writing, and answer in writing.
- Write down who repairs what, using Standard Bylaws 2 and 8 and your strata plan, and agree on it at a meeting.
- If you want a fixed way to break ties, talk to a lawyer about a bylaw for it. Any bylaw change takes a 3/4 vote, which in a duplex means both owners.
Our pages on the strata council and duplex stratas cover the rest of the rules for two owners. For three-lot stratas and the vote counts at each size, see when owners disagree.
We are building the StraPlex app for owners of 2 to 6 unit stratas, with requests, votes, meetings and minutes in one place, so each decision leaves a written record. The waitlist is below.
David Babakaiff, Co-Founder, VanPlex | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
