How Strata Fees Work in BC

Strata fees are the single largest recurring cost of strata ownership, and one of the most misunderstood. Owners often assume the council sets them, or that a larger unit automatically pays more, or that a monthly "maintenance fee" is a fixed feature of the building. None of those are quite right. In British Columbia, strata fees flow from a specific chain: a budget, a vote, and a formula written into the strata plan.

What strata fees pay for

Under the Strata Property Act, owners contribute their strata lot's share of the total contributions budgeted for the operating fund and the contingency reserve fund (CRF) (s. 99). In practice that means:

• Operating fund — day-to-day common expenses: insurance, utilities for common property, landscaping, cleaning, elevator servicing, management or software costs, and routine repairs.
• Contingency reserve fund — savings for major, less frequent expenses such as roofs, envelope work, plumbing or elevator replacement.

Since November 1, 2023, every strata corporation and section must budget a minimum annual CRF contribution of at least 10% of the total budgeted operating fund contribution, determined after considering the most recent depreciation report (Strata Property Regulation ss. 3.4 and 6.1). The old rule that no contribution was needed once the CRF hit 25% of the operating budget no longer applies.

Who pays for a given repair also depends on the division of duties. The Standard Bylaws make an owner responsible for repairing and maintaining their own strata lot (bylaw 2), while the strata corporation repairs and maintains common assets, common property and specified building elements — the structure and exterior, balconies and things attached to the exterior, exterior windows, doors and skylights, and fences or railings enclosing patios and yards (bylaw 8). Your strata's registered bylaws may differ from the Standard Bylaws, so check what is actually filed at the land title office.

How your share is calculated

Each strata lot's share is based on its unit entitlement — the number shown in the Schedule of Unit Entitlement filed with the strata plan — not on square footage as a general concept, not on assessed value, and not on anything the bylaws say (s. 99). Unit entitlement often tracks floor area, but the filed schedule is the governing number.

A strata corporation can use a different formula, but the bar is high: it takes a unanimous vote at a general meeting, and the resolution has no effect until it is filed in the land title office with the prescribed certificate (s. 100). Sections and types under Part 11 can also change how certain expenses are shared — worth confirming for your building.

How the budget turns into a monthly number

Owners approve the budget by majority vote at a general meeting (s. 103, Part 6). If the budget is defeated, the strata must put a new one to a special general meeting within 30 days — or a longer period approved by a 3/4 vote at that meeting — and owners keep paying the same monthly fees under the previous budget until a new one passes (s. 104). Owners must be told their new fee within two weeks of approval (s. 106).

Councils can also put a proposed budget in front of owners with more context than a single-page summary. Our guide to preparing a strata annual budget in BC walks through the sequence, and how to read a depreciation report explains how the report should inform your CRF number rather than sit on a shelf.

Questions owners ask most

Can the strata council raise my fees on its own?
No. Fees come from an approved budget passed by owners at a general meeting. Council prepares and recommends; owners vote.

Do I pay more if I use less?
Generally no. Contributions follow unit entitlement regardless of whether you use the pool, the elevator or the parkade.

Does paying higher fees give me a bigger vote?
No. Voting is one strata lot, one vote (s. 53, Part 4), subject only to a Schedule of Voting Rights filed with a plan that includes non-residential lots. Unit entitlement does not weight votes.

Is there a late fee if I pay strata fees late?
BC has no statutory late fee. What is permitted is interest on overdue strata fees, and only where a bylaw establishing the payment schedule sets a rate (s. 107); the Regulation caps that rate at 10% per annum, compounded annually. Interest set under such a bylaw is not a fine and forms part of the strata fees for lien purposes. If your bylaws are silent, no interest applies.

Charges that are not strata fees

• Special levies — a one-time assessment approved by a 3/4 vote where each lot's share is calculated under ss. 99, 100 or 195 (normally unit entitlement). If the levy is divided another way that establishes a fair division of expenses for that particular levy, s. 108(2)(b) requires a unanimous vote. The resolution must set out the purpose, total amount, each lot's share and the due dates (s. 108).
• User fees for use of common property or common assets — allowed only if the amount is reasonable and the fee is set out in a bylaw, or in a rule ratified under s. 125(6) (Regulation s. 6.9).
• Work-order reimbursement — if an owner receives a work order and fails to do the work, the strata may do it after written notice and the owner must reimburse the cost (ss. 84–85).
• Document fees — an Information Certificate (Form B) is capped at $35 plus up to 25 cents per page (Regulation s. 4.4), and a Certificate of Payment (Form F) at $15 (Regulation s. 6.10).

Unpaid strata fees, special levies and s. 85 work reimbursements can support a Certificate of Lien (s. 116); fines and the costs of remedying a contravention cannot. See collecting strata fee arrears in BC for the sequence.

Keeping the paper trail straight

Fee disputes are usually document disputes: which schedule of unit entitlement governs, which budget passed, what the bylaw says about interest. Purchasers and owners reviewing a package often use tools like SearchStrata for AI analysis of strata documents to surface those details quickly, while self-managed councils use ManageStrata to keep budgets, minutes and fee records in one place.

This article is general information about BC strata law, not legal advice; verify against the current Strata Property Act and Regulation or consult a BC strata lawyer.