Bylaws Refresh 2022

Bylaws Refresh 2022

Background

In 2020, British Columbia overhauled its Strata Property Act (SPA), which governs Strata Corporations. As part of the process new basic (template) bylaws for stratas were created. LLE Council struck a Bylaw Committee to review our current Bylaws and determine the best way to bring them in line with the revised SPA.

Upon review, the committee determined that the current bylaws contain some outdated bylaws and a few that are in conflict with the SPA, along with a number of minor typos including spelling, grammatical, punctuation and numbering errors. The committee decided that the most expedient way to accomplish its task was to start with the new base template bylaws and edit them to suit our strata’s needs. These new bylaws would then replace the current outdated bylaws in their entirety. To facilitate the process and ensure that everything was legal, Council hired strata bylaw lawyer Shawn Smith of Cleveland Doan LLP.

In the course of the update, numerous bylaws were reworded, modernized, moved, removed, expanded on or simplified. The purpose of this webpage is to highlight items of note that are different in the proposed bylaws and explain why.

If you notice something in the revised bylaws that concerns you, please bring it to Council’s attention so that it can be addressed.

Items of note that have changed in the proposed bylaws

Bylaws on Council elections: Our current bylaws are in conflict with the Act, which says members are to be elected to council at the AGM as a group of between 4 – 7 members and specific council positions are determined at the first council meeting. This means that while we can predetermine who will do which job, we cannot legally elect people by that method. The Act only prescribes four positions, the other members are Members-at-Large, however they can, and will, continue to hold Portfolios, which are determined by Council and the Strata Corporation. Also, the Act decrees that council positions are only for one year (or until the next AGM), we cannot deviate from that.

Bylaws on Rentals: Our current rental section is in conflict with the Act because we cannot legally have two classes of “Renters” or limit some Rentals the way our current bylaws do. Therefore our Holiday Rental and Short Term Rental bylaws have become: Short Term Accommodation bylaws. This section has been rewritten to be inline with the Act, while maintaining the essence of our current bylaws.

Items of note that have been removed in the proposed bylaws.

A number of our current bylaws are not in the proposed bylaws, this is because some are covered under the Act; some are unenforceable; and others will become Policies as we have been told that is where they belong. Also the forms which are currently addendums have been removed from the bylaws. Removing these items will simplify the process of amending them to suit our Strata Corporation’s future needs. Note: All future changes to Policies, Rules and Alteration Forms will be made during the year by Council and must be ratified at the next Annual General Meeting.

Specific bylaws that have been removed and rationale:

Proposed Policies and Recommendations from existing bylaws

Response Time Policy:

Upon receipt of an application for an Alteration, the strata council shall within four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of the Application or an Amended Application either request further information, approve or reject the Application or Amended Application in writing.

Notice of Council Meetings Policy:

The council must inform owners about a council meeting as soon as feasible after the meeting has been called.

Snow Accumulation Recommendation:

Residents should not allow substantial snow to accumulate that may cause water infiltration into the strata lot.

Condominium Owners Insurance Recommendation:

An owner should obtain and maintain a Condominium Owners Package insurance policy to cover:

• • the losses described in section 161 of the Act;
  • the deductible portion of the insurance claim against the Strata Corporation’s insurance policy if that owner is responsible for the loss or damage that gave right to the claim; and,
  • any betterments or changes to the buildings or fixtures built by the developer.

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Links to accompanying documents:

• Current Bylaws (PDF)

Proposed Bylaws

Following the April SGM, new bylaws on EV Charging Stations were added at the end of section 3. Use of strata lot and the bylaw on smoking was removed from the proposed bylaws so that it can be voted on separately. Later in May the Proposed Bylaws were amended to remove the requirement of Strata approval for alterations to the interior of a strata lot (except for alterations to load-bearing walls) and to make window screens the responsibility of each unit’s owner.

Please let Council know if there is any bylaw in the proposed package that would make you vote against the proposed bylaws so that we can remove it prior to the AGM package being sent out. Thank you.

• Proposed Bylaws (PDF)
• Contested proposed bylaws (PDF)