Smoking and Cannabis Bylaws in BC Stratas

October 17, 2018 changed how BC stratas think about smoke. Cannabis legalization meant council inboxes filled with complaints about odours that had never been part of the building before, and a wave of stratas rewrote their bylaws between 2019 and 2022 to address it. The smoking cannabis bylaw BC strata landscape is now reasonably settled. Councils have clear authority to restrict, owners have clear paths to enforce smoke-migration claims, and the CRT has worked through enough cases that the rules are predictable. Below is the working framework: what stratas can prohibit, who's grandfathered, where balcony rules sit, and what to do if a neighbour's smoke is coming into your unit. We'll work primarily from SPA s. 119 on bylaw authority and the body of CRT case law that's developed since legalization.

What a strata can prohibit

A BC strata corporation can pass bylaws restricting smoking and cannabis use on its property under SPA s. 119 and the general bylaw-making power in s. 121. The bylaw must be passed by 3/4 vote at a general meeting and registered at the Land Title Office. Once in force, the bylaw can cover:

• Smoking in individual strata lots. Including residential units (subject to grandfathering).
• Smoking on balconies and patios. Even though these are part of the strata lot, the bylaw can restrict use because of impacts on adjacent owners.
• Smoking on common property. Hallways, lobbies, gyms, pools, rooftop decks, parking areas, exterior grounds.
• Cannabis cultivation. The federal Cannabis Act allows up to four plants per household, but stratas can restrict cultivation through bylaws addressing nuisance, odour, fire risk, or moisture.
• Vaping. Most modern smoking bylaws explicitly include vaping. If the bylaw is silent, vaping may not be covered.

The scope of restriction depends on how the bylaw is drafted. A bylaw that only mentions "tobacco" doesn't cover cannabis. A bylaw that only mentions "smoking" may or may not cover vaping depending on interpretation. We recommend explicit, comprehensive language: "tobacco, cannabis, vaping, and any other inhalation of combustible or vapourized substances."

Grandfathering of existing smokers

The same grandfathering principle that applies to pets applies to smokers. When a no-smoking bylaw is passed, smokers in residence at the time of registration are generally permitted to continue. The protection ends when the owner moves out or sells the unit, the new owner is subject to the bylaw without grandfathering.

This creates a transitional period that can last a decade or more in a building with long-term smokers. Some stratas accept that and let attrition do the work. Others try to be more aggressive about enforcement against grandfathered smokers, which usually fails at the CRT unless there's clear evidence of nuisance (separate from the smoking itself).

The grandfathering analysis becomes complicated when:

• A grandfathered smoker's habits change (frequency, location, time of day)
• A grandfathered smoker leases the unit to a tenant, does the tenant inherit grandfathering?
• The bylaw is replaced or amended, does grandfathering reset?

Courts and the CRT have generally held that grandfathering attaches to the unit and the original smoker, not to tenants or buyers. A tenant in a grandfathered unit is typically subject to the bylaw. An owner who moves out and rents to a tenant loses the grandfathering with respect to that tenant.

Balconies: the contested middle ground

Balconies are the most contested location in smoking bylaw enforcement. They're part of the strata lot (or designated as limited common property), but their use directly affects adjacent units through smoke migration and odour. Most modern bylaws expressly prohibit smoking on balconies precisely because of this impact.

The CRT has generally upheld balcony smoking restrictions when the bylaw clearly covers them, including for cannabis. Where bylaws are ambiguous ("no smoking on common property" without mentioning balconies) outcomes are more variable.

If your strata's bylaws don't address balconies explicitly, that's the biggest gap we'd recommend closing at the next AGM. It's a common oversight in older bylaw sets drafted before cannabis legalization.

Smoke migration between units

Even without a smoking bylaw, smoke migrating from one unit into another can be addressed under a general nuisance bylaw. Most strata bylaw sets include language prohibiting "unreasonable noise or other nuisance" on the strata property, and smoke migration falls squarely within that. The CRT has accepted nuisance-based claims in buildings with no specific smoking restriction.

Documentation matters. A successful smoke-migration claim usually includes:

• A complaint log with dates, times, conditions (windows open/closed), and what was smelled
• Photographs or video showing visible smoke when relevant
• Medical evidence if the complainant has asthma, allergies, or other conditions
• Witness statements from other affected neighbours
• Air quality readings if available (consumer-grade home meters)

The remedy granted by the CRT in these cases varies. Some decisions order outright cessation of smoking. Others order mitigation (sealing penetrations between units, HVAC adjustments, air purifiers) paid for by the strata or split between strata and offending owner. Outright eviction is rare and usually reserved for extreme cases with clear bylaw violations and refusal to mitigate.

Common areas: the easy case

Smoking in common areas is the simplest enforcement case. Lobbies, hallways, parking garages, rooftop decks, fitness rooms: these are unambiguously common property, and a no-smoking bylaw covering common property is enforceable without grandfathering complications.

Smoking near building entrances is sometimes covered by municipal bylaw as well. Many BC municipalities prohibit smoking within a set distance of building entrances regardless of strata bylaws. The two layers of restriction can both apply.

Enforcement under s. 135

The standard s. 135 process applies to smoking bylaw breaches. Written notice with particulars, opportunity to respond, hearing within four weeks if requested, written decision within one week. Fines up to $200 per breach under Regulation 7.1, with continuing-breach fines every seven days. See our bylaw infraction hearings BC post for the full procedure.

For smoking specifically, the evidence challenge is real. Unlike parking or pet violations, smoking happens behind closed doors. Council typically needs:

• Multiple complaints from different neighbours (not just one)
• A documented complaint log over weeks or months
• At minimum, smell-based witness statements; ideally physical evidence
• Pattern data (specific times, days of week, conditions)

A single incident is rarely enough. A documented pattern over six to twelve weeks usually is.

What owners should do

If you're a smoker buying into a BC strata, pull the bylaws before you sign. Look for any smoking restriction, balcony coverage, and grandfathering language. If you're already an owner facing a new no-smoking bylaw vote, attend the AGM and exercise your vote. The 3/4 threshold means you and a few neighbours can block a bylaw if there's enough resistance.

If you're being affected by a neighbour's smoke, start the complaint log today. The s. 135 process moves at the pace of evidence: strong documentation closes files in weeks, weak documentation drags them on for years. See common bylaw disputes BC for the broader enforcement context.

For councils trying to draft or update a smoking bylaw, contact our office. We have template bylaws that cover the current legal landscape (cannabis, vaping, balconies, and the modern grandfathering language) and we share them freely with stratas across the Sea to Sky.