This page sets out those rules, section by section, so you know how your duplex will be run before you buy into it.
The short version
- With fewer than 4 lots, all owners are on council under Standard Bylaw 9(2), so both duplex owners are the council.
- A general meeting needs owners holding 2/3 of the votes present, so in a duplex both owners must attend, at first (section 48(2)).
- If an owner misses a meeting twice, a week apart, the owners present form the quorum on the second date (section 48(3)).
- Standard Bylaws 18(2) and 27(6) give nobody a deciding vote when a strata plan has only 2 lots, so a tie stays a tie.
- A duplex strata is exempt from depreciation reports, because they apply to stratas of 5 or more lots, and it must still put at least 10% of its operating budget into reserve.
Two owners, one council
Standard Bylaw 9 says a council must have 3 to 7 members, then makes an exception in 9(2): if the strata plan has fewer than 4 strata lots or the strata corporation has fewer than 4 owners, all the owners are on the council. In a duplex, that is both of you. A strata can file its own bylaws that change this, so check the filed bylaws.
Council decisions are made by a majority of the council members present, under Standard Bylaw 18(1). Then 18(2) adds the duplex rule: unless there are only 2 strata lots in the strata plan, the president can break a tie with a second vote. In a duplex there is no such vote. When the two of you disagree at a council meeting, the decision does not pass.
Section 29(4) of the Act sets one vote per strata lot at council when all owners are on council, so a couple who own one half together still have one vote between them, the same as the owner next door.
General meetings, quorum, and what happens when one owner stays away
Some decisions can only be made at a general meeting of the owners: the budget, a special levy, a bylaw change. Section 53 gives each strata lot one vote at a general meeting, unless the strata plan sets different voting rights.
Section 48(2) sets the quorum, which is the number of votes that must be present before any business is done. For a strata with fewer than 4 lots or fewer than 4 owners, it is eligible voters holding 2/3 of the votes. In a duplex, one owner holds 1/2 of the votes, which is less than 2/3, so both owners must be present.
Section 48(3) handles the owner who does not come. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, if a quorum is not present within half an hour of the start time, the meeting stands adjourned to the same day and time the next week. If a quorum is still not present half an hour after the start of that second meeting, the eligible voters who are present form the quorum.
In a duplex, that means one owner can hold the meeting alone a week later. A majority vote is more than half of the votes cast by the voters present, and a 3/4 vote is three quarters of the votes cast, so the one owner present can pass both. A unanimous vote needs all the votes of all the eligible voters, so it still needs both owners.
In our view this is the rule duplex buyers most need to know, because it works in both directions. An owner who stops responding cannot stop the strata from making decisions forever. An owner who ignores meeting notices can come back to find the budget passed without them.
| Vote | What it needs | In a duplex, when both owners attend | At an adjourned meeting with one owner present |
|---|---|---|---|
| Majority vote (for example, the budget) | More than 1/2 of votes cast | Both must agree | The owner present can pass it |
| 3/4 vote (bylaw change, special levy) | 3/4 of votes cast | Both must agree | The owner present can pass it |
| Unanimous vote | All votes of all eligible voters | Both must agree | Cannot pass |
| Tie | Settled by the president's second vote in larger stratas | No deciding vote (Standard Bylaws 18(2) and 27(6)) | Not applicable |
Strata Property Act sections 1, 48 and 53, and the Standard Bylaws, read on BC Laws 23 October 2026. A strata's own filed bylaws can change quorum and some of these rules.
Notice, special meetings and proxies
The usual meeting rules still apply. Section 45 requires at least 2 weeks' written notice of an annual or special general meeting, with a description of the matters to be voted on and the proposed wording of any resolution that needs a 3/4, 80% or unanimous vote. Section 40 requires the annual general meeting within 2 months after the end of the strata's fiscal year.
Section 43 lets owners holding at least 20% of the votes demand a special general meeting. In a duplex, each owner holds 50%, so either owner can call one alone.
A proxy must be in writing and signed, under section 56. If you will be away, you can name someone to vote for you, so you keep your voice at a meeting you cannot attend.
Section 35 requires minutes that record the results of every vote. In a 2-owner strata it is tempting to agree things in conversation and write nothing down. Write it down. A new buyer, a lender or the tribunal will look for the minutes, and nothing else counts.
Money: fees, savings and the depreciation report
A duplex strata has a budget like any strata, approved by a majority vote at the annual general meeting. Since November 1, 2023, at least 10% of the yearly operating budget must go to the contingency reserve fund, which saves for repairs that happen less than once a year.
Since July 1, 2024, depreciation reports, which plan 30 years of repairs, are required every 5 years for stratas of 5 or more lots. A duplex is exempt. That leaves the two owners to plan for the roof and the siding on their own, and in our view a duplex strata should still keep a written list of its major items, their ages and a savings plan, even though no law requires one.
Each owner's share of the fee follows the unit entitlement in the strata plan. In a duplex with two homes of different sizes, the larger home usually pays the larger share.
When two owners cannot agree
Tied votes happen in duplex stratas, and the law gives them a path. Most strata disputes can go to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, an online tribunal for strata claims. As read on 9 October 2026, a strata claim costs $125 online or $150 by email or mail, plus $100 if you ask for a final decision.
Before that, talk, and write down what you agree. A short written plan for the next five years of repairs, signed by both owners and recorded in the minutes, prevents most disputes before they start.
If you are buying into a duplex strata, read the last two years of minutes and ask the seller how decisions have been made. Find out about any history of tied votes before you buy.
Selling your half of a duplex strata
Your strata lot is yours to sell on your own, with no vote and no consent from the other owner. Your buyer will ask for a Form B, which the strata must provide within one week of a request under section 59, and in a duplex that usually means you and your neighbour, as the council, produce it together.
If a special levy was approved before the sale, section 109 splits it by date: the seller owes the part payable before the date the home is conveyed, and the buyer owes the part payable on or after it. Buyers read the minutes for exactly this, so keep them complete.
Insurance in a duplex strata
A duplex strata must insure the building at full replacement value, the same as any strata, under section 149. The Province's page for strata corporations names strata-titled duplexes directly, and says a home owner's own insurance does not cover the strata corporation. Each owner still needs their own policy for contents, improvements, liability and the deductible.
With two owners, the two of you often arrange the strata's policy yourselves. Agree who handles the renewal, and put the policy and the yearly review in the minutes, as section 154 requires a report on insurance at each annual general meeting.
Questions buyers ask
More in Strata or Freehold
Also worth reading
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from the body that issues it. Rules and rates change, so each entry says when we checked it.
- Strata Property Act, Part 4: Governance (sections 25 to 65, including quorum in section 48 and votes in section 53). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Schedule of Standard Bylaws (bylaws 2, 8, 9, 18 and 27). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 1: Definitions and interpretation (section 1). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 9: Insurance (sections 149 to 160). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Insurance for strata corporations (bare land strata and strata-titled duplexes). Government of British Columbia. Published 23 July 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 14: Land titles (sections 239 to 266, including 242 and 246). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 6: Finances (sections 91 to 118). BC Laws. Current consolidation, accessed October 8, 2026.
- The contingency reserve fund (CRF) in strata corporations. Government of British Columbia. Published April 22, 2024, accessed October 8, 2026.
- Strata depreciation report requirements. Government of British Columbia. Published November 12, 2025, accessed October 8, 2026.
- Fees. BC Civil Resolution Tribunal. Current page, accessed October 8, 2026.
- Strata Property Regulation (fees for certificates and copies, record retention). BC Laws. Current consolidation, accessed October 8, 2026.
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