Proxies in a Strata Vote: How Decisions Get Made by the People Who Show Up

A strata's biggest decisions are made by the owners who turn up. That is not a complaint about apathy, it is how the counting rule works, and understanding it explains a lot about how buildings end up with the levies they have.

What the threshold actually counts

The Strata Property Act defines a 3/4 vote as a vote in favour of a resolution by at least 3/4 of the votes cast by eligible voters who are present in person or by proxy at the time the vote is taken and who have not abstained from voting.

Read the denominator carefully. It is votes cast at the meeting. Not all owners, not all units, not everyone who received notice.

An owner who stays home and sends nothing is not counted as a no. They are not counted at all. So a resolution needing a 3/4 vote can pass in a thinly attended meeting with a modest number of owners actually supporting it.

That is the mechanic that makes proxies matter.

How a proxy works

Under section 56 of the Strata Property Act, a person may vote in person or by proxy. The appointment of a proxy must be in writing and signed by the person appointing the proxy.

Section 56 also provides that a proxy stands in the place of the person appointing the proxy, and can do anything that person can do.

That is broad language, and it is worth pausing on before signing one casually. A general proxy hands over your voice at that meeting, including on resolutions that may be amended from the floor.

Directing your proxy

If you want your vote cast a particular way on a particular resolution, the document should say so.

Proxy forms are commonly written to direct the vote on named resolutions rather than to grant open discretion. Which approach you want depends on whether you trust the holder's judgment on things you have not anticipated, and on whether you have read the notice package. Our AGM and SGM guide covers the notice requirements, which is what gives you the resolutions in advance.

Check the bylaws too. Some stratas restrict who may act as a proxy holder, and those restrictions vary between buildings. Our bylaws versus rules guide covers where to find them and how they change.

Why proxies get collected before contested votes

When a strata faces a divisive decision, someone usually starts gathering proxies.

This is not sinister. A council that wants a needed roof project approved has a legitimate interest in making sure the meeting is quorate and the vote reflects owner sentiment. An owner group opposing a levy has the same interest in the other direction. Our special levies guide covers what those decisions cost.

What it means for you as an owner is simple. If you have a view on something, a signed piece of paper is the difference between having it counted and not.

What a buyer can learn from this

Read the attendance and voting records in the minutes, not just the decisions.

Minutes showing thin attendance and heavy proxy use describe a different governance culture than minutes showing a full room and real debate. Neither is automatically bad. A quiet, well-run building with a competent council and low turnout can be a fine place to own. A building where a small group consistently drives large financial decisions is worth understanding before you join it.

Our council minutes guide covers the wider set of signals, and reading them alongside the depreciation report tells you whether the decisions being made match the work the building needs.

During your purchase, the vote is not yours

Voting rights belong to owners. Until title transfers, you are not one.

So if a general meeting falls between your accepted offer and your completion date, the seller holds the vote on the home you are buying. If a special levy is on the agenda, that matters, and our Form B guide covers what gets disclosed and as of when.

Ask your lawyer or notary how a levy approved before completion is treated compared with one approved after. The timing drives the answer, and it is a question worth asking early rather than discovering late. Our strata documents checklist covers what to request.

Once you own

Attend the meetings. It is the least glamorous advice in strata ownership and the most consistently useful.

In our experience the owners who are surprised by their strata's decisions are, almost without exception, the owners who were not there. The notice package arrives two weeks ahead with the resolutions in it. Reading it takes twenty minutes, and sending a proxy when you cannot attend takes five.

We are agents rather than lawyers, and none of this is legal advice. Your lawyer or notary and the strata corporation are the right sources for a specific building or a specific vote.

Key takeaways

• A 3/4 vote counts 3/4 of votes cast at the meeting, not 3/4 of all owners.
• Owners who neither attend nor send a proxy are not counted at all.
• Under section 56, a proxy appointment must be in writing and signed, and the proxy can do anything the appointing owner could do.
• Bylaws may restrict who can hold a proxy, so read them.
• Voting rights belong to owners, so the seller holds the vote until title transfers to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a proxy in a strata vote?

A proxy is a written appointment letting someone else vote on an owner's behalf at a general meeting. Under section 56 of the Strata Property Act a person may vote in person or by proxy, and the appointment must be in writing and signed by the person appointing the proxy. Section 56 also provides that the proxy stands in the place of the appointing owner and can do anything that owner could do, which is broad authority worth pausing on before signing one casually, since a general proxy can extend to resolutions amended from the floor.

What can my proxy holder do?

Section 56 of the Strata Property Act provides that a proxy stands in the place of the person appointing the proxy and can do anything that person could do at the meeting. That is broad authority, which is why who gets appointed matters and why the appointment should not be signed casually. A general proxy hands over a voice at that meeting, including on resolutions that may be amended from the floor, so choosing someone whose judgment can be trusted on unanticipated items is worth thinking through.

Can I limit what my proxy votes on?

Yes. Proxy forms are commonly written to direct how a vote is cast on named resolutions rather than to grant open discretion to the proxy holder. If an owner wants their vote cast a particular way on a particular resolution, the document should say so explicitly rather than leaving it to the holder's judgment. Which approach makes sense depends on whether the owner trusts the holder's judgment on items not anticipated in the notice package, and on whether the owner has actually read that notice package before the meeting.

Does a 3/4 vote need 3/4 of all owners?

No. The Strata Property Act defines a 3/4 vote as at least 3/4 of the votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy at the time the vote is taken who have not abstained. An owner who stays home and sends no proxy is left out of the count entirely. That means a resolution needing a 3/4 vote can pass at a meeting with low attendance when only a small number of owners support it.

So a major decision can pass with few owners involved?

Yes, that is the practical effect of counting only votes cast rather than all owners. A poorly attended meeting can approve a significant resolution such as a special levy, a bylaw change, or a significant alteration to the building, which is exactly why proxies get collected before contested votes. A council pushing a needed roof project has a legitimate interest in making sure the meeting is quorate and reflects owner sentiment, and an owner group opposing a levy has the same interest in the other direction.

Who can hold my proxy?

Who can hold a proxy is set by a combination of the Strata Property Act and the specific strata's own bylaws, so read both rather than assuming the rule is the same everywhere. Bylaws sometimes restrict who may act as a proxy holder, and those restrictions vary between buildings, so a rule that applied in a previous strata does not necessarily apply in a new one. Confirm the current bylaws for the specific building before appointing anyone or accepting an appointment as a proxy holder.

Why does this matter to a buyer?

Understanding proxy voting matters to a buyer because it explains how decisions in a specific building get made. Minutes showing low attendance and heavy proxy use describe a different way of governing than minutes showing a full room and real debate, and either pattern can work. A quiet, well-run building with low turnout and a competent council can be a fine place to own, while a building where a small group keeps driving large financial decisions is worth understanding before you buy.

Can I vote before I complete my purchase?

No. Voting rights in a strata belong to registered owners, and until title actually transfers a buyer is not yet an owner, so the seller continues to hold the vote on the home being purchased throughout the purchase period. If a general meeting falls between an accepted offer and the completion date, the seller casts any vote, and that matters if a special levy or another significant resolution is on the agenda before the sale closes. A lawyer or notary can explain how the timing affects a specific transaction.

What if a vote happens between my offer and my completion?

Ask a lawyer or notary how the timing affects the specific purchase, since a special levy or other resolution approved before completion is a different situation from one approved after completion, and the timing drives the answer rather than a general rule. Until title transfers, the seller holds the vote and any resulting obligation attaches according to when the vote and the completion date actually fall. The Form B Information Certificate discloses what has been approved and as of what date, which is worth requesting close to completion.

Should I attend meetings once I own?

Yes, and this is the practical takeaway from how a 3/4 vote actually works. The owners who show up are the ones who decide what the building spends, since votes cast are what counts rather than the full ownership roll. Sending a proxy when attendance is not possible is the next best option, and in our experience the owners most surprised by their strata's decisions are almost always the ones who were not there and did not send anyone in their place.

Sources

• Strata Property Act, Part 4 (Strata Corporation Governance), BC Laws
• Strata Property Act, Part 1 (Definitions), BC Laws

Verified September 12, 2026. General information only, not legal advice. Bylaws vary by strata. Consult the strata corporation and your lawyer or notary.

Related FRIVE guides

• AGMs and SGMs, when meetings happen and what notice is required
• Council minutes red flags, reading the governance record
• Special levies, the decisions proxies get collected for
• Bylaws vs rules, where proxy restrictions live
• Form B, what is disclosed and as of when

Next Steps: Work with FRIVE

How a building votes tells you how it will handle its next big repair. That is readable in the minutes before you buy.

Start a conversation with the FRIVE team and we will read the governance record with you, or browse current Fraser Valley listings.