Does BC privacy law apply to strata corporations?

Yes. A strata corporation is an organisation for the purposes of BC's Personal Information Protection Act. Obtain legal advice on specific questions, and we will implement the technical controls required.

Which strata records must be kept permanently?

The Strata Property Act and regulations set out retention requirements, and some records, such as minutes, must be retained long-term. Check the Act and consult your manager or lawyer for specifics.

Can council use personal email accounts?

It is best avoided. Records in personal accounts can be lost when someone leaves. Use a corporation-owned address or a managed archive.

Is a cloud archive safe for strata records?

A reputable cloud service with multi-factor authentication and role-based access is generally safer than scattered personal devices. Choose a provider carefully and document the decision.

Can ITRE work with our management company?

Yes. We work alongside managers and platforms such as Condo Control, and we are happy to document a handover process that suits your corporation.

Strata Data Governance in BC: Records, Owners and Privacy

Strata corporations rarely think of themselves as data custodians, yet they hold bylaws, minutes, financial statements, depreciation reports, correspondence and personal information about every owner. Volunteers change, managers change and records scatter. This guide offers a sensible approach to organising and protecting strata information, with the caveat that the Strata Property Act and your own legal advisors define what must be kept and disclosed.

Know what the corporation holds

Start with an inventory. List the categories of records: governing documents, council minutes, financial records, insurance, engineering and depreciation reports, contracts, and owner and tenant information. For each, note where it lives today and who has a copy.

Most councils discover that important documents exist only on an individual's laptop or in a personal mailbox. Naming that risk is the first step to removing it.

A single archive with sensible access

Create one archive that belongs to the corporation, not to a person. A structured cloud folder or the management company's portal can serve, provided access is granted by role. Council members need broad access; owners need access to the documents they are entitled to; contractors need only what relates to their work.

The archive should survive changes of council. Give it a corporate administrator, such as the manager, document the structure and record who holds the administrator role.

Personal information of owners and tenants

Owner and tenant details are personal information, and BC's Personal Information Protection Act applies to strata corporations as organisations. Collect only what is needed, share it only with those who need it for council business and avoid circulating contact lists as widely attached files.

Email practices matter. Using blind copy for owner communications, avoiding forwarding of complaint correspondence and keeping sensitive matters in the archive rather than in an inbox all reduce unnecessary exposure.

Meetings, votes and minutes

Virtual and hybrid meetings are now common. Choose a platform with a reliable attendance record, a method for verifying owner identity and eligibility, and a way to record votes. Keep the record with the minutes, and ensure that recordings, if made, are stored and disposed of according to a documented policy.

Minutes are among the records the corporation must retain permanently. Store them in a form that will remain readable, and avoid proprietary formats that may not open in ten years.

Handover without drama

A change of council chair or property manager is the moment when information is most likely to be lost. Prepare a short handover checklist: administrator credentials transferred, archive structure explained, accounts and subscriptions listed, and outgoing members' access removed.

Finally, review annually. A one-hour check of who holds access, what is archived and what should be disposed of keeps the system healthy and prepares the corporation for the next transition.

Common mistakes we see

The commonest mistake is that the corporation's records belong to a person, not to the corporation. When that council member moves, the records leave with them. A second is the over-sharing of owner contact lists in group emails, which exposes personal information and invites complaints.

Councils also adopt tools informally. A free file-sharing account created by a volunteer may work for two years and then disappear when the volunteer's email address does. Choose tools on behalf of the corporation, record who administers them and make sure the manager knows where the records are. These steps take an afternoon and save an enormous amount of difficulty later.

Checklist to take to your next meeting

Inventory of record categories and where they are held
Single corporation-owned archive with role-based access
Owner and tenant information shared only on a need-to-know basis
Virtual meeting tool with attendance and vote records
Handover checklist for council and manager changes
Annual review of access and retention

Where this fits in your technology plan

Guidance works best as part of a coordinated programme rather than a one-off fix. These ITRE services address the subject directly.

01Microsoft 365 for Real Estate
Microsoft 365 for Real Estate is a tenant design and support service. We configure Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and the security stack so that deal rooms, listing teams and development projects each have a tidy, secure home.
02Developer & Builder Site IT
Developer and Builder Site IT provides temporary and permanent technology for sales centres, site trailers and project offices: connectivity, Wi-Fi, secure access to project files, cameras and phones, with a plan for demobilising cleanly when the project ends.
03Data & Reporting Dashboards
Data and Reporting Dashboards pull information from your CRM, accounting, property-management and transaction systems into a single model, so owners and managing brokers can see the state of the business without waiting for a month-end spreadsheet.

Take it to your next leadership meeting

Guidance is only useful when someone acts on it. If this article raised questions about your own office, development or portfolio, bring the checklist above to your next leadership meeting and assign an owner to each item. ITRE offers a free thirty-minute consultation to help you decide what to do first and what can wait.

Speak with an advisor

To discuss any of this in the context of your business, call (604) 632-4959 or write to info@SAZ.ca. You will speak with a senior advisor, and the guidance on this site is reviewed by Ali Sedighi, MBA. There is no obligation, no lock-in and no sales script.

Questions and answers

Does BC privacy law apply to strata corporations?: Yes. A strata corporation is an organisation for the purposes of BC's Personal Information Protection Act. Obtain legal advice on specific questions, and we will implement the technical controls required.
Which strata records must be kept permanently?: The Strata Property Act and regulations set out retention requirements, and some records, such as minutes, must be retained long-term. Check the Act and consult your manager or lawyer for specifics.
Can council use personal email accounts?: It is best avoided. Records in personal accounts can be lost when someone leaves. Use a corporation-owned address or a managed archive.
Is a cloud archive safe for strata records?: A reputable cloud service with multi-factor authentication and role-based access is generally safer than scattered personal devices. Choose a provider carefully and document the decision.
Can ITRE work with our management company?: Yes. We work alongside managers and platforms such as Condo Control, and we are happy to document a handover process that suits your corporation.