In most strata and condo communities, decisions happen in meetings and outside of those regular meetings. They unfold in inboxes, text threads, driveway conversations, and quick phone calls squeezed between work and family life. The issue is that many of these decisions are not valid under the Strata Property Act or equivalent legislation. When a frustrated owner challenges a decision at the tribunal or in court, informal direction quickly becomes a liability.
The good news is that councils and managers do not need to choose between speed and compliance. With a few simple systems, it becomes possible to keep decisions moving between meetings without breaking the rules or drowning in email.
The Problem: Informal Directions, Real Liability
Across British Columbia and in most regions with strata or condo legislation, managers see the same pattern. A council member emails or calls and says “we have decided, please go ahead,” even though there was no properly convened meeting and no delegated authority in place. Courts and tribunals have been consistent about this. Decisions made between official council meetings, without proper delegation, are not valid decisions of the council.
Despite this, informal decisions still happen every day because buildings do not pause for governance. Water heaters fail, exterior doors break, elevators stall, and roof leaks cannot wait for the next scheduled meeting. Managers feel pressured to act, and councils often assume their individual instruction is enough. It might work for a while, but all it takes is one angry owner to unravel the entire process.
Tool 1: Sensible Delegation With Guardrails
One of the simplest ways to avoid governance headaches is to create clear delegation policies. Instead of pretending that quick emails count as council decisions, councils can pass formal resolutions that grant managers specific authority for well-defined situations.
A good delegation policy:
- Defines what counts as an emergency, such as life safety issues, active water ingress, or essential service outages.
- Sets spending caps or conditions, such as requiring a quick check-in with the rest of council if the expense will exceed a certain threshold.
- Makes it clear what the manager can approve alone and what must return to council.
When done correctly, managers can act immediately when something urgent breaks, and there is no need to “ratify” a decision later because the authority already exists. This protects councils, managers, and the building.
Tool 2: The Five Minute Micro Meeting
Another powerful and surprisingly underused tool is the micro meeting. Instead of trying to piece together a decision from a messy email thread, councils can simply agree to jump on a short phone or video call.
A micro meeting counts as a proper meeting because quorum is confirmed, the agenda item is stated, and the decision is recorded. This small amount of structure creates a legally defensible decision rather than an informal agreement that might fall apart in front of a tribunal.
For many residential stratas, this model is the easiest and fastest solution. Everyone understands how to join a quick call, and minutes can be drafted in minutes because the discussion was contained and focused.
Tool 3: Email Meetings, When Used Correctly
Email meetings are also an option where legislation allows electronic council meetings. The key is using them as actual meetings rather than long, unstructured email arguments.
A proper email meeting includes:
- A clear subject line and an initiating message that calls the meeting to order.
- A defined decision to be made and a voting deadline.
- A closing message that adjourns the meeting.
Handled this way, the email thread becomes a tidy transcript from which formal minutes can easily be prepared. It brings structure to a channel most councils already use, without relying on assumptions or half decisions.
Training Councils to Use the Tools
None of these strategies work if council members believe that sending an email is enough to direct major spending or policy changes. In a province where formal council education is minimal, managers end up carrying the responsibility of explaining what counts as a lawful decision.
A simple script helps shift expectations. Managers can say, “I cannot act on that email alone, but we can either use your existing delegated authority or schedule a five-minute meeting to make an official decision.” Over time, this reframes the process. Councils stop expecting that the president can make decisions on behalf of everyone, and managers stop absorbing risk they never agreed to take.
Where AI Fits In: Reducing the Email Avalanche
While governance tools solve the decision-making issue, AI tools like Unicli tackle a related problem: the overwhelming volume of communication that prevents managers from focusing on higher level work. Unicli integrates with Outlook and connects securely to each client’s governing documents, bylaws, and minutes. With one click, managers can generate accurate, bylaw-based responses to routine owner questions, such as pet rules or renovation guidelines.
Managers remain in control. They read the email, review the drafted response, and send it. Unicli handles the heavy lifting of finding the correct clause, summarizing the rule, and adding clarity and empathy. For a manager receiving hundreds or thousands of emails each month, this changes everything.
The Impact: Better Decisions and More Time for Real Work
When AI takes over routine communication and councils rely on proper governance tools, the day-to-day experience of strata management improves significantly. Managers who adopted AI tools fully reported higher revenue, better work quality, reduced stress, and more time for their families. Councils reported higher satisfaction because responses were faster, clearer, and more consistent.
Owners notice the improvement too. Even when the answer is a simple “no,” receiving a timely explanation grounded in bylaws builds trust that the system is working.
This Is Not Just a BC Issue
Although examples often refer to BC law, the tension between informal direction and formal authority exists everywhere. The tools remain the same. Thoughtful delegation, quick formal meetings, structured email meetings where permitted, and modern communication technology create better governance across Australia, the United States, and other Canadian provinces.
Legislation varies, but the universal goal is clear. Make it easy for councils to give lawful direction quickly so managers can act confidently rather than guessing what might hold up in front of a tribunal.
Bringing It All Together
Efficient decision making between meetings is not about finding shortcuts. It is about making good process so simple and accessible that everyone is willing to use it. Clear delegation, micro meetings, structured email meetings, and supportive AI tools help councils move quickly without sacrificing compliance or exposing managers to unnecessary risk.
If your council is still running the building through ad hoc emails and informal consent, now is the time to upgrade the playbook. The next broken water tank or roof leak is coming eventually. The question is whether your council will be ready when it does.
Learn more about Inspire Property Management, visit inspirepm.com
Would you like to read more articles on this topic? Read Efficient Decision Making between Regular Meetings by Inspire Property Management and Efficient Decision Making Between Meetings by Unicli.ai