A Breakdown of the 5 Types of Strata Corporation Meetings

Every strata corporation must hold critical meetings throughout the year. The type, intention, and frequency of these gatherings vary by community, but most fall into the following categories: council meeting, annual general meeting, committee meeting, and special general meeting. Each meeting plays a vital role in the governance of the strata corporation, and understanding the structure and purpose is crucial to success. Read on to learn about the five different types of meetings, what happens at them, who attends, why they're important, and more.

Council Meeting

The most common Strata meeting, council meetings are meetings of elected leaders to conduct the Strata Corporation business. Council meetings should be orderly, respectful, and cordial, and only items included in the established agenda should be addressed unless an open forum is permitted. Minutes should also be taken and made available to owners after the meeting. The frequency, attendance, and notification requirements for council meetings vary by community and governing documents. However, residents will typically be made aware of an upcoming council meeting.

• Who attends? Elected leaders must attend and the strata manager or another management team member may also be present and help with preparation and execution.
• What's discussed? Corporation operations, including policy setting, maintenance reports, dispute resolutions, and future plans.
• When does it happen? Typically, monthly or quarterly.
• Why is it important? Things like budgets, landscaping, and emergency planning need constant attention, and this is the time in which the Council can get together to discuss such issues and the concerns and questions raised by owners and residents.

Annual General Meeting

Required by the Strata Property Act, annual general meetings (AGM) are the main meeting for the strata corporation. The AGM has both a legal and functional purpose. Similar to council meetings, at least a 21-day notice must be sent to all owners and the minutes should be taken and made available to residents within 14 days after the meeting.

• Who attends? All owners, councilmembers, and management representatives.
• What happens? Elect new council members, present and approve the annual budget, discuss actions taken by the council, hear president and committee reports, vote on proposed ¾ and majority vote resolutions, announce capital projects, celebrate success, and more.
• When does it happen? Once a year.
• Why is it important? It's an opportunity to address large-scale topics, the general state of the community, educate Owners, and showcase the Strata Corporations value.

Executive Session

When confidential and privileged matters need to be discussed or voted on, council will hold an executive session. These gatherings are closed to the public, and while homeowners have a right to know council is holding a session, specific details should not be shared. Because of the sensitive content, minutes shouldn't be distributed after a session, but actions and outcomes may be noted at a future meeting.

• Who attends? Council members and directly involved parties.
• What's discussed? Private matters such as homeowner appeals, personnel problems, delinquent members, and architectural violations.
• When does it happen? As needed, usually after a regular council meeting.    
• Why is it important? It's a safe space to navigate sensitive issues and topics.

Committee Meeting