Strata Bylaws

Strata bylaws are the internal rules that govern a BC strata corporation. They cover use of common property (parking, storage, amenity rooms), pet rules, smoking restrictions, alteration requirements, fine schedules for violations, and enforcement procedures. The BC Strata Property Act (SBC 1998, c. 43) sets out a default Schedule of Standard Bylaws that applies until a strata adopts its own bylaws by 3/4 vote at an AGM or SGM. Once adopted, bylaws must be registered at the BC Land Title Office to be enforceable against current and future owners.

The trap most BC strata buyers fall into: not actually reading the bylaws before subject removal. The Form B Information Certificate (see /glossary/form-b-information-certificate) gives you headline numbers, but the bylaws document — which the strata corporation must provide on request, typically for $0.25/page under section 4.2 of the Strata Property Regulation — is where you discover the no-pets-over-15kg rule, the rental-income clawback rules, the no-renovation-without-7-day-notice rule, and the fine schedule. Bill 44 (2022) (see /glossary/bill-44-strata-2022) voided every strata's rental-restriction bylaw effective November 24, 2022 — but strata corporations may still pass age-restriction bylaws (55+ only), short-term-rental restrictions (under 30 days), and per-unit pet limits, and may continue to enforce existing bylaws on alterations, smoking, and use of common property.