The short answer
A BC strata owner renovating their own unit does not need a 3/4 vote. Standard Bylaw 5 requires the written approval of the strata corporation to alter structure, exterior, windows, doors, or common property inside the unit, and Bylaw 6 covers common property. That approval is a council decision. The 3/4 vote in section 71 applies to the strata corporation making its own changes.
Where the 3/4 vote myth comes from
Section 71 of the Strata Property Act says the strata corporation must not make a significant change in the use or appearance of common property except on immediate safety grounds, or by a 3/4 vote. There is also a carve-out worth knowing: electric vehicle charging infrastructure passes on a majority vote rather than 3/4.
Read the subject of that sentence. It is the strata corporation. Section 71 governs what the corporation does to common property on its own initiative: repainting the building a different colour, rebuilding the lobby, changing the landscaping scheme. Those are decisions made on behalf of every owner, spending money that belongs to every owner, so the Act sets a high bar and puts it to the ownership at a general meeting.
An owner renovating their own kitchen is a different transaction with a different rule. The owner pays, the owner benefits, and the decision runs through the strata council rather than the ownership as a whole. Conflating the two is what produces the bad advice.
The practical cost of the confusion is real. A general meeting has notice requirements and a schedule. A council decision does not. Owners who believe they need a 3/4 vote either wait months for an annual general meeting they did not need, or conclude the renovation is impossible and drop it.
What Bylaw 5 actually requires
Standard Bylaw 5 is titled Alterations to a strata lot, and it is short. An owner must obtain the written approval of the strata corporation before making an alteration to a strata lot that involves any of a listed set of things.
The list is specific, and it is worth reading in full rather than in summary, because owners tend to remember the first two items and forget the last one.
- (a) the structure of a building
- (b) the exterior of a building
- (c) chimneys, stairs, balconies or other things attached to the exterior of a building
- (d) doors, windows or skylights on the exterior of a building, or that front on the common property
- (e) fences, railings or similar structures that enclose a patio, balcony or yard
- (f) common property located within the boundaries of a strata lot
- (g) those parts of the strata lot which the strata corporation must insure under section 149 of the Act
Item (f) is the one that surprises people
Common property located within the boundaries of a strata lot. That phrase does a lot of work, and most owners have never considered it.
The Act defines common property as that part of the land and buildings shown on a strata plan that is not part of a strata lot. The word shown matters. Where your strata lot ends and common property begins is drawn on the strata plan and defined in the Act, and it does not follow the drywall you can see. A plumbing stack running through a wall in your unit, a structural element inside your ceiling, a shared duct: these can sit inside the space you live in and still be common property.
This is why so many strata kitchen and bathroom projects need approval even when the owner is certain the work is purely interior. Moving a sink or a toilet means touching drainage. Opening a wall between a kitchen and a living room may mean touching structure. On the projects we run, an interior renovation in a strata almost always lands on the Bylaw 5(1) list somewhere, and the assumption that it will not is the usual mistake.
Read your own strata plan before you scope the work. It is a registered document and it will tell you where the boundary sits in your building. Guessing from where the paint is costs more later than an hour with the plan costs now.
Bylaw 6, and the asymmetry that favours you inside your unit
Standard Bylaw 6 covers alterations to common property. An owner must obtain the written approval of the strata corporation before making an alteration to common property, including limited common property, or common assets. Limited common property is common property designated for the exclusive use of the owners of one or more strata lots, which in practice covers many balconies, patios, and parking stalls.
Now put the two bylaws side by side, because the difference between them is the most useful thing in this whole area and almost nobody points it out.
Bylaw 5(2) says the strata corporation must not unreasonably withhold its approval, but may require as a condition of its approval that the owner agree, in writing, to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration. Bylaw 6(2) contains the condition about expenses and stops there. There is no equivalent limit on the corporation's discretion.
So an owner has more say over changes inside their own strata lot than over anything touching common property. A council refusing a reasonable interior alteration is acting against a written standard. A council refusing to let you alter common property is exercising a discretion the Standard Bylaws do not restrict in the same way. Plan accordingly: the parts of your project that reach into common property are the parts to raise first and to have a fallback for.
Bylaw 5 also does not apply to a strata lot in a bare land strata plan, which is a different arrangement from the typical apartment or townhouse building.
| What it is | Definition | Approval to alter | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strata lot | The unit itself, with boundaries drawn on the registered strata plan | Written approval of the strata corporation under Bylaw 5, and the corporation must not unreasonably withhold it, if the work touches structure, exterior, windows, doors, common property inside the unit, or parts the corporation must insure | The owner, and the corporation may require a written agreement to that effect |
| Limited common property | Common property designated for the exclusive use of the owners of one or more strata lots | Written approval of the strata corporation under Bylaw 6, with no equivalent duty not to unreasonably withhold | The owner, and the corporation may require a written agreement to that effect |
| Common property | The part of the land and buildings shown on the strata plan that is not part of a strata lot | Written approval of the strata corporation under Bylaw 6 for an owner. A significant change in use or appearance made by the corporation itself needs a 3/4 vote under section 71, or a majority vote for EV charging infrastructure | The owner where the owner initiates it, and the corporation may require a written agreement. Corporation-initiated work is funded by the corporation |
The alteration agreement, and what that term really means
You will hear this document called an assumption of liability agreement. Be aware that this phrase is industry usage and not statutory language. What the Act's Standard Bylaws actually authorize is narrower and clearer: as a condition of its approval, the strata corporation may require that the owner agree, in writing, to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration. That written condition appears in both Bylaw 5(2) and Bylaw 6(2).
In practice the strata will send an agreement to sign before it issues the written approval. Read it. It is a contract you are signing, its terms are not fixed by the Act, and it can carry obligations well beyond the sentence in the bylaw.
Do not start work on the strength of a friendly email or a verbal yes from one council member. The bylaw says written approval of the strata corporation. Written is written, and a contractor who begins without it is exposing you to an order to restore the unit at your cost.
Your own bylaws govern, not the Standard Bylaws
This is the point that undoes most of what people read online, including the useful parts.
The Standard Bylaws apply only to the extent that a strata has not filed its own amendments at the Land Title Office. Most stratas have filed amendments. So the document that actually governs your renovation is your strata's own registered bylaws, which may extend the Bylaw 5 list, add procedural requirements, or change the approval route entirely.
Get those bylaws from the strata corporation or through a title search before you plan anything. A generic article, this one included, describes the default position under the Act. Your building may have moved off that default years ago, and the version that is registered is the version that binds you.
The same applies to your strata plan. Both documents are specific to your building, both are obtainable, and reading them is the cheapest step in the whole process.
What this means for scheduling and cost on a real job
Approval timing sits on the critical path. That is the part owners underestimate most. A strata council meets on its own schedule, and a contractor cannot legitimately start without the written approval in hand. On the work we run, the gap between submitting a request and holding a signed approval is the single largest scheduling unknown at the front of a strata project, and it is not something a builder controls.
The conditions attached to approval carry their own cost. Stratas commonly set rules about work hours, elevator booking and protection, parking for trades, and the route used for material delivery and debris removal. Each one is a real constraint on productivity. A crew that can only run a jackhammer between 9 and 4, can only book the elevator on certain days, and has to carry material through a single service corridor is not going to move at detached-house speed.
That is the honest reason strata renovations often run longer than the identical scope in a house. Noise limits and access limits, not difficulty. Price those constraints before you sign anything, because they are knowable in advance and they change the number.
One more scoping habit that saves money: assume a kitchen or bathroom will touch the Bylaw 5(1) list until you have confirmed otherwise from the plan. Plumbing and structure are involved in nearly every version of that work.
The order to work in
Sequence matters here more than in a detached-home renovation, because two of the steps are outside your control and both sit near the start.
- Get your strata's registered bylaws and your registered strata plan. Do this first, before design.
- Work out from the plan where your strata lot boundary sits and what inside your unit is common property.
- Scope the work against the Bylaw 5(1) list and against Bylaw 6, item by item.
- Submit the alteration request to council with drawings, a scope description, and your contractor's details.
- Read the alteration agreement properly before signing, and take advice on it if the terms are broad.
- Hold the written approval in hand before any trade starts work.
- Price the strata's conditions on hours, elevator access, parking, and disposal into the schedule and the contract.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a 3/4 vote to renovate my strata unit in North Vancouver?
No. The 3/4 vote in section 71 of the Strata Property Act applies when the strata corporation itself makes a significant change to the use or appearance of common property. An owner altering their own strata lot needs the written approval of the strata corporation under Standard Bylaw 5, which is a council-level decision rather than a vote at a general meeting. This is the most common piece of wrong advice on the subject.
Can my strata council refuse to approve my kitchen renovation?
For work inside your strata lot the council's discretion is limited. Standard Bylaw 5(2) says the strata corporation must not unreasonably withhold its approval, though it may require you to agree in writing to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration. For work touching common property under Bylaw 6 there is no equivalent duty, so a refusal there is harder to challenge. Check your own registered bylaws, since a strata may have amended these.
Why does moving a bathroom sink in my strata need approval when it is inside my unit?
Because drainage is often common property located within the boundaries of your strata lot, which is item (f) on the Standard Bylaw 5(1) list. The Act defines common property as the part of the land and buildings shown on the strata plan that is not part of a strata lot, and that boundary does not follow your drywall. Read your registered strata plan to find where the line falls in your building before scoping plumbing work.
Is my balcony common property or part of my unit?
In many buildings a balcony is limited common property, which the Act defines as common property designated for the exclusive use of the owners of one or more strata lots. Altering it falls under Standard Bylaw 6, which requires written approval from the strata corporation without the duty not to unreasonably withhold that applies inside a strata lot. Your registered strata plan is the document that tells you which category your balcony is in.
Does the Standard Bylaw 5 list apply to my building?
Only if your strata has not filed its own bylaw amendments at the Land Title Office, and most stratas have. The Standard Bylaws are the default position, and your strata's registered bylaws override them to the extent of any amendment. Get the registered bylaws from your strata corporation or through a title search rather than relying on a generic summary, including this one.
What is an assumption of liability agreement in a BC strata?
That term is industry usage rather than language from the Strata Property Act. What the Standard Bylaws authorize is a written condition on approval: under Bylaws 5(2) and 6(2) the strata corporation may require the owner to agree, in writing, to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration. The actual document you sign is a contract whose terms are not fixed by the Act, so read it carefully and take advice if it goes wide.
Can I start demolition once council has verbally agreed?
No. Standard Bylaws 5 and 6 both require the written approval of the strata corporation before an owner makes the alteration. A verbal yes from a council member, or an encouraging email, is not that. Starting without written approval in hand exposes you to being ordered to restore the unit at your own cost, and no reputable contractor should begin on that basis.
Why does a strata renovation take longer than the same work in a Lynn Valley house?
Noise rules and access rules, mostly. On the strata work we run, councils commonly set conditions on work hours, elevator booking and protection, trade parking, and the route used for deliveries and debris. Each condition reduces how many productive hours a crew gets in a day. The scope may be identical to a detached-home project in Lynn Valley or Edgemont, but the working conditions are not, and that shows up in the schedule.
Does the 3/4 vote rule apply to EV chargers in a BC strata?
Section 71 of the Strata Property Act sets a majority vote rather than a 3/4 vote for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which is a deliberate carve-out from the usual threshold for significant changes to common property made by the strata corporation. If you are an owner seeking to install a charger at your own stall, you are still in Bylaw 6 territory and need the written approval of the strata corporation.
Do these bylaws apply to a bare land strata in the District of North Vancouver?
Standard Bylaw 5 states that it does not apply to a strata lot in a bare land strata plan, which is a different arrangement from a typical apartment or townhouse building. Bare land stratas are more common in the District of North Vancouver's hillside subdivisions than in the City's apartment stock. Alterations to common property in a bare land strata still fall under Bylaw 6, and your own registered bylaws remain the governing document.
What should I give the strata council when I request approval?
Give them enough to make a decision in one meeting rather than deferring it: drawings, a written scope, the specific items on the Bylaw 5(1) list your work touches, and your contractor's details. Approval timing sits on the critical path of a strata renovation because council meets on its own schedule, so an incomplete request that has to come back a second time is expensive in a way that is easy to avoid.
Do I still need a City or District building permit if my strata approves the work?
Strata approval and municipal permits are separate requirements that answer to different authorities. Written approval under Bylaws 5 and 6 comes from your strata corporation under the Strata Property Act. A building permit comes from the City or District of North Vancouver under its own bylaws, and having one does not remove the need for the other. Confirm both routes at the start rather than discovering the second one mid-project.
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