BC Strata Buyer's Guide: Timeline and Glossary

Buying a strata lot in British Columbia has its own vocabulary and its own deadlines, including a rescission period that starts the moment your offer is accepted. This guide lays out the steps in order and finishes with a glossary of strata terms.

Step 1: Size up the strata before you offer

Find the building on the CondoShield map and check its age and size. In BC, age is a strong signal: many stratas built from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s have been through, or still face, building envelope remediation. Ask the listing agent whether the seller can share the Form B, the latest depreciation report and recent minutes before you write an offer. Many will.

Step 2: Write subjects that give you time

Most BC offers include a "subject to review of strata documents" clause. Give it enough days for the strata corporation to respond. Form B must be provided within one week of a request, and records such as minutes and correspondence within two weeks. If the documents aren't ready, a three-day subject period is a gamble.

Step 3: Know your 3 business days

Once your offer is accepted, the Home Buyer Rescission Period gives you 3 business days to back out by written notice, for any reason. If you use it, you pay the seller 0.25% of the purchase price, which comes out of your deposit. You can't waive this right, but it's short. Treat it as a safety valve, not as your review period.

Step 4: Order the documents

The seller, or someone the seller authorizes in writing, requests:

the Form B Information Certificate, with the rules, current budget and latest depreciation report attached
strata council minutes and AGM/SGM minutes for at least two years
correspondence to and from the strata
financial statements, bylaws and the strata plan
the insurance certificate and deductible schedule
any engineering, envelope, roof or electrical planning reports

Buyers can request Form B themselves, but the records come through the seller, so get the authorization signed early.

Step 5: Get the package reviewed

Send everything to CondoShield. We compare the Form B with the depreciation report, budget and minutes, and look for gaps: a contingency reserve fund that can't cover projected costs, special levies under discussion, repeated leak complaints in the correspondence, or insurance deductibles that would land on you.

Step 6: Ask questions, then remove subjects

Typical follow-ups in BC:

Has the strata obtained a depreciation report on the schedule the regulation now requires?
Who pays special levies approved before completion?
What are the water and earthquake deductibles, and does a bylaw charge them back to owners?
Is the strata a party to any Civil Resolution Tribunal claim?

If the answers work for you, remove subjects. If not, renegotiate or walk away.

Step 7: Completion

Your lawyer or notary gets a Form F (Certificate of Payment) confirming the seller owes nothing to the strata, handles the transfer, and deals with any levy adjustments set out in your contract.

Step 8: After you move in

Buy strata lot owner insurance that covers improvements, contents and the strata's deductible.
Read the bylaws and rules. They bind you and your tenants.
Go to the AGM. Owners vote on the budget, CRF contributions and special levies.

Buying a presale

New development units are sold under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act. The developer must give you a disclosure statement, and you have 7 days to rescind. The 3-day Home Buyer Rescission Period doesn't apply on top of it.

Glossary

Strata lot: The unit you own, as shown on the strata plan.
Strata plan: The registered plan that creates the strata lots and common property.
Common property: Everything in the strata plan that isn't part of a strata lot.
Limited common property: Common property set aside for one or more owners, such as a balcony, parking stall or patio.
Strata corporation: All the owners together, the body that manages and insures the property.
Strata council: The owners elected to run the strata corporation day to day.
Unit entitlement: Each strata lot's share, used to divide strata fees.
Strata fees: Monthly contributions to the operating fund and the CRF.
Contingency reserve fund (CRF): Savings for repairs that don't happen every year.
Depreciation report: A professional's long-range plan for repairing and replacing common property, now required at least every 5 years for most stratas.
Special levy: A one-time charge to owners, approved by a 3/4 vote in most cases.
Form B: The Information Certificate a buyer relies on before purchasing.
Form F: The Certificate of Payment provided at completion.
Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT): BC's online tribunal for most strata disputes.

Order a BC strata review

General information, not legal advice. Condo laws, forms and fees change; confirm details with the official source or a lawyer before you rely on them.