What counts as an after-hours emergency in a BC strata
The Strata Property Act does not give a list of emergencies. The BC government's guidance on handling emergencies in strata corporations does not define the word either. The examples it gives are water leaks, fires, floods and earthquakes.
The test in the Act
Section 98 of the Strata Property Act sets the test that matters for spending. A strata corporation can spend money from the operating fund or the contingency reserve fund without the usual approval if there are reasonable grounds to believe an immediate expenditure is necessary to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage.
Two limits come with it. The amount must not exceed the minimum needed for that purpose, and the strata must inform owners about the expenditure as soon as feasible.
What else the guidance allows in an emergency
- Council can meet on less than the usual one week's notice when members consent in advance or cannot be reached after reasonable attempts.
- Under the Standard Bylaws, owners and tenants must allow entry by an authorized person without notice when it is needed to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage.
- Under the Standard Bylaws, a council member may spend money to repair or replace common property if it is immediately required, even without delegated authority.
- A resolution passed by a 3/4 vote can be put into effect without the usual one-week wait when immediate action is needed.
Write your own definitions down
Because the Act sets a test and leaves the list to you, the person answering a resident at 2 a.m. needs your strata's own answer in writing. A workable after-hours policy sorts calls into three groups and says who acts on each.
- Immediate danger. Fire, gas, a medical situation, someone trapped. The caller is told to call 911 first.
- Urgent to your on-call. Active water, no heat in winter, no power, security.
- Waits for business hours. Noise, fobs, parking, a slow drain, a question about the bylaws.
These three groups are the ones rushproof uses. Each path uses your building list, your plumbers, your on-call rotation and your backup manager. For water, rushproof rings your plumbers first, then the on-call manager, the backup manager and the office.
rushproof builds an after-hours desk for property teams. Call the desk line and hear it. It answers at every hour.
236 204 0609Request an after-hours response build. No charge for the build, the test call or the written scope, and no obligation to proceed.
Sources
- Handling emergencies in strata corporations, Government of British Columbia (published April 22, 2024).
- Strata Property Act, Part 6, section 98 (unapproved expenditures), BC Laws.
This page is general information about BC strata rules, written for property managers. It is not legal advice. Your strata corporation may have filed bylaws that differ from the Standard Bylaws, so check your own.