Here's a plain language walkthrough of the strata documents you'll get, what the terms actually mean and what numbers should catch your attention.
What is a strata anyway?
When you buy a condo, you're not just buying your unit. You're buying a share of the whole building, including the roof, elevators, pipes and hallways. That shared ownership group is called the strata corporation, and it's run by a strata council made up of owners who volunteer to manage the building's finances and decisions.
Your realtor will help you get what's called the strata documents package as part of your subject-to conditions during the purchase. This usually includes:
Meeting minutes for the last 2 years (AGM and council meetings)
The Depreciation Report
Financial statements and the Budget
Bylaws and Rules
The Form B (Information Certificate)
The building insurance policy
Engineering reports, if there are any
Let's break each one down.
Meeting minutes: the building's diary
The minutes are notes from strata council meetings and the yearly Annual General Meeting (AGM).
You're looking for patterns, not just single incidents. A leak mentioned once and fixed is normal. A leak mentioned in 3 consecutive meetings is a story you want to understand before you buy.
What to watch for:
Recurring maintenance issues (water ingress, elevator breakdowns, boiler problems)
Talk of a special levy or upcoming major repairs
Disputes between owners or with the property manager
Any mention of legal action
The depreciation report: the building's health checkup
This is one of the most important documents in the package. A depreciation report is a professional assessment of the building's major components, roof, elevators, plumbing, siding and so on, along with their expected lifespan and the cost to repair or replace them.
Think of it as a long-term maintenance forecast. It usually includes 3 funding scenarios showing how the strata could pay for upcoming work, most buildings land somewhere in the middle option. It's performed by a third party professional, not by the strata council itself, so it's meant to be an objective outside opinion on the building's condition.
In the past, stratas could vote to defer getting a depreciation report year after year, since a full report can be expensive. That loophole is gone. Under current BC regulations, stratas are now required to obtain a depreciation report and renew it at least every five years, which keeps buildings honest about their condition and maintenance needs instead of kicking the can down the road.
What to watch for:
How old is the report? If it's approaching the five year renewal mark, a new one may be coming and could reveal new costs
Are big-ticket items (roof, envelope, elevators) coming due in the next 5 years?
Does the contingency reserve fund actually match what the report recommends?
It doesn't predict the future perfectly, but it helps owners budget for what's coming.
Financial statements and the budget: the building's bank account
This tells you how much money the strata has on hand, how much it collects in monthly strata fees, and where that money goes. You'll see a line called the Contingency Reserve Fund, or CRF. This is the strata's savings account for big future repairs.
As a rough guide, a healthy CRF often sits somewhere around 25 to 50% of the building's annual operating budget, though this varies a lot by building age and size. A CRF that's basically empty next to a depreciation report full of upcoming work is a red flag worth asking about.
Strata fees themselves usually correlate to the size of your unit, since they're calculated based on square footage. As a general guideline, we suggest budgeting around 60 cents per square foot per month, though this can range quite a bit depending on the building's amenities, age and how it's managed. High strata fees aren't automatically a bad sign, sometimes it just means a well-funded reserve or a building with a pool and concierge, but either way, make sure to factor this recurring monthly cost into your budget the same way you would a mortgage payment.
What to watch for:
Is the CRF growing, shrinking or flat year over year?
Are strata fees keeping pace with rising costs, or have they been frozen for years?
Any accounts receivable listed, meaning owners who aren't paying their fees?
Bylaws and rules: what you can and can't do
Every strata has its own bylaws covering things like rentals, pets, renovations and noise. These matter just as much as the building's condition, especially if you have specific plans.
Common things to check:
Rental restrictions - stratas have to allow regular rentals, but could restrict short term rentals
Pet restrictions (number, size or breed limits)
Age restrictions
Rules on renovations, especially anything involving flooring or plumbing
The Form B: the most important document in the package
Most of what's in the strata documents package applies to the whole building. The Form B is different, it's issued specifically for the unit you're buying, and that makes it one of the most important documents you'll receive.
The Form B, or Information Certificate, confirms the current strata fees for that exact unit, any special levies owing, and whether the seller has any outstanding balance with the strata. It also confirms whether parking and storage are included with the unit, and how those spaces are numbered or assigned, which matters because parking and storage aren't always automatically included, and sometimes they're separately titled.
It will also tell you whether the parking or storage is common property or limited common property. Common property is shared by everyone in the building. Limited common property is technically shared, but assigned for the exclusive use of one unit, think of a parking stall or a storage locker that "belongs" to your unit even though it's legally part of the common property. This distinction matters if you ever want to sell, rent or reassign that space.
The Form B also gives you a snapshot of the strata's Contingency Reserve Fund at that point in time. It's usually one of the last pieces to arrive, and it's worth a final read-through before your subjects come off.
A quick word on special levies
A special levy, sometimes called a special assessment, is a one-time charge to owners for a specific project, like a new roof or repiping the building. These can range widely, from a few thousand dollars to well over $40,000 per unit depending on the scope of work.
If a levy is already approved but not yet collected, that cost usually follows the unit, not the seller, so it becomes your responsibility once you own it. Usually if a Special Levy is approved before you become the Owner it becomes the responsibility of the Seller. This is exactly the kind of detail your realtor and lawyer or notary should confirm before closing.
Not every special levy is bad.
Sometimes it's the responsible thing to do because it improves the building and protects property values. The important question is whether the repairs were expected and whether the building planned ahead.
Building Insurance: know your deductible
The strata's master insurance policy covers the building itself, but it comes with a deductible, and that deductible matters more than people realize. If damage happens and you're found responsible, say a burst hose in your washing machine floods the unit below, you're on the hook for the strata's deductible on that claim. This is exactly what personal condo insurance, sometimes called an HO-6 or strata unit policy, is meant to cover, so make sure you have it in place from day one of ownership.
Water damage deductibles in particular have been climbing across BC in recent years. As a rough guide, a water deductible in the $25,000 to $50,000 range is fairly healthy for a building today. If you see a deductible well above that, it can be a sign the building has a history of water issues or claims, and it's worth asking the strata or property manager about the claims history directly.
The bottom line
Strata documents aren't there to scare you off, they're there to protect you. A building with a thin reserve fund or a big levy coming isn't automatically a bad buy, it just means you're going in with your eyes open and your numbers straight.
Take your time with the package, ask questions, and don't be afraid to get a second set of eyes on anything that doesn't add up. That's what we're here for.
Have questions about a specific building or strata package? Reach out to Team Toly & Josie, we're happy to walk through it with you.
