Statutory Records Vault & Section 35 Compliance

The Statutory Records Vault provides continuous, self-service digital access to mandatory strata corporation records pursuant to the British Columbia Strata Property Act (SPA) Section 35. Owners and authorized residents can inspect, search, and download official records around the clock, while strata council members and property managers can manage statutory requests and monitor document retention lifecycles.

[!NOTE] Outside British Columbia: the statute sections this guide cites are BC law, and Pastrata shows them only to buildings in BC. A building in another jurisdiction sees the same screens with neutral wording, and should check its own bylaws and statute for the rules that apply.

Required Roles & Capabilities

Access to records in the vault is determined by your verified role and assigned building capabilities:

Understanding Statutory Record Categories (BC SPA s. 35)

Under BC SPA Section 35, the strata corporation is legally obligated to maintain and make available the following categories of records:

1. Minutes: Approved minutes of all council meetings, Annual General Meetings (AGMs), and Special General Meetings (SGMs). Personal details are removed from the copy members see to satisfy BC Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) requirements while preserving the governance record; such records are marked Personal details removed.
2. Bylaws & Rules: Current registered bylaws filed in the Land Title Office, including any filed amendments and current building rules.
3. Financials & Budgets: Approved annual operating budgets, contingency reserve fund (CRF) balances, quarterly financial statements, and annual audited accounts.
4. Insurance Policies: Current insurance binder, policy certificates, coverage limits, and deductible schedules.
5. Depreciation Reports: Statutory reserve study reports prepared under SPA Section 94, including 30-year maintenance forecasts and reserve funding models.
6. Contracts & Agreements: Active vendor service contracts, building management agreements, waste disposal agreements, and elevator maintenance contracts.
7. Council Directory: The current roster of elected strata council members and executive officers.

Which Records the Vault Lists

The vault lists the same records you can open in Documents, under the same visibility rules: a tenant never sees an owner-only record, and a resident never sees one kept for council and managers. Draft and final documents are both listed, as they are in Documents. A record whose upload never finished has no file to open, so it is not listed. Council-only records are listed only to members with privacy-redaction authority.

How to Access and Download Records

Follow these steps to locate and download statutory building records:

1. Navigate to Documents in the primary navigation and select Statutory Records Vault (or open /[building]/records-vault).
2. Select the relevant statutory category tab (e.g., Minutes, Bylaws & Rules, or Insurance).
3. Use the search bar to filter records by keywords, document title, or calendar year.
4. Click Inspect on any document row to view statutory retention details, category classifications, and upload timestamps.
5. Click Download to receive the official PDF.

[!NOTE] Every file downloaded through the Records Vault is stamped with a running footer compliance watermark containing your user verification details, download timestamp (UTC), and document SHA-256 digest. An immutable RECORD_INSPECTED or FILE_DOWNLOADED event is automatically appended to the strata audit trail.

Submitting a Statutory Records Request (BC SPA s. 36)

If a historical physical record or un-digitized document is not yet published in the self-serve vault, owners and authorized tenants can submit a formal statutory request:

1. In the Records Vault, click Request Records (or open /[building]/records-vault/request).
2. Select the requested statutory categories and specify the date range.
3. If an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Special General Meeting (SGM) is coming up within the next 14 days, check the General Meeting Priority checkbox.
   • Standard Request: the response deadline is 14 calendar days from submission.
   • Bylaws or rules (BC): a request that includes the bylaws or rules is due within one week, the deadline BC SPA s. 36(3) sets for them. Other records are due within two weeks. The request form shows the shorter deadline as soon as you tick Bylaws.
   • General Meeting Priority: the response deadline is shortened to 7 calendar days. This is Pastrata's own faster deadline, not a statutory one.
4. Submit the request. You can monitor the real-time countdown badge on your dashboard.

Using the Records Vault on the Mobile App

Owners and residents can also browse the vault and submit requests from the Pastrata mobile app:

1. Open the Documents tab and tap Statutory Records Vault.
2. Use the category chips to filter records, or choose Council directory to see the current council roster. Tap a record to open the watermarked copy. Mobile downloads are watermarked and logged to the audit trail in the same way as web downloads.
3. Choose My requests to follow the status and deadline of the records requests you have submitted.
4. Tap Request records, select the categories, describe the records you need, and submit. If an AGM or SGM is scheduled within the next 14 days, the 7-day deadline is applied automatically.

Council fulfillment, refusals, compliance certificates, and retention review are available on the web app only.

Council Fulfillment & Section 36 Compliance Certificates

Strata council members and licensed property managers fulfill incoming records requests via the management workbench:

1. Open /[building]/records-vault/manage-requests.
2. Review pending requests organized by statutory countdown priority (DUE_IN_7_DAYS, DUE_IN_3_DAYS, OVERDUE).
3. Click Fulfill Request to link existing vault documents or upload fresh digital scans through the privacy scanner.
4. If an owner alleges non-disclosure or files a dispute, click Generate Statutory Compliance Certificate.
5. The system generates an evidentiary PDF, sealed with a SHA-256 digest, detailing the request's dates, its statutory deadline (in BC, under SPA s. 36(3)), inspection timestamps, download receipts and uninterrupted digital access. It records what the audit log shows; it is not legal advice.

Statutory Retention Lifecycles & Disposal Review

Every record is kept for a set period. In BC, SPA s. 35(3) leaves the periods to the Strata Property Regulation (s. 4.1), and each record's label names the provision:

• Permanent Records: strata plans, resolutions and depreciation reports (SPR s. 4.1(2)). Pastrata also keeps minutes and bylaws permanently, longer than the regulation's minimum. None of these can be disposed of or purged.
• 6 Years After Expiry: contracts and insurance policies are kept for 6 years after they end (SPR s. 4.1(4)). Open the record with Inspect and set Record ends on; until that date is set, the record is never flagged for disposal.
• 6-Year Records: financial statements, budgets, bank records and invoices are kept for 6 years from the record date (SPR s. 4.1(3)).
• 2-Year Records: correspondence, notices, proxies and Form K tenant notices are kept for 2 years (SPR s. 4.1(5)).

Outside BC the same periods apply, and the labels name no statute.

Pastrata's automated retention scheduler reviews the repository daily. Records whose period has run are flagged for council disposal review, and once approved can be purged with a cryptographic receipt. A record still inside its period cannot be approved for disposal.