On November 16, 2015 proposed changes to the British Columbia Strata Property Act in Bill 40-2015 were approved by the provincial legislature. These changes will come into effect after related regulatory changes are made, which is expected to occur in early 2016. This amendment, among other things, will make it easier for strata corporations to terminate their strata by lowering the voting threshold required to terminate a strata corporation from a unanimous vote of all strata lot owners to an 80% vote of strata lot owners. For more information regarding this amendment please see "Proposed Amendment to the Strata Property Act: Terminating a Strata Corporation."
Effecting a strata windup can be beneficial for many reasons. As many older strata buildings in Vancouver and across the province reach the end of their life cycle, 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 are currently achievable.
However, winding up a strata corporation is a technical, complicated process, and legal advice should be sought early on in the process to help ensure a successful windup. Lawson Lundell's Strata Windup Group has valuable experience dealing with strata windups, including the first court approved windup in British Columbia, and can assist strata corporations, developers and real estate agents in navigating this process.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.