New bylaws must be filed as approved by strata

Dear Tony: Our strata of 48 townhouses passed new bylaws in April. One of our council members agreed to file the bylaws that were issued with the notice, and properly passed by a three-quarters vote resolution with no amendments.

However, a new buyer has just moved in and produced a set of bylaws that have a number of changes from what we had passed. When challenged, the council member had indicated she chose to consult with a notary on the bylaws before they were filed and made a number of amendments and what she thought were corrections, and then filed the bylaws with her changes.

For example, we adopted a bylaw that limits the number of pets to one cat or one dog. The registered bylaws now say one cat and one dog, or additional pets as approved by council.

We contacted the land title registry, which has indicated it cannot undo what someone has filed on behalf of a strata corporation and advised that we obtain legal advice on the procedures.

We now have eight owners away for the summer and are at a stalemate for next steps. Conroy P., Summerland

Dear Conroy: The land title registry office is correct: It cannot file a correction. It is simply a filing office and not a regulator.

When a person files a bylaw amendment in the land title registry, they are also filing a Form I certificate of the strata corporation. The form indicates they have filed the bylaws approved at a general meeting; however, in your case, any such declaration is incorrect.

The person who filed the bylaws has misrepresented the information and has placed herself at risk for having potentially falsified the document and the bylaws.

Whatever bylaws a strata corporation approves at a general meeting, the strata corporation has an obligation to file. No corrections, no amendments, no changes. The best and easiest solution is for the strata corporation to convene a new general meeting, vote on the original bylaws and once ratified, instruct its lawyer’s office to file the bylaws as passed and repeal the incorrect bylaws that were filed.

If you cannot reach a three-quarters vote to repeal the incorrect bylaws, an owner or tenant may make an application to the Civil Resolution Tribunal, commence an arbitration or file an application with the Supreme Court of B.C. to order the bylaws as unenforceable as they were not the bylaws approved by the owners at a general meeting.

This also places your strata corporation in an extremely awkward situation in relation to your current bylaws and any measure of enforcement. New buyers rely on the bylaws filed in the land title registry when they purchase, even though your bylaws are significantly different.

Your strata corporation may also wish to consider a complaint against the notary if they did recommend any changes, as the writing of bylaws and constitutions is a practice of law in B.C.