Burnaby Strata Document Review Guide

This page is for a Burnaby buyer or first-time home buyer who has received, or is about to request, strata documents. It explains what those documents usually contain and which official B.C. pages to check. It is not a pass or fail score for a building.

It cannot tell you whether a specific corporation is healthy, whether a levy will be approved, or whether you should proceed. It is general educational information. It is not legal, accounting, engineering, insurance, or financial advice, and it does not replace a REALTOR, lawyer, notary, inspector, accountant, or strata specialist.

Housing form and area context live on the Burnaby Real Estate Guide. Buying sequence lives on real estate services. If the home is at UniverCity, leasehold versus freehold is a separate ownership question already noted on that Burnaby guide. Read the title documents. Do not assume freehold.

A Form B Information Certificate discloses information about the strata lot and the strata corporation. An owner, a purchaser, or someone they authorize can request it. The corporation must provide it within seven days of the request. The information is current to the date on the form and binds the corporation to a person who reasonably relies on it.

Use a current version of the form. As of April 1, 2023 it must include a summary of the strata corporation's insurance coverage. If the corporation has sections created by bylaw, request a Form B from both the corporation and the relevant section.

Official attachments include the rules, if any, the current budget, and the most recent depreciation report, if one exists. The form can also show monthly fees, amounts owing, approved future special levies, expected budget overruns, the contingency reserve fund balance, pending bylaw or high-vote items, proceedings, outstanding work orders, and parking or storage details. Treat it as a snapshot, not the whole file.

The strata plan shows the lot, common property, and any limited common property. Confirm the unit identity, boundaries, and what the owner repairs versus what the corporation repairs. Townhouses and high-rises can draw those lines differently even when both are strata.

Limited common property, such as a patio, balcony, or assigned outdoor area, can change maintenance responsibility. That allocation should be read on the plan, the bylaws, and any owner agreements, not assumed from marketing copy.

Council minutes record ongoing decisions, complaints, leaks, insurance claims, contractor work, and items headed to a general meeting. Ask for a useful recent run, not only the last meeting. Provincial record-keeping rules require the corporation to keep minutes of council meetings and of annual and special general meetings, including vote results.

Minutes can name problems that have not yet reached a Form B line. They can also show that a concern was discussed and later resolved. Neither pattern is a score. It is context for questions you still need answered.

Annual general meeting packages usually include the budget, financial statements, insurance discussion, and any resolutions owners will vote on. Special general meeting notices can show proposed bylaw changes, levies, or major work that has not yet been decided.

A Form B can disclose notice of a high-vote or bylaw resolution that has not yet been voted on. Read that notice beside the meeting package. Do not treat a proposed item as an approved item, and do not treat silence as proof that nothing is coming.

Owners approve the annual budget and strata fees by majority vote at the annual general meeting. Official pages on budgeting and strata fees explain that owners fund common expenses through fees, the contingency reserve fund, and sometimes special levies.

Compare the current budget with recent financial statements and with any expected overrun disclosed on the Form B. Look for whether insurance, utilities, repairs, and professional fees are listed as you would expect for that building type. This is a reading exercise, not a formula for a “healthy” budget.

Every strata corporation and section must have a contingency reserve fund for common expenses that usually occur less often than once a year, or that do not usually occur. Roof, elevator, and roadway work are typical examples. Contributions are collected through strata fees and are not refunded to a seller on completion.

Effective November 1, 2023, when owners approve the annual budget they must contribute at least 10 percent of the amount budgeted to the operating fund into the CRF. Many corporations contribute more than that minimum. The Form B reports the CRF balance minus approved but unpaid expenditures. A single number is not a pass or fail. Read it beside the depreciation report and any approved or proposed work.

A depreciation report describes common property and projected repair, maintenance, and replacement costs over a 30-year span. Official depreciation-report requirements were strengthened effective July 1, 2024. Corporations with five or more lots must obtain reports on a five-year cycle. Corporations with four or fewer lots remain exempt. Corporations may no longer defer a report by an annual 3/4 vote.

In Metro Vancouver, corporations without a report, or with a report received before December 31, 2020, were given until July 1, 2026 to obtain one. Those dates and rules can change. The most recent report, if any, must be attached to a Form B. Read the executive summary, the physical inventory, and the funding models as planning information. The models do not have to be adopted.

All strata corporations must carry property and liability insurance. As of April 1, 2023, a summary of that coverage must be included with the Form B. Official pages cover corporation insurance and owner and tenant insurance.

Corporation insurance generally does not cover personal liability, household contents, living-elsewhere costs after a loss, or payment of the corporation deductible. An owner policy is a separate conversation with an insurance broker. The corporation must also tell owners of material coverage changes, including deductible increases, as soon as feasible. Ask what the current deductible is and whether recent claims appear in the minutes.

Owners, tenants, and visitors must follow the corporation's bylaws and rules. Bylaws set how the corporation is administered and what living there is like. Rules, if any, must be attached to the Form B. A Form B can also disclose bylaw amendments that are approved but not yet filed in the Land Title Office.

Ask for the current filed bylaws, not only a marketing summary. If the corporation has sections, the section may have its own bylaws and rules for matters that belong only to that section.

A special levy is money collected from owners for a stated purpose, in addition to monthly fees. Approval is generally by a 3/4 vote when shares follow the same method as strata fees, usually unit entitlement. The resolution must state the purpose, total amount, each lot's share, and the payment date or dates.

A Form B must disclose any amount the owner is already obligated to pay for a levy that has been approved, and the date it is due. If a levy is approved before completion, the seller generally owes amounts payable before conveyance and the buyer generally owes amounts payable on or after conveyance. Proposed levies in a meeting notice are not the same as approved levies.

A Form B must disclose court, arbitration, or tribunal proceedings in which the corporation is a party, and any judgments or orders against the corporation. It can also attach details of those matters. Minutes and legal correspondence, where you are allowed to see them, can add context.

A proceeding can be routine or serious. This page cannot classify a file. If a proceeding is disclosed, ask a lawyer or notary what it means for the lot you are buying. Do not rely on a council member's informal summary as legal advice.

As of November 24, 2022, B.C. does not allow residential rental-restriction bylaws that ban or limit long-term rentals of strata lots. Those bylaws are invalid even if an older package still prints them. Short-term rental bylaws may still limit or ban short-term stays. Confirm the current bylaws and the current legislation-change page.

Age-restriction bylaws are limited. As of November 24, 2022, only a restriction that requires one or more residents to have reached an age that is not less than 55 is allowed. Younger-age restrictions are invalid. Pet and smoking rules can still appear in bylaws, subject to other provincial rules such as certified guide and service dogs. None of this is legal advice for a specific household.

Form B must include details about parking stalls and storage lockers allocated to the lot, including their numbers. Allocation methods vary. A stall can be limited common property, a common-property assignment, or something described in a separate instrument. Marketing photos are not proof of the allocation.

If parking or storage matters to daily use, match the Form B, the strata plan, and any assignment documents. Ask what happens if a stall is relocated for repairs, EV equipment, or a common-property change.

Minutes, the depreciation report, work orders on the Form B, and any engineering or envelope reports together show what the corporation is maintaining and what it is postponing. Outstanding notices or work orders for the lot, common property, or common assets must be disclosed on the Form B.

Major projects can appear as approved levies, CRF expenditures, or items still heading to a general meeting. Read the purpose and timing. Do not invent a rule of thumb for how large a project “should” be. If envelope, structure, or mechanical work is described, an inspector or other qualified professional should interpret it.

The review is a chance to ask unresolved questions, not a checklist that tells you to proceed. Useful questions typically include: Is this the current Form B, and does a section Form B also exist? Which bylaws are filed today? What parking and storage are allocated to this lot? What levies are approved, and what items are only proposed? What does the insurance summary omit that an owner policy would need to discuss? Which minutes or reports still have not arrived?

First-time buyers who want the broader buying sequence can use the First-Time Home Buyers Seminar and then return to this document list for a strata-specific offer. Current listings are on Homes for Sale.

Alex can help organize the review through real estate services. He does not replace a lawyer or notary on title, contracts, or strata-law questions; an inspector on physical condition; an accountant on tax or financing structure; an insurance broker on coverage gaps; or a strata specialist on a complex corporation file.

If a document is missing, contradictory, or outside your comfort with the legal or technical language, pause the decision and get the right reader. That is a process choice, not a verdict on the building.