Start Here | Rules by Size
Strata Rules for 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Units
In BC, the rules for a small strata change at 4 lots, at 5 lots and at 10 lots. Who sits on council, how many owners make a quorum, how many yes votes pass a resolution, and whether you need a depreciation report all depend on the number of strata lots. The table below shows every one of these rules for 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lots, with a 10-lot column to compare.
The Short Answer
- 01With fewer than 4 lots or fewer than 4 owners, every owner sits on council and a general meeting needs owners holding 2/3 of the votes to start (Standard Bylaw 9; Act s.48).
- 02A 3/4 vote counts the votes cast by owners present who did not abstain. If every owner votes, one "no" blocks it in a 2-lot or 3-lot strata, while 3 of 4 pass it in a 4-lot strata (s.1).
- 03Under 5 lots: no depreciation report, no electrical planning report, no developer disclosure statement under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA), and no court order to wind up.
- 04In a 2-lot strata the president has no tie-breaking vote, at council or at general meetings (Standard Bylaws 18 and 27).
- 05No court can override one owner who blocks a unanimous vote in a strata under 10 lots (s.52).
- 06The 10% reserve fund minimum, the insurance rules and Form B apply at every size.
Every Rule That Changes With Size
Each lot has one vote unless the strata has a Schedule of Voting Rights (s.53). The vote counts assume every owner votes and nobody abstains. Majority and 3/4 votes count only the votes cast by owners present in person or by proxy, so an owner who stays home changes the count. The 80% and unanimous counts include every eligible voter, present or not. The vote calculator works out any other mix.
| Rule | 2 lots | 3 lots | 4 lots | 5 lots | 6 lots | 10 lots | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is on council | Both owners | All 3 owners | 3 to 7 elected (all owners if fewer than 4 owners) | 3 to 7 elected | 3 to 7 elected | 3 to 7 elected | Standard Bylaw 9 |
| Council quorum | 2 | 2 | 2 (council of 3 or 4) | 2, or 3 with a council of 5 | 2, or 3 with a council of 5 or 6 | 2 to 4, by council size | Standard Bylaw 16 |
| Can owners remove a council member? | No | No | Yes, by majority vote (no, if all owners are on council) | Yes, by majority vote | Yes, by majority vote | Yes, by majority vote | Standard Bylaw 11 |
| General meeting quorum | 2/3 of votes: both owners | 2/3 of votes: 2 of 3 | 1/3 of votes: 2 of 4 | 1/3 of votes: 2 of 5 | 1/3 of votes: 2 of 6 | 1/3 of votes: 4 of 10 | Act s.48(2) |
| President can break a tie | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Standard Bylaws 18(2), 27(5) and (6) |
| Majority vote: yes votes needed if all vote | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | Act s.1 |
| 3/4 vote: yes votes needed if all vote | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | Act s.1 |
| 80% vote: yes votes needed, present or not | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | Act s.1 |
| Unanimous vote: yes votes needed | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | Act s.1 |
| Court can override one holdout on a unanimous vote | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Act s.52 |
| Owners needed to demand a special general meeting (20% of votes) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Act s.43 |
| Depreciation report | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt | At least every 5 years | At least every 5 years | At least every 5 years | Regulation s.6.21, s.6.22 |
| Electrical planning report | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt | Required | Required | Required | Regulation s.5.8 |
| Owners can request EV charging from | December 31, 2026 | December 31, 2026 | December 31, 2026 | The earlier of the first report or its deadline | The earlier of the first report or its deadline | The earlier of the first report or its deadline | Regulation s.5.4 |
| REDMA disclosure statement when a developer sells | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | REDMA s.1 |
| Court order needed to wind up | No (lender consent and a certificate instead) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Act s.273.1, s.274 |
| Bylaw change (Form I) can be filed by mail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, electronic filing | Province of BC, amending bylaws page |
Council quorum and removal assume the Standard Bylaws. A strata can file its own bylaws for these. The electrical planning report is due by December 31, 2026 in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Region, by December 31, 2028 elsewhere, and within 5 years of the plan being filed for a new strata (Regulation s.5.8). An existing strata that had fewer than 5 lots on December 31, 2023 does not need one.
Quorum and vote counts are our arithmetic on the rules in sections 1 and 48 of the Act, rounded up to whole votes.
4 Lots but Fewer Than 4 Owners
The council and quorum rules look at owners as well as lots. If one person or company owns 2 lots in a 4-lot strata, there are only 3 owners. Then every owner sits on council (Standard Bylaw 9), quorum rises to owners holding 2/3 of the votes (s.48), and no council member can be removed (Standard Bylaw 11).
Votes still go by lot, so the owner of 2 lots holds 2 of the 4 votes. The Act gives the other owners two routes if that owner uses those votes unfairly. A court can act on a significantly unfair act by anyone holding 50% or more of the votes (s.164), and the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) can hear disputes about voting by a person who holds 50% or more of the votes.
When Owners Do Not Turn Up
Unless the bylaws say otherwise, if a general meeting has no quorum within half an hour of its start time, it is adjourned to the same day and time the next week. At that adjourned meeting, the eligible voters present are the quorum (s.48(3)).
Majority and 3/4 votes count only the votes cast, so in a small strata the few owners who attend the adjourned meeting decide those votes. An 80% or unanimous vote still counts every eligible voter, so owners who stay away count against it.
What Each Size Means in Practice
2 lots: a strata duplex
Both owners are the council. A council meeting needs both, because a council of 2 has a quorum of 2, and a general meeting needs both too. The president has no tie-breaking vote at either kind of meeting, so a 1 to 1 vote fails.
Every 3/4 vote needs both owners when both vote: bylaw changes, special levies split by unit entitlement, and spending from the reserve fund outside the emergency and deductible cases. The court route for a safety repair levy that got more than half but less than 3/4 of the votes (s.173) does not help when the vote is 1 to 1, because 1 of 2 is exactly half.
The tools left for a deadlock are a claim at the CRT, a court order for a significantly unfair act or an order to perform a duty (s.164, s.165), a court-appointed administrator (s.174) and arbitration (s.177). Read more on the duplex strata page and on running a two-owner strata.
3 lots: how to run a strata with 3 owners
All 3 owners are the council, and any 2 make a council quorum. A general meeting needs owners holding 2/3 of the votes, so 2 of the 3. The president can break a tie.
The yearly budget passes with 2 yes votes. A 3/4 vote needs all 3 when all 3 vote, so one owner can block a bylaw change or a special levy. If one owner is absent or abstains, the other two can pass a 3/4 vote together, because 2 of 2 votes cast is 100%. An 80% vote and a unanimous vote both need all 3.
A 2 to 1 vote on a special levy for a safety or loss-prevention repair is more than half and less than 3/4, so the strata can ask the court to approve the levy within 90 days (s.173). The vote calculator shows each case.
4 lots: the first size with an elected council
With 4 owners, the strata elects a council of 3 to 7 at the AGM, and owners can remove a council member by majority vote. Quorum drops to 1/3 of the votes, which is 2 of 4.
A 3/4 vote passes with 3 of 4 yes votes, so one owner can no longer block a bylaw change alone. An 80% vote needs all 4, because 3 of 4 is 75%. A unanimous vote also needs all 4.
A 4-lot strata is still under the 5-lot line. It needs no depreciation report and no electrical planning report, a developer selling its lots files no REDMA disclosure statement, and it can wind up without a court order.
5 lots: four new duties
The fifth lot brings four duties. The strata must get a depreciation report at least every 5 years, prepared by a person from the Regulation's list of qualified professions. It must get an electrical planning report. A developer selling the lots must file a REDMA disclosure statement first, with a filing fee of $2,250 for fewer than 10 units, and hold deposits in trust. A wind-up needs a court order confirming the 80% vote, sought within 60 days.
The vote counts are 3 for a majority and 4 for both a 3/4 and an 80% vote. A council of 5 needs 3 members present to meet. The depreciation report page covers the deadlines.
6 lots: one owner holds less than 20%
A 6-lot strata has the same duties as a 5-lot strata. The vote counts move: 4 for a majority, 5 for a 3/4 vote, and 5 for an 80% vote.
This is the first size where one owner alone cannot demand a special general meeting. A demand needs owners holding 20% of the votes (s.43), and 1 of 6 is under 20%, so it takes 2 owners.
For comparison: 10 lots
At 10 lots or more, section 52 lets the strata ask the court to override a unanimous vote that failed because of the vote of one lot, or of several lots that together hold less than 5% of the votes. The strata needs a 3/4 vote to apply. No strata of 2 to 9 lots has this route. A 10-lot strata also files bylaw changes electronically through a subscriber.
Rules That Stay the Same at Every Size
- At least 10% of the operating budget goes to the contingency reserve fund (CRF) every year (Regulation s.6.1).
- Property insurance on the buildings at full replacement value, and liability insurance of at least $2,000,000 (Act s.149; Regulation s.9.2).
- A budget passed by majority vote at each annual general meeting (AGM), held within 2 months after the fiscal year ends (s.40, s.103).
- A bylaw change needs a 3/4 vote and has no effect until Form I is filed at the Land Title Office (s.128).
- Before the second AGM, a residential strata can change a bylaw only by a unanimous vote (s.127).
- Form B within 1 week for at most $35 plus 25 cents a page, and Form F within 1 week for at most $15 (s.59, s.115).
- The AGM can be skipped only when every eligible voter waives it in writing and agrees in writing to the budget and other business (s.41).
Common Questions
What are the rules for a small strata in BC? +
A small strata follows the same Strata Property Act as a large one, with a few rules that change by size. Under 4 lots or 4 owners, every owner is on council and quorum is 2/3 of the votes. Under 5 lots, no depreciation report or electrical planning report is needed and wind-up needs no court order. Under 10 lots, no court can override one owner on a unanimous vote.
How do you run a strata with 3 owners? +
All 3 owners are the council, and a general meeting needs 2 of the 3 present to start. The yearly budget passes with 2 yes votes. A 3/4 vote needs all 3 if all 3 vote, so a bylaw change or special levy needs everyone who votes to agree. The strata still needs a budget, a reserve fund contribution of at least 10% of the operating budget, insurance and records, like any other strata.
What is a two unit strata? +
A two unit strata is a strata plan with 2 strata lots, such as a strata-titled duplex. Both owners are the council, both must be present for quorum, the president has no tie-breaking vote, and any 3/4 vote needs both owners if both vote.
What are the rules for a 4 unit strata in BC? +
A 4 unit strata with 4 owners elects a council of 3 to 7 members, needs 2 of 4 present for quorum, and passes a 3/4 vote with 3 of 4 yes votes. An 80% or unanimous vote needs all 4. It is exempt from the depreciation report and the electrical planning report, and REDMA disclosure does not apply.
What happens with 4 lots but fewer than 4 owners? +
The rules for fewer than 4 owners apply. If one person owns 2 of the 4 lots, there are 3 owners: every owner is on council and quorum is 2/3 of the votes. Votes are still counted one per lot (s.53), so that owner holds 2 of the 4 votes.
Can one owner block a vote in a small strata? +
Yes, for some votes. If every owner votes, one "no" blocks a 3/4 vote in a 2-lot or 3-lot strata. One owner blocks an 80% vote in a 2, 3 or 4-lot strata, and one owner blocks a unanimous vote at any size under 10 lots, with no court override (s.52).
Does the president break a tie in a 2 unit strata? +
No. Standard Bylaw 18(2) removes the tie-breaking vote at council meetings when there are only 2 strata lots, and Standard Bylaw 27(6) does the same at general meetings. A tie in a 2-lot strata means the motion fails.
Does a 4 unit strata need a depreciation report? +
No. A strata is exempt "if and for so long as there are fewer than 5 strata lots" (Regulation s.6.22). The 10% minimum reserve fund contribution still applies.
Does a 5 or 6 unit strata need a depreciation report? +
Yes. A strata of 5 or more lots must get one at least every 5 years, and since July 1, 2024 owners can no longer vote to skip it (Regulation s.6.21). It also needs an electrical planning report.
Does REDMA apply to a 4-unit strata? +
No. REDMA covers 5 or more strata lots in a stratified building, so a developer selling 2 to 4 strata lots files no disclosure statement. The 3-business-day Home Buyer Rescission Period applies to those sales instead. REDMA does apply when 2 or more undivided co-ownership shares of one parcel are sold.
Does a small strata need a court order to wind up? +
Not under 5 lots. An 80% vote approves the wind-up, and a strata of fewer than 5 lots can file the written consent of every registered lender plus a Certificate of Strata Corporation instead of a court order (s.274). At 5 lots or more, the court must confirm the vote.
Can a small strata file bylaw changes by mail? +
Yes. The Province says a strata with 7 units or fewer can file Form I by mail to the New Westminster land title office, with a copy of the amended bylaws and a covering letter. A strata with more than 7 lots must file electronically through a subscriber such as a lawyer, notary or land surveyor.
Read Next
Official Sources
StraPlex waitlist
Get StraPlex when it opens
One app for 2 to 6 owners: the steps and documents to get your strata titles, then the budget, reserve fund, meetings, records and insurance dates once the strata exists. Join the waitlist and get access first.