How to File a CRT Claim Against Your Strata

If your strata council won't return your records request, won't repair the leak in your unit, or imposed a bylaw fine without a hearing, the Civil Resolution Tribunal is your remedy. We get calls every week from owners across the Sea to Sky who've hit a wall with their council and want to know how to file a CRT claim against strata. The answer is: it's straightforward, it's online, and it costs less than $200. Below is the full walkthrough: eligibility, claim types, the Solution Explorer, fees, response timelines, and what you can realistically expect.

Before you file: confirm you're eligible

You need to be on title to a strata lot (a registered owner) to file most strata claims. Tenants can file in limited circumstances: where the bylaws bind tenants directly, where a tenant's rights under SPA s. 146 are affected, or where a tenant has been improperly fined. Family members of owners, prospective buyers, and former owners generally cannot file unless they were owners at the time the cause of action arose.

If you sold the unit but the issue arose while you owned it, you may still have standing to file, particularly for monetary claims like a refund of an improper deductible charge. Talk to a strata advisor or check the CRT's eligibility tool in the Solution Explorer if you're unsure.

You also need a current dispute. The CRT won't issue advisory opinions or rule on hypothetical situations. If your strata is about to impose a fine but hasn't yet, there's nothing to file against.

Make sure you've tried internal steps first

The Strata Property Act builds in three internal dispute mechanisms that the CRT expects you to use before filing:

1. A written records request under SPA s. 35 and s. 36. The strata has 14 days to produce records (2 weeks for owners requesting their own ownership records).
2. Raising the matter at a council meeting. Councils have to record the issue in minutes once it's formally raised.
3. Requesting a hearing under SPA s. 173. A formal council appearance where the strata must issue a written decision within one week.

You don't legally have to do all three before filing. But tribunal decisions consistently note whether the owner did, and the answer affects credibility. We always advise owners: do the paperwork first, give the strata the chance to fix the problem, then escalate.

What you can claim

The CRT has mandatory jurisdiction over most strata disputes under s. 121 of the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act. The most common owner-against-strata claim categories:

• Records access. Refusal to produce minutes, financials, bylaws, contracts, insurance information.
• Bylaw fines. Fines imposed without a hearing, fines on unenforceable bylaws, fines for non-existent infractions.
• Repair and maintenance. Strata's failure to repair common property (envelope leaks, balcony issues, common-area hazards).
• Hearing procedure. Denial of a s. 173 hearing, failure to issue a written decision, hearings conducted without notice.
• Insurance deductibles. Strata charging a deductible to your account improperly under s. 158.
• Meeting and voting procedure. Improper quorum, mishandled votes, invalid resolutions.
• Strata fees and special levies. Disputes over the validity of a levy, the calculation of fees, or the lien process.
• Discrimination and unenforceable bylaws. Bylaws that violate the Human Rights Code or the SPA.

Claims that don't belong at the CRT: building defects over $25,000 (BC Supreme Court), foreclosure proceedings, real-estate transfer disputes, anything criminal.

Step 1: Open the Solution Explorer

The Solution Explorer at civilresolutionbc.ca is the CRT's intake tool. It asks a series of plain-language questions about your dispute and routes you to either:

• A self-help resource (if your issue can be solved without filing)
• The strata application form (if you need to file)
• A referral to another body (if the CRT doesn't have jurisdiction)

This step takes about 20 minutes. Have your strata's full corporate name (it appears as "The Owners, Strata Plan XXX" on your Form B and on minutes) and address ready. The Solution Explorer produces a draft Dispute Notice based on your answers. Read it carefully and edit before submitting.

Step 2: Draft the Dispute Notice

The Dispute Notice is the single most important document in your file. It's a short summary of your dispute, the remedy you want, and the relevant dates. The tribunal member who eventually decides your case will read this first. Keep it factual, chronological, and free of editorial.

A good Dispute Notice includes:

• The date of the underlying event (bylaw fine, records refusal, repair issue)
• The internal steps you took (records request, council appearance, s. 173 hearing)
• The specific outcome you're asking for (production of records, reversal of fine, repair order, refund of $X)
• Any SPA sections you're relying on

A bad Dispute Notice reads like a complaint letter. Tribunal members report on this in decisions: emotional language hurts credibility even when the underlying claim is sound.

Step 3: Pay the fee and submit

The filing fee is $125 for most strata claims (claims under $3,000 in monetary value or non-monetary claims) and $175 for claims between $3,000 and $25,000. Payment is online by credit card. Fee waivers are available for low-income applicants; the Solution Explorer asks about this during intake.

Once you submit, the CRT generates the official Dispute Notice and arranges for service on the strata. Service is usually by registered mail or process server. The CRT handles service; you don't have to do it yourself.

Step 4: The strata's 14-day response window

Once the strata is served, it has 14 days to file a Response. Most strata corporations meet this deadline. Failing to respond results in a default decision against the strata, which no council wants. If the response is filed late, the CRT may still accept it with a reasonable explanation, but late responses look bad.

The Response will either accept liability (rare), dispute the facts, dispute the remedy, or raise a procedural objection. Whatever the response says, you'll see it in the portal and have a chance to react in the negotiation phase.

Step 5: Negotiation, your best chance to settle

The negotiation phase runs 14 to 30 days after the strata's Response is filed. You and the strata can message each other directly through the portal. There's no facilitator. This is your best chance to settle for two reasons:

1. Speed. Settling here closes the file in weeks, not months.
2. Control. You can negotiate terms that a tribunal can't order: apologies, future-conduct commitments, payment plans.

A meaningful share of strata files resolve in negotiation. The ones that do tend to have one of the following: a clear legal answer (the strata realizes it will lose), a manageable financial amount in dispute, or a relationship both parties want to preserve.

If you're going to settle, get the settlement in writing through the CRT portal. That creates an enforceable settlement agreement.

Step 6: Facilitation, decision, and enforcement

If negotiation fails, a CRT case manager joins for facilitation. The case manager is a trained mediator who will talk to each side, draft settlement terms, and try to bridge the gap. Most files that didn't settle in negotiation settle here.

If facilitation also fails, the file moves to a tribunal member for a written decision. You'll exchange evidence, submit written argument, and wait 90 to 180 days for the decision. The decision is published on CanLII and binding. Enforcement runs through the BC Supreme Court. See our full CRT process pillar guide for the enforcement mechanics.

Common mistakes owners make

After watching hundreds of owner-filed files, the patterns of avoidable errors are clear:

• Skipping the s. 173 hearing. It costs you nothing and gives you a paper trail.
• Writing the Dispute Notice as a rant. Cut the editorial. Stick to facts.
• Not keeping copies of correspondence. Email everything to the strata in writing. Save every reply.
• Filing too late. Two-year limitation clock starts at the event, not when you decided to fight.
• Mixing too many issues. A clean file is about one or two clear issues. A file with ten complaints gets dismissed as scattershot.
• Ignoring settlement opportunities. The case manager's settlement offers are usually closer to what a tribunal would order than people think.

Owners who get help at the Dispute Notice stage (a knowledgeable neighbour, a strata advisor, or in rare cases a lawyer) tend to fare best. Read our pieces on common CRT decisions and records request basics before you file, and consider whether mediation might serve you faster than the CRT for your specific issue.

When you should not file

The CRT is a useful tool, but it's not free of cost. Time, energy, and relationship damage all factor in. Don't file if:

• The dispute is genuinely minor (a $50 fine you'd pay rather than spend three months arguing about)
• You're using the CRT to punish a council you dislike, not resolve a real issue
• The underlying issue can be fixed by changing council at the next AGM
• The relief you want isn't something the CRT can order (e.g., firing a manager: only council can do that)

When in doubt, talk to someone who's been through one. We're happy to discuss your situation informally. Reach out and we'll tell you honestly whether your file has legs.