Strata & Condo OwnershipStrata Hub · Redevelopment

Strata wind-ups and redevelopment: the 80% vote

Jersey Li, PREC•8 min read•Updated: August 2026

An older low-rise concrete apartment building across the street from a redevelopment site

For most of the Strata Property Act's history, winding up a strata took a unanimous vote, which meant one owner could stop it. That changed on July 28, 2016, when amendments lowered the threshold to 80%. Since then, older buildings across Metro Vancouver have had a realistic path from "aging low-rise with a large repair bill" to "development site", and Burnaby has more of those buildings near transit than almost anywhere in the region.

If you own in an older Burnaby building, or you are thinking of buying into one, this is the process that could eventually decide what happens to your home. Here is how it actually runs.

How a Wind-Up Works

01.

A developer or the owners raise the idea

Usually it starts either with an unsolicited approach to the council, or with owners facing a repair bill large enough that rebuilding starts to look rational. In Burnaby, transit-oriented area density under Bill 47 has made more of these approaches viable near stations.

02.

Owners vote by majority to list the whole development

A strata may decide by majority vote at a general meeting to engage a brokerage to list the entire property, provided the listing contract is subject to the owners later passing the 80% wind-up vote and, where required, court confirmation.

03.

The 80% wind-up vote

The resolution needs 80% approval of all registered owners. This is not a vote of those present at the meeting: absent owners count as no votes, which is why turnout campaigns matter. For stratas with fewer than five lots, the 80% requirement is effectively unanimous.

04.

BC Supreme Court confirmation

Strata corporations with five or more lots must apply to the BC Supreme Court to approve the winding up and cancellation of the strata plan. The court weighs the interests of owners who voted against it, which is the main protection minority owners have.

05.

Sale, distribution, and cancellation

On completion the property sells as a whole, proceeds are distributed among owners, and the strata plan is cancelled. Timelines from first approach to funds in hand commonly run to years, not months.

The 80% is of all owners, not of those who show up

This is the detail people get wrong most often. Unlike a majority or 3/4 vote, the 80% wind-up threshold is measured against all registered owners. An owner who does not attend and does not send a proxy has, in practice, voted no. It is also why a strata with fewer than five lots effectively needs unanimity.

Why This Comes Up in Burnaby

Two pressures meet in the same buildings. Older low-rise and concrete stock reaches the stage where envelope, plumbing, and electrical work costs a meaningful fraction of unit value, and a special levy of that size is difficult for owners to accept. At the same time, the land can be worth considerably more than the building standing on it.

Provincial transit-oriented area rules sharpened that second pressure. Within 200 metres of a SkyTrain station, municipalities must permit at least 20 storeys; from 200 to 400 metres, 12 storeys; from 400 to 800 metres, 8 storeys. Burnaby has eleven stations, so a large amount of older strata stock now sits inside a ring where the permitted density is far greater than what is built today. The station-by-station picture is in the SkyTrain living guide.

If You Own in a Building Where This Is Being Discussed

Read the minutes carefully and go to the meetings. Wind-up conversations tend to surface in council minutes long before any formal resolution, usually as a note that a developer has made an approach. Because absent owners count against the 80%, attendance genuinely changes outcomes here in a way it does not for ordinary votes.

Get independent advice on value rather than relying on the number in the approach letter. What a developer offers for the whole building has to be tested against what the land could actually support and what your unit is worth on the open market today. If your building is instead facing a large repair, the comparison you are really making is between a levy and a sale, which is covered in what to do about a special levy.

If You Are Buying Into One

Redevelopment potential is a real feature of some older Burnaby buildings, and it can support pricing that the building's physical condition alone would not. It is also uncertain: processes stall, votes fail, and court confirmation is not automatic. I would not pay a premium purely for wind-up potential, and I would want to know exactly where any current discussion stands before writing.

The documents tell you more than the marketing does. Start with the Form B and the reserve fund, then read two years of minutes for any mention of an approach, a land appraisal, or a wind-up committee. Owners considering the equivalent decision on a detached lot face a related question, covered in sell, hold, or redevelop.

Frequently Asked Questions

What vote is needed to wind up a strata in BC?

An 80% vote. Amendments to the Strata Property Act that came into force on July 28, 2016 lowered the threshold from unanimous to 80%. Critically, this is 80% of all registered owners, not 80% of those present or voting by proxy at the meeting, so an owner who simply does not attend effectively votes against it. In strata corporations with fewer than five lots, an 80% requirement works out to be effectively unanimous.

Does a court have to approve a strata wind-up?

Yes, for most buildings. Once a termination resolution passes with at least 80% approval, strata corporations with five or more lots must apply to the Supreme Court of British Columbia to confirm the winding up and the cancellation of the strata plan. The court's role is to weigh the position of owners who opposed the resolution, which is the principal safeguard for a dissenting minority.

Can a majority of owners force me to sell my condo?

In effect, yes, if the 80% threshold is reached and the court confirms the resolution. That is the trade-off the 2016 amendments created: unanimity previously let a single owner block a wind-up, and the current framework instead relies on the 80% bar plus court confirmation to protect minority interests. If you would be strongly opposed to selling, the time to understand a building's redevelopment prospects is before you buy into it.

Why would a Burnaby strata consider winding up?

Two forces usually meet. Older buildings reach a point where envelope, plumbing, or electrical work costs a large fraction of what the units are worth, making a special levy hard to swallow. At the same time, land near SkyTrain stations can be worth considerably more than the existing building, particularly since Bill 47 set minimum transit-oriented area densities of up to 20 storeys within 200 metres of a station. When the repair bill and the land value cross, the conversation starts.

How does a possible wind-up affect the value of my unit?

It cuts both ways, and honestly the effect is hard to price. Genuine redevelopment interest can support values above what the building's condition alone would justify. An unresolved or contested process can do the opposite, because buyers and their lenders are cautious about a building whose future is uncertain. What I tell clients is to treat wind-up potential as an option with real value in some buildings, not as a number you can bank on.