The Strata Treasurer's Job, Month by Month

Of all the roles on a self-managed strata council, the treasurer's is the one where a quiet habit of monthly bookkeeping saves the most grief later. This is a practical calendar of what the job tends to involve in British Columbia — and, just as importantly, where the Strata Property Act sets a hard rule versus where your own registered bylaws decide.

First: what the Act does and doesn't say about the treasurer

The Act's financial duties belong to the strata corporation, exercised through the council as a body — not to an individual officer. Whether your strata has a treasurer at all, and what that person is expected to do, comes from your registered bylaws. Two structural rules matter regardless:

• Council decisions are made by a majority of council members present at the meeting, and results must be recorded in the minutes (Standard Bylaw 18). A treasurer cannot approve spending alone unless the council has properly delegated it.
• Under Standard Bylaw 20, council may delegate spending powers only by resolution — either authorising a specific amount for a specific purpose, or a general authority that sets a maximum amount and states the purposes or conditions. If your treasurer signs cheques between meetings, that authority should exist on paper in the minutes.

Every month

• Reconcile the operating and contingency reserve fund accounts against bank statements, and confirm the two funds are genuinely separate.
• Review arrears. BC has no statutory late fee. What is permitted is interest on overdue strata fees and special levies, only if a bylaw sets the rate, capped at 10% per year compounded annually under the Strata Property Regulation. A fine is a different mechanism entirely and requires the full s.135 process first.
• Report budget-to-actual to council and flag variances early — the ones that become special levies are visible months ahead.
• Check unapproved spending against the s.98 limit. Under s.98, the strata may spend from the operating fund up to the limit in the bylaws, or if the bylaws are silent, the lesser of $2,000 and 5% of the annual operating-fund contribution. Either fund may be used without approval where there are reasonable grounds to believe an immediate expenditure is necessary to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage.

Every quarter

• Confirm CRF interest is being credited to the CRF, not the operating fund.
• Review insurance renewal timing and any open claims. Note that if the strata must pay a deductible to repair or replace damaged property, s.158(3) says approval is not required for a special levy or CRF expenditure to cover it — unless the strata has decided not to repair under s.159.
• Purge and file records to the retention periods in Regulation s.4.1: books of account, budgets, financial statements, bank statements and cancelled cheques for at least 6 years; correspondence at least 2 years; depreciation reports and electrical planning reports permanently.

Budget season and the AGM

This is the treasurer's heavy quarter. A workable sequence:

1. Draft the budget with council, using the depreciation report as an input. Every strata 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 (budgeting rules, gov.bc.ca). Our guide to preparing a strata annual budget walks through the line items.
2. Allocate fees by unit entitlement, not by square footage or bylaw (s.99/s.100). See how strata fees work in BC.
3. Send notice at least 2 weeks before the meeting (s.45). Notice sent by email, mail or fax is conclusively deemed received 4 days after sending, so an emailed package should go out about 18 days ahead.
4. After approval, tell owners their new monthly fee within 2 weeks (s.106).

Q&A: the questions treasurers actually get asked

Q: What happens if owners defeat the budget?
The strata must put a new budget to a special general meeting within 30 days, or a longer period approved by a 3/4 vote at that meeting. Until a budget passes, owners keep paying the same monthly amount as under the previous budget (s.104).

Q: Can we just take it out of the contingency reserve fund?
Only with the right approval. Under s.96, a majority vote suffices in five cases: obtaining a depreciation report; repair, maintenance or replacement recommended in the most current depreciation report; installing EV charging infrastructure or managing the electricity it uses; obtaining an electrical planning report; and obtaining other reports about EV charging infrastructure. Every other CRF expenditure needs a 3/4 vote. More detail in our CRF guide.

Q: Does every special levy need a 3/4 vote?
Not always. A 3/4 vote works where each lot's share is calculated under ss.99, 100 or 195 — normally unit entitlement. If the strata divides the levy another way that establishes a fair division for that particular levy, s.108 requires a unanimous vote. The resolution must set out the purpose, the total amount, each lot's share and the due dates.

On the multi-year horizon

Depreciation reports are required for strata corporations of 5 or more lots, due July 1, 2026 in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District and July 1, 2027 elsewhere, renewing every 5 years (requirements). Electrical planning reports follow on December 31, 2026 and December 31, 2028 respectively. Both are budget items — start funding them a year out.

Tools help. ManageStrata keeps the ledger, arrears and records in one place, and SearchStrata can run AI analysis across depreciation reports, minutes and financials when you need to find what the last council decided about a roof.

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.