How to Self-Manage a Strata in BC

Many smaller strata corporations in British Columbia choose to operate without a professional property manager. Self-management can save thousands of dollars a year, but it also means the strata council takes on the duties the Strata Property Act (SPA) would otherwise delegate to a manager.

What does self-managing a strata actually involve?

Self-management means the elected strata council handles day-to-day operations directly: collecting strata fees, paying bills, maintaining common property, keeping records, holding meetings, and enforcing bylaws. There is no legal requirement to hire a property manager in BC, so any strata can self-manage. In practice it works best for small and mid-size buildings with engaged owners.

Core responsibilities include:

• Finances — billing strata fees, paying invoices, reconciling accounts, and maintaining the operating fund and the contingency reserve fund.
• Governance — running the AGM and council meetings, passing budgets, and keeping bylaws current.
• Records — retaining minutes, financials, contracts, and correspondence, and producing them on request.
• Maintenance — inspecting and repairing common property and assets.
• Insurance — placing and renewing the strata's insurance and tracking coverage.

What are the legal duties of a self-managed council?

The SPA holds the strata corporation (acting through council) to a standard of care. Council members must act honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the corporation. Practically, that means:

1. Keep proper books and records and make them available to owners (and to buyers via information certificates).
2. Hold an Annual General Meeting every year and give proper notice — see AGM notice and quorum.
3. Enforce bylaws and rules consistently and fairly, following the SPA's complaint and hearing process.
4. Maintain the depreciation report and reserve planning so major repairs are funded.

A council that ignores these duties exposes the strata to disputes at the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), which handles most strata disagreements in BC.

How do you stay organized without a property manager?

The biggest risk in self-management is missed deadlines and lost paperwork. Build a simple operating rhythm:

• A compliance calendar with the AGM date, insurance renewal, fiscal year-end, and depreciation report review. A platform like ManageStrata keeps these deadlines on a compliance calendar so nothing slips.
• A single source of truth for documents — minutes, bylaws, the budget, and contracts — that the whole council can access.
• Clear roles so the treasurer, secretary, and president each own their lane. See council roles and responsibilities.
• A repeatable AGM process, from notice package to minutes.

When reviewing a building's history — say, before a major project — you'll have years of documents to read. To quickly analyze a strata's documents (minutes, depreciation report, bylaws), tools like SearchStrata use AI to surface the key facts so council isn't reading hundreds of pages by hand.

Should every strata self-manage?

Self-management suits strata corporations where owners have time, basic financial literacy, and a willingness to follow process. Large, complex, or conflict-prone buildings often benefit from professional management. A common middle path is hybrid management: self-manage the routine work and hire specialists (bookkeepers, engineers, lawyers) as needed.

Whatever you choose, the obligations under the SPA don't change. Self-managing simply moves the work to council — so the better your systems, the safer your strata.