Strata Property Update 2025

Course Chairs
Lisa N. Mackie — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
Jennifer L. Neville — Hamilton & Company, New Westminster

About the Course Chairs
Lisa Mackie is the leader of the Strata Property Practice Group and a member of the firm's Insurance and Real Estate Practices. Her primary areas of practice are Strata Property Law and Residential Tenancy Law. At Alexander Holburn, Lisa was the chair of the Women’s Forum, a group dedicated to promoting business development and networking opportunities among our female lawyers, paralegals, and female clients. Prior to joining Alexander Holburn, Lisa worked in the law reform field as a legal researcher with the British Columbia Law Institute and the Canadian Centre for Elder Law Studies.

Lisa has represented clients at all levels of court in BC on strata property and residential tenancy law matters. Lisa also represents and advises clients on human rights complaints, privacy disputes, employment disputes, defamation matters, and arbitrations under the Strata Property Act. Lisa has earned significant recognition in the legal industry, and has been a trusted legal resource for various print and television media publications on strata property and residential tenancy issues, including: CBC Radio, CBC News, Canadian Lawyer Magazine, Canadian Apartment Magazine, Canadian Real Estate Wealth Magazine, CityTV Breakfast Television, Times Colonist, Metro Vancouver, The Province, Canadian Property Management Magazine, and the CHOA Journal.

Jennifer Neville has been providing advice to strata corporations and owners since 2003. She assists strata corporations and owners with a broad range of strata property issues, including bylaw and resolution drafting, compliance with the Strata Property Act, repairs, collections, strata financing, disputes and Civil Resolution Tribunal claims.

Jennifer regularly gives seminars for organizations such as the Professional Association of Managing Agents, the Strata Property Agents of BC, and the Condominium Home Owners Association. She is a contributing author to CLEBC's British Columbia Strata Property Practice Manual. In addition, she is a director of the Condominium Home Owners Association.

Jennifer's successful practice depends, not only on knowledge of the law, but her sharp ability to listen, communicate effectively, and respond to her clients' individual legal needs. Jennifer takes pride in providing tailored solutions that are practical, yet strategic.

Faculty
Anil K. Aggarwal — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
Alexander J. Chang — Lesperance Mendes, Vancouver
Philip Dougan — Citadel Law Corporation, Vancouver
Veronica P. Franco — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
Alyona Kokanova — Cleveland Doan LLP, White Rock
Taryn L. Mackie — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver
Amanda M. Magee — Lesperance Mendes, Vancouver
Lisa Niro — Bell Alliance LLP, Vancouver
Hasleen Sanghera — Hamilton & Company, New Westminster
Ben L. Scheidegger — Hamilton & Company, New Westminster
Emily Sheard — Wilson McCormack Law Group, New Westminster
Eve Shen — Hamilton & Company, New Westminster
Shawn M. Smith — Cleveland Doan LLP, White Rock
K. Kathrine Uppal — Bleay Both Uppal LLP, Vancouver

Course Materials Contributor
Juan Pablo Mendez Campos — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full bios

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British Columbia Strata Property Practice Manual

What you need to know to practise strata property law with success

This publication is essential for: lawyers who need guidance on advising and acting for clients in the strata property context

Current to: January 1, 2025

BC continues to undergo a high level of new strata construction and conversions, with windups now growing in number. With challenging legislative amendments and an active litigation and administrative law environment, the British Columbia Strata Property Practice Manual is your must-have resource for doing legal work in the strata property context. Focused on the nuances of practice in light of changing authorities, this manual explains requirements for creation, governance, operation, phasing, and winding up of a strata corporation, as well as financing, insurance, collections, rental, employment, human rights, and privacy issues. Relied on and cited by courts and tribunals, the manual offers help for legal professionals grappling with traditional and new venues for resolving strata disputes.

With this resource, you will be able to:

• read a strata plan and understand required land title filings
  
• work with the distinctions between strata lots, CP, and LCP
  
• gain confidence in your grasp of how sections operate and the meaning of types
  
• work effectively with strata bylaws
  
• advise your strata corporation, strata council and executive, section executive, strata lot owner, tenant, or occupant, strata manager, owner developer, and local government clients on their rights and responsibilities
  
• save drafting time with over 50 strata property forms and precedents

Buy today and be strata-savvy! View a sample from this book!

Highlights of the 2025 Update include:

• repeal of ability to waive depreciation report requirement by 3/4 vote approval
• new deadlines for obtaining depreciation reports
• new definition of "qualified person" who may prepare depreciation report
• requirement that depreciation report include executive summary
• BCSC declining to award costs personally against strata lot owner opposing court application after considering Enefer (BCSC) (2005)
• BCCA declining strata corporation standing to bring representative claim under REDMA
• BCCA dismissal of strata lot owner's application for production of legal opinions, confirming application of solicitor-client privilege
• expansion of CRT jurisdiction to include claims arising under Intimate Images Protection Act resulting in renaming of CRT Rules as CRT Standard Rules
• BCSC determination that CRT has expertise and procedural tools to decide commercial strata lot owner's "significantly unfair" damages claim of over $280,000
• factors the CRT to consider in deciding on amendment of dispute notices and responses
• CRT settlement conference process made permanent
• summaries of numerous judicial reviews of CRT decisions
• summaries of dozens of new CRT decisions on diverse matters
• summaries of numerous human rights decisions involving strata corporations
• description of BC Human Rights Tribunal Case Path Pilot extended in 2024
• BCCA decision affirming chambers judge's decision to not strike petition for correction of registered strata plan as abuse of process after land titles registrar found no correctible error within its jurisdiction

• notice periods
• quorum
• proxies
• voter-called meeting
• election of council
• invalid meeting or vote—what to do?

• tips and tricks on typical solicitor matters, including:
  • easement review and registration
  • consent resolutions
  • s. 43 demands
  • subdivision and sale of common property
  • licenses
  • bylaws

• updates to the RTA over the last year
• tension between the SPA and RTA on certain requirements (e.g., notice of entry requirements)
• a general overview of rentals in stratas, buying and selling a rented strata lot, moving into a rented strata lot, bylaw enforcement, and evictions
• solicitor and litigator perspectives

• what's involved in strata titling a property?
• conversions
• requirements of the owner developer
• amending strata plans
• mixed use developments
• airspace parcels
• sectioned stratas
• strata types
• phased stratas

• enforceability of occupancy limit bylaws
• reasonable accommodation in the context of alteration requests—perfect accommodation not required
• injury to dignity damages—increased ranges

• assessing your case for judicial review
• standard of review and available remedies
• preparing your materials
• getting your case to a hearing and dealing with self-represented litigants
• making your case at the hearing
• after judgment

• top tips for lawyers advising strata corporations in their capacity as an employer
• occupational health and safety considerations
• employment standards, duty to accommodate, etc.

• how to apply
• the test for appointment
• administrator orders
• choosing administrators
• advising administrators

• scenarios, practice management issues, case comments, hot topics