Which Strata Documents Actually Matter When You Buy in BC

Four documents carry most of the weight when you buy a strata home in British Columbia: the Form B Information Certificate, the depreciation report, the budget, and the minutes. In Cloverdale, Surrey, BC and across the Fraser Valley, the rest of the package is context around those four. All four are creatures of BC's Strata Property Act.

That matters, because a search on "condo documents" returns the rules of a US homeowners' association, and much of what returns on the BC phrasing describes rules since amended.

Four Things You'll Still Read That BC Law No Longer Supports

"The strata can vote to waive the depreciation report." No longer correct. The deferral provisions of Strata Property Regulation section 6.2 were repealed by B.C. Reg. 88/2024, and section 94(3) of the Strata Property Act — the subsection that carried the waiver — now reads "[Repealed 2020-16-4.]" No annual 3/4 vote makes the report go away.

"The contingency reserve fund is capped at 25% of the operating budget." There is no statutory cap any more. Section 93 of the Strata Property Act now says simply that, subject to the regulations, the strata corporation must determine the annual contribution. Material describing a maximum tied to the fund's size describes a regime that's gone.

"Check the rental restriction bylaw." Section 141 of the Strata Property Act is now headed "No restriction of rentals by strata corporation," and says the strata must not screen tenants, establish screening criteria, require approval of tenants, require terms in tenancy agreements, or otherwise restrict the rental of a strata lot. The former sections 139–140 and 142–145 — rental bylaws, disclosure statements, exemptions, hardship applications — were repealed in 2022. There's no rental cap or waitlist to look for.

"It's a 19+ building." Section 123.1 says a bylaw must not restrict the age of residents, with one exception: it may require one or more residents to have reached a specified age not less than 55 years. A 55-or-older bylaw is the only lawful age bylaw in British Columbia — "19+", "no children" and "adult-only" are not permissible. Even a valid 55+ bylaw carries exemptions under section 123.2 and regulation section 7.01, including the spouse of a qualifying resident, who faces no age floor.

The Form B Information Certificate — and What It Doesn't Tell You

Under section 59(1) of the Strata Property Act, the strata corporation must give an Information Certificate — the Form B — to an owner, a purchaser, or someone either of them authorizes, within one week of the request. Regulation section 4.4 caps the fee at $35 plus reproduction up to 25 cents per page.

Section 59(3) sets out what must be on it, current as of the certificate's date: strata fees and anything the owner owes; any amount owing in future on a special levy already approved, with its due date; expected overruns on the current budget; the contingency reserve fund balance minus approved-but-unspent expenditures; unfiled bylaw amendments and resolutions; notice given for a resolution not yet voted on that needs a 3/4, 80% or unanimous vote; legal proceedings and judgments; outstanding work orders; parking and locker allocation; and an insurance summary.

Parking and lockers. The form discloses how each is held — part of the strata lot, a separate strata lot, limited common property, or common property — and warns that a common-property stall may be short-term exclusive use under section 76, and may change. A stall you were shown isn't necessarily a stall you keep.

Insurance. Section 59(5) makes the disclosed information binding on the strata corporation in dealings with someone who relied on the certificate and acted reasonably. Section 59(5.1) carves out one item: the insurance summary is not binding where it came from the strata's insurer or insurance agent. That carve-out gets missed constantly, and it's why insurance is a question for your own broker.

Section 59(4) requires three attachments: the rules, the current budget, and the most recent depreciation report, if any. Note what's absent — the bylaws. Section 59(4)(c) was repealed in 2022, so bylaws come separately, through the land title office or a records request. Regulation section 4.2 says no fee may be charged to an owner or tenant, or their authorized person, for inspecting records under section 36. A buyer is neither — which is why the seller's authorization matters.

Depreciation Reports, As the Rules Now Stand

Section 94(2) of the Strata Property Act requires a strata corporation to obtain, from a qualified person, a depreciation report estimating repair and replacement costs for major items and their expected life. Regulation section 6.21(2), enacted by B.C. Reg. 88/2024, sets the cycle: a new report at least once every 5 years. The exemption is size alone — section 6.22 says it doesn't apply "if and for so long as there are fewer than 5 strata lots in the strata plan."

Timing matters for existing buildings. Regulation section 6.21(3) required a strata established before July 1, 2024 that hadn't obtained a report since December 31, 2020 to get one before July 1, 2026 in a "specified area," and before July 1, 2027 elsewhere in BC. Section 6.21(1) lists the specified areas, among them the Fraser Valley Regional District and the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Worth being precise, because it gets muddled locally — the City of Surrey and Langley Township, BC sit in the Metro Vancouver Regional District, not the Fraser Valley Regional District, and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is a real estate board whose territory is not the regional district of the same name. Both districts were specified areas, so July 1, 2026 applied either way. That date has passed, so a buyer looking at a Cloverdale, Surrey, BC townhouse should expect a current report to exist, and its absence is a question to ask.

Who writes it changed too. For a report obtained on or after July 1, 2025, regulation section 6.2(0.1) requires the preparer to hold one of a listed set of accreditations — engineering, architecture, applied science technology, appraisal, reserve planning or quantity surveying — widened by B.C. Reg. 187/2025.

Regulation section 6.2 prescribes the contents: a component inventory and evaluation, a summary of infrequent repairs and maintenance, a financial forecasting section, the preparer's qualifications and relationship to the strata, and an executive summary. The inventory must rest on an on-site visual inspection by the preparer and estimate service life over 30 years.

Here's the part buyers miss. Section 6.2(3) requires the forecasting section to project over 30 years and include at least 3 cash-flow funding models for the contingency reserve fund, drawing on contributions and withdrawals, special levies, or borrowing. A depreciation report isn't one number. It's a set of scenarios — and which one the strata is actually funding tells you more than the roof's remaining life does.

The Contingency Reserve Fund, and How Special Levies Really Surface

Section 92 requires two funds: an operating fund for expenses occurring once a year or more often, and a contingency reserve fund for those that occur less often, or not usually at all. The depreciation report itself is an operating expense under section 92(a)(ii), not a draw on the reserve.

Regulation section 6.1 sets the floor: the annual contribution to the contingency reserve fund must be at least 10% of the total budgeted contribution to the operating fund for the current fiscal year, and must be determined after considering the most recent depreciation report. Section 96 limits what the fund may be spent on and how that spending is approved.

A special levy is money the strata raises from owners on top of strata fees. Under section 108, where each lot's share is calculated by unit entitlement, the levy needs a 3/4 vote at an annual or special general meeting; divided some other way that's fair for that particular levy, it needs a unanimous vote. Section 108(3) requires the resolution to state the purpose, the total, each lot's share and how it was determined, and the payment dates.

And this is the most practical point in the subject: the Form B tells you about a levy already approved. One merely being discussed doesn't appear there. The forward-looking signals live elsewhere — Form B item (i), disclosing notice given for a 3/4-vote resolution not yet voted on; the minutes, where the conversation happens before it becomes a resolution; and the depreciation report's funding models. A clean Form B and worried minutes aren't a contradiction. They're a sequence.

What I Actually Do With a Strata Package

A client, Alec King, wrote in his review: "We love that you always took time out of your day, at any time to answer questions for us... We love how knowledgeable you are with strata and everything. As well she will give her honest opinions when looking for a place." The honest-opinions part is what I'd underline. When I read a package with a buyer I'm not trying to talk them into or out of a building — I'm making sure they've seen what's in it before they decide. I start with the minutes and the funding models, because that's where a building tells you what it's about to ask its owners for. Sometimes the numbers are fine and the worry isn't. Sometimes it's the reverse, and I'd rather say so early than after completion.

Bylaws, Rules and Minutes

Bylaws and rules are different instruments. Under section 125(1), the strata corporation may make rules governing the use, safety and condition of common property and common assets — that's the whole scope. Bylaws are broader, and filed in the land title office.

Regulation section 7.1(1) sets the maximum fines: $200 per contravention of a bylaw, $50 per contravention of a rule, and $1,000 for contravening a bylaw that prohibits or limits use of a residential strata lot for remuneration as vacation, travel or temporary accommodation. That last figure tells you something section 141 doesn't. Short-term accommodation is a separate question from rentals. The strata can't restrict rentals, but a bylaw limiting vacation or temporary accommodation use is still contemplated by the regulation — so if you were counting on that use, it's the bylaw to read.

On minutes: regulation section 4.1 requires most listed records to be kept at least 6 years, some permanently, and correspondence at least 2 years. That's a floor on what the strata must still hold — not a rule about what a buyer receives. Asking for a couple of years of minutes is practice, not entitlement. And what none of it covers is what a particular bylaw means for your plans. That's a lawyer's or notary's question, and worth the hour.

What "Subject to Review and Approval of Strata Documents" Is Actually Doing

The BC Financial Services Authority — BCFSA, the provincial regulator — lists, among the things a buyer might make a purchase subject to, "a satisfactory review of all relevant strata documentation, including engineer's reports and/or building inspection reports, if any."

BCFSA is clear that a contract is legally binding as soon as both parties sign it, even with subjects in it, and that subject clauses "are not 'escape' clauses that allow you to avoid your legal responsibilities in the contract." A buyer placing subjects on an offer must use every reasonable effort to see them satisfied; if they can't be, the contract ends and there's no legal obligation to complete. BCFSA says written notification should be given to the seller when subjects are removed. And if the brokerage holds your deposit, both parties must sign a deposit release form before it comes back — an unremoved subject does not, by itself, return your money.

So the clause buys a defined window to read the package and send anything concerning to a lawyer or notary. It isn't a free look, and the wording matters — BCFSA notes it's ultimately the buyer's responsibility to be sure a subject clause means what they intend.

Reading a Strata Package in a Softening Segment

In the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board's MLS® Home Price Index for August 2026, the Cloverdale, Surrey, BC townhouse benchmark was $757,200, down 6.4% year over year, and the apartment benchmark $505,700, down 11.3% — the weakest of Cloverdale's four segments by a wide margin. Board-wide, sales-to-active listings sat at 10%, below the 12–20% the board calls balanced. That usually means time to read the documents rather than skim them — and a building with a thin reserve and heavy spending ahead of it is priced into a market with less appetite to absorb it.

When you're ready to see what's available, start with Cloverdale, Surrey, BC homes for sale and bring the strata questions with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Form B Information Certificate in British Columbia?

It's the strata corporation's snapshot of a particular strata lot, required under section 59 of the Strata Property Act. On request from an owner, a purchaser, or someone either of them authorizes, the strata must provide it within one week. Section 59(3) sets out what it must disclose, including strata fees, amounts owed, an approved special levy and its due date, the contingency reserve fund balance net of approved expenditures, unfiled bylaw amendments and resolutions, outstanding work orders, and an insurance summary. The rules, the current budget and the most recent depreciation report are attached.

Can a BC strata still vote to waive its depreciation report?

No. The deferral provisions in section 6.2 of the Strata Property Regulation were repealed by B.C. Reg. 88/2024, and section 94(3) of the Strata Property Act has been repealed. Regulation section 6.21(2) now requires a new report at least once every 5 years. The only exemption is size: under section 6.22 the requirement doesn't apply for as long as there are fewer than 5 strata lots in the strata plan.

Will the Form B tell me if a special levy is coming?

Not on its own. Item (d) discloses an amount the owner must pay in future on a special levy already approved. A levy merely being discussed doesn't appear there. The forward-looking signals are elsewhere: item (i), which discloses notice given for a 3/4-vote resolution not yet voted on, plus the minutes and the depreciation report's funding models.

Can a BC strata restrict rentals or set an age limit?

A strata corporation can't restrict rentals. Section 141 of the Strata Property Act is headed "No restriction of rentals by strata corporation" and prohibits screening tenants, setting screening criteria, requiring tenant approval, or otherwise restricting the rental of a strata lot. Age is different. Section 123.1 says a bylaw must not restrict the age of residents, with one exception: it may require one or more residents to have reached a specified age of not less than 55 years. Short-term accommodation is a separate question — regulation section 7.1(1)(c) sets a $1,000 maximum fine for contravening a bylaw limiting vacation, travel or temporary accommodation use.

What does "subject to review and approval of strata documents" actually mean?

BCFSA lists a satisfactory review of all relevant strata documentation, including engineer's reports and building inspection reports if any, among the things a buyer may make a purchase subject to. It gives you a defined period to read the package and take anything concerning to a lawyer or notary. It is not an escape hatch: BCFSA states that a contract is legally binding once both parties sign it even with subjects in it, and that a buyer must use every reasonable effort to satisfy the conditions they place on an offer. If the brokerage holds your deposit, both parties must sign a deposit release form before it comes back.

Related Reading

• Subjects Explained: What "Subject Removal" Actually Means in BC

• Your Deposit Is Not Your Down Payment: How Deposits Work in BC

• BC's Home Buyer Rescission Period: Your Three Business Days

• Suites and Coach Houses: Surrey, Langley Township and City, BC

• The Property Disclosure Statement: What You're Signing in BC

About the Author

Caroline Jeklin works out of Cloverdale, Surrey, BC as a REALTOR® with Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty, and has been licensed since 2021. She has been part of 57 transactions across the Fraser Valley, from $302,000 to $4,200,000 (2021–2026, as of August 2026), and received the Royal LePage President's Gold Award in 2025, placing her in the top 6–10% of agents in her local marketplace. Going through a strata package section by section with a buyer — minutes and funding models first — is a normal part of how she runs a townhouse or apartment purchase. Learn more about Caroline Jeklin, or reach her at 604-319-5052 or caroline@carolinejeklin.com.