A proposed amendment to the British Columbia Strata Property Act was introduced in the provincial legislature on October 8, 2015 through Bill 40-2015.
Amongst other things, this proposed amendment will make it easier for owners to terminate or wind-up a strata corporation. Under the current Strata Property Act, a unanimous vote of all strata lot owners is required to terminate a strata corporation. The proposed changes would lower this voting threshold to require only an 80% vote of strata lot owners, thereby making it easier for a strata corporation to be terminated.
The ability to terminate strata corporations is becoming an increasingly important issue in British Columbia. Many older strata buildings in Vancouver and across the province are reaching the end of their life cycle and, as a result, these buildings and related common property may require costly capital repairs which many owners would rather not pay. Additionally, as developers search for new development opportunities across the Lower Mainland, aging strata buildings (and more specifically the land beneath them) are becoming appealing assets as many of these older strata developments were built using lower density levels than is currently achievable.
The proposed changes to the Strata Property Act are based on recommendations made by the British Columbia Law Institute in its February 2015 Report on Terminating a Strata and are widely supported. Edward Wilson of Lawson Lundell LLP is the Urban Development Institute representative on the committee that published this report.
Strata corporations and developers should keep Bill 40-2015 on their radars as this Bill makes its way through the legislature.
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