Is it cheaper to self-manage a strata or hire a management company in BC?

For most small and mid-size BC stratas, self-managing is significantly cheaper. A management company typically charges $25–$60+ per unit per month, while self-management with software costs $4 a unit a month or less — ManageStrata is free up to 4 units, then from $19.80 a month. The savings go back into the operating or contingency reserve fund.

Can a strata council manage the strata without a property manager?

Yes. The BC Strata Property Act allows owners to self-manage through their elected council. What used to make a manager feel necessary was the administrative load, and software carries most of it now: it tells the council what's due before the date, runs the AGM and writes up the minutes, and keeps the operating and reserve funds straight.

When should a strata hire a property management company?

Hiring makes sense for large or complex buildings, corporations with active legal disputes or major capital projects, or councils with no members able to take on the duties. Smaller, routine stratas usually do well self-managing.

Can a strata council use management software while keeping its property manager?

Yes, and it is a common middle path. The management company keeps running the building under its existing contract, while the council runs its own workspace for the documents, the compliance calendar, the meeting record and the finances it wants to see for itself. It costs a few dollars per unit per month, nothing in the management agreement changes, and the record stays with the corporation if the company ever does.

How do you switch from a strata management company to self-management?

Provide the required notice under your contract, hold a council/owner vote, retrieve the corporation's records and funds, and set up self-management software before the handover so deadlines and finances carry over cleanly. Records the council already keeps in its own workspace don't need retrieving — they never left the corporation.

Guide · Updated June 2026 · 7 min read

Self-managed strata vs. a property management company

Every BC strata council faces the same fork: run the corporation yourselves, or pay a property (strata) management company to do it. Here’s how to decide — honestly, including when hiring is the right call.

The short answer

Smaller and mid-size BC stratas usually come out ahead self-managing: a professional management company costs roughly $25–$60+ per unit per month, while self-management with good software runs $4 a unit a month or less — ManageStrata is free up to 4 units, then from $19.80/month. Larger or complex buildings — or councils with no time or appetite for the work — are often better served by a management company. The deciding factors are cost, available time, and how much control owners want. And it isn’t only a fork: a council can keep its manager and still run its own workspace for the documents, dates and decisions.

Cost: what each really costs

For a 12-unit strata, a management company at ~$40/unit/month is roughly $5,760 a year — money that otherwise compounds in your contingency reserve fund. Self-managing the same building with software is a small fraction of that. The gap is why self-management dominates among BC’s many small stratas. (See how strata fees work for where this sits in the budget.)

See what self-managing could save

ManageStrata priced for your size, next to what professional management costs a corporation like yours.

Units in your strata

1500+

Management fee$40 / unit / mo

$25$60+

Set it to what your corporation pays today — or, if you already self-manage, what a company would quote you to take it back.

Your plan: Council

ManageStrata

Council · $3.96/lot

$47.52/mo

Professional management

12 units × $40/unit

$480/mo

If you self-managed, you’d save

$5,190 / year

$432 / month

That is $3.96 per unit per month, against $40 for management.

Already have a property manager? Most councils here do. ManageStrata runs alongside one — invite them in, and every part of the job your council takes back is a smaller fee next year.

Start free

Estimate only. BC management fees vary (typically $25–$60+/unit/month). ManageStrata prices are per month, shown against the management fee you set. Council is priced per lot with no ceiling, so the figure is a price rather than a starting point. ManageStrata is software, not a management company — it works alongside your property manager, or equips your council to self-manage.

The trade-offs, side by side

Factor	Self-managed	Management company
Annual cost (12 units)	~$0–$1,200 (software)	~$5,000–$8,000+
Control & transparency	Full — owners decide	Delegated
Response time	Immediate	Depends on the firm & caseload
Compliance know-how	Software + guides	Provided
Council time / month	A few hours	Minimal
Best fit	Duplexes → mid-size	Large / complex buildings

Annual cost (12 units): Self-managed: ~$0–$1,200 (software); Management company: ~$5,000–$8,000+
Control & transparency: Self-managed: Full — owners decide; Management company: Delegated
Response time: Self-managed: Immediate; Management company: Depends on the firm & caseload
Compliance know-how: Self-managed: Software + guides; Management company: Provided
Council time / month: Self-managed: A few hours; Management company: Minimal
Best fit: Self-managed: Duplexes → mid-size; Management company: Large / complex buildings

When self-management wins

Your strata is a duplex through mid-size (say, up to ~30–50 units).
You have one or two organised owners willing to serve on council.
Operations are routine — no active litigation or major remediation.
You’d rather the money compound in the reserve fund.

The historical barrier was administrative load. Software removes most of it by tracking deadlines, handling AGM minutes, and keeping the operating and reserve books straight — see our full guide to strata property management in BC.

When to hire a company

Large or amenity-heavy buildings with complex operations.
Active legal disputes, insurance claims, or major capital projects.
No owners able or willing to take on council duties.
High turnover where continuity is hard to maintain.

There’s no shame in hiring — it’s the right answer for plenty of corporations. The point is to choose deliberately, not by default.

A third option: keep your manager, and keep your own record

The fork above is the one councils usually think they face, and it hides a third answer. A management company runs the building. It does not, on its own, give the council a place to look things up, watch the statutory dates, or see where the money went without asking. Plenty of councils keep their manager and run their own workspace alongside — for the documents, the compliance calendar, the meeting record and the questions that come up between reports.

Nothing changes in your management contract — the manager keeps managing the building.
The council can ask its own bylaws and minutes a question and get the page cited, without waiting for the next report.
The record belongs to the corporation, so it survives a change of management company or a change of council.
At about $4 per unit per month or less, it is a budget line rather than a decision about your manager.

If you are weighing the fork at all, this is the cheapest way to find out what your council is missing — see how ManageStrata works alongside a property manager.

How to switch to self-management

Moving off a management company is straightforward with notice: hold the vote, retrieve your records and funds, and stand up your tooling before the handover date so nothing slips. Anything the council already keeps in its own workspace doesn’t need retrieving — it never left the corporation. The right platform is what makes the transition safe — which is the subject of our comparison of self-managed strata software.

Still deciding?

ManageStrata gives a self-managed BC council the compliance, finances and AGM tooling a manager would — and gives a managed council its own workspace alongside the one it already pays for. Free up to 4 lots.