Strata plan guide
In British Columbia, a strata plan is the registered survey document that creates the strata corporation and shows each strata lot, its dimensions and unit entitlement, and where each lot ends and common property begins. On a typical condo or stacked townhouse plan, lot boundaries are often based on the structure — walls, floors, and ceilings — unless the plan says otherwise. Balconies and some parking or storage areas are often limited common property (LCP): common property set aside for one lot’s exclusive use.
The plan answers “where is the boundary?” The Strata Property Act and the registered bylaws help answer “who maintains and pays?” Buyers should read the plan together with the Form B and related documents. That package is the Burnaby strata document review guide. Alex Lam PREC offers that review context for Burnaby and Metro Vancouver purchases through Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty. This guide is general education, not legal advice.
By Alex Lam
A strata is a form of ownership under the Strata Property Act. Each owner holds a strata lot. Together, the owners are the strata corporation, which is responsible for common property. That is the short version buyers need before they read a plan. Housing-form context for Burnaby is on the Burnaby real estate guide. Province-wide background is on the B.C. strata housing pages.
The plan is deposited in the land title office. The Land Title and Survey Authority describes how strata corporations sit in that registry. Sheets typically include a cover or first sheet with the unit entitlement schedule, floor plans for a building strata, and a site or survey plan. Unit entitlement is the schedule used to share many common expenses. It is not the same thing as the square footage in a listing.
The plan is not a Form B, not the bylaws PDF, and not the depreciation report. Those documents tell you about money, rules, and future repairs. The plan tells you what land or airspace the lot is. Read them as a set. The real estate overview is the broader buying path.
Sellers and listing brokerages often include the plan in the disclosure package. Your notary, lawyer, or a registry agent can order the registered plan if the package is thin or the sheet looks like a marketing drawing. The LTSA page on how to find strata property information is the official starting point for a search. Ask for the plan that matches the strata plan number on title, not a remodel sketch from a renovation.
On a building strata, the Act’s default is structural. Unless the plan shows otherwise, the boundary between a strata lot and another lot, or between a lot and common property, is generally the midpoint of the structural wall, floor, or ceiling that separates them. Windows, balcony membranes, and pipes become arguments because people assume “inside my unit” means “mine to repair.” The plan and the bylaws have to be read together. This page does not interpret a sheet for a named building.
“Patio included,” “your parking,” and “storage in the price” describe a listing. They do not designate limited common property. A stall or locker can be LCP for your lot, common property allocated by the corporation, or a separate strata lot. If the plan does not show it with your lot, ask the listing realtor and your conveyancer where the right comes from before you remove subjects.
Common property is the part of the development that is not a strata lot: hallways, the roof structure, and shared systems are typical examples in a building strata. Limited common property is still common property. It is designated, usually on the plan, for the exclusive use of one or more strata lots. A label such as “LCP SL14” is the kind of note that ties a balcony, patio, or stall to strata lot 14. Hatching and legends differ by surveyor. Read the legend on that plan.
Day-to-day care and structural repair are often split by the bylaws. An owner may be responsible for keeping an LCP balcony clean while the corporation remains responsible for the membrane or the structure. That split is not universal. Do not import another building’s bylaws onto this one. If the dollars are large, ask a strata lawyer.
Three documents answer the repair question, and none of them is optional. The plan locates the boundary. The Strata Property Act sets the default duties of the corporation and the owners. The bylaws can change some of those duties where the Act allows it. This is not a maintenance manual. It is a reminder to stop after the plan and open the bylaws. Money disputes belong with those documents and with a qualified adviser.
Form B is the corporation’s information certificate: fees, amounts owing, the contingency reserve, and other legal and financial facts the form is required to carry. The plan is the map. You need both before a subject-removal decision. Special levies and depreciation reports belong in that document review. This page does not re-teach them.
The companion page is https://alexlam.net/burnaby-real-estate/strata-review. Use it for the Form B package. Use this page for the plan.
Some townhouses and detached homes are bare land strata: the lot is a surveyed parcel of land, and the house on it is usually the owner’s building, not common property. A floor-plate sheet and a plan full of survey posts are different drawings. If the complex might be bare land, read what a bare land strata is in BC and then confirm on the registered plan. This page does not repeat that comparison.
Use the subject period. This list is a reading order, not a reason to waive subjects.
If you are buying to rent, the Residential Tenancy Act still applies, and strata bylaws can still restrict short-term use. The property management hub is the landlord path after you own. It does not replace the plan.
A strata plan is the survey document registered in the land title office. It creates the strata corporation and shows each strata lot, its dimensions and unit entitlement, and where the lot ends and common property begins. It is not the Form B, the bylaws, or the depreciation report.
A strata lot is the unit of ownership shown on the strata plan. In a conventional condo or stacked townhouse, that lot is often defined by the building. In a bare land strata, the lot is a surveyed parcel of land. You own your lot. Together, the owners form the strata corporation that holds common property.
Often a balcony, patio, or some parking and storage is limited common property: common property designated for one lot’s exclusive use. Sometimes it is part of the lot, or common property without that designation. Read the plan labels, such as an LCP note tied to a strata lot number. Do not rely on the listing sentence that says the patio is included.
Ask for it in the listing package, from your notary or lawyer, or through a registry agent. The Land Title and Survey Authority explains how to find strata property information. The plan you need is the registered plan, not a marketing floor plate.
The plan answers where the boundary is. The Strata Property Act and the registered bylaws do most of the work on who maintains and who pays. A boundary dispute with money attached belongs with the plan, the bylaws, and a qualified adviser, not with a general article.
The plan is the physical and legal map of the lots and common property. A Form B Information Certificate is a snapshot of the strata corporation’s finances and legal matters. Read both. Form B depth, including depreciation reports and special levies, is on the Burnaby strata document review guide. This page does not repeat that package.
Confirm the parking and locker designations, whether outdoor space is a lot, limited common property, or undesignated common property, and that the lot number matches the unit you think you are buying. Then read the bylaws for alterations, pets, and rentals, and review the Form B package before you remove subjects.
No. Boundaries and repair responsibility turn on the specific plan and bylaws. This is general education for Burnaby and Metro Vancouver buyers and investors, not legal advice.
The Act and the land title registry are the authorities for what a plan is. A strata-management blog can be useful colour. It is not the plan, and it is not Form B.
Last verified: 1 October 2026 PT. The Strata Property Act citation, the LTSA strata pages, and the Province’s strata housing and buying-and-selling pages were checked the same day.
Burnaby and Greater Vancouver. Alex Lam PREC. Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty. Strata document review is the next step when the plan raises a question you do not want to guess.