Condo Smarts: Postal strike impacts notice of general meeting (2024)

Dear Tony:

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Our strata corporation issued its notice of general meeting on Nov. 10 by Canada Post. As of the 15th, only one person in our entire building had received the notice when the strike started.

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Have we given proper notice, even though it is clear the notice packages had not been delivered to everyone? Half of our owners receive notice by email; however, the remainder are still using post. One owner has demanded we courier all notices to.

What do we do now?

— Marney K.

Dear Marney:

We are going to have to pivot a bit here as the strike is disruptive to strata corporations and associations across the country.

In B.C., under the Strata Property Act, notice may be issued by several methods.

A notice, record or document that the strata corporation is required or permitted to give to a person under this Act, the bylaws or the rules must be given to the person directly to their strata lot, or if the person has provided the strata corporation with an address outside the strata plan for receiving notices and other records or documents, by leaving it with the person, or by mailing it to the address provided, or if the person has not provided the strata corporation with an address outside the strata plan for receiving notices and other records or documents, by leaving it with the person, by leaving it with an adult occupant of the person’s strata lot, by putting it under the door of the person’s strata lot, by mailing it to the person at the address of the strata lot, by putting it through a mail slot or in a mailbox used by the person for receiving mail, by faxing it to a fax number provided by the person, or by emailing it to an email address provided by the person for the purpose of receiving the notice, record or document.

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The notice, record or document may be addressed to the person by name, or to the person as owner or tenant.

A notice or other record or document that is given to a person under subsection (1) (a) (ii) or (b) (ii) to (vii) is conclusively deemed to have been given 4 days after it is left with an adult occupant, put under the door, mailed, put through the mail slot or in the mailbox, faxed or emailed.

Considering the disruption in notice, it would be prudent to reschedule the meeting and issue the notice in all the alternative methods at least 20 days in advance of the meeting.

Consider hand delivery to all strata lots, duplicate your email notice, and encourage owners to authorize email as a form of receiving notice.

Anyone who has provided a mailing address outside their strata lot address, contact them to request an email or fax number for this purpose to ensure they are properly informed.

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The strata corporation is not required to courier notice packages.

Make the extra effort and post the notice of meeting around your building and a link on your website, if you have one. Your meeting is being held by Zoom anyhow, so obviously owners are already engaged in electronic access.

Most of our 35,000 strata corporations in B.C. still use mail for their routine business, so the post is essential for operations.

Tony Gioventu is executive director of theCondominium Home Owners Association. Emailtony@choa.bc.ca.

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