BC Strata Rules: the full reference

Maximum fee a strata corporation may charge for a Form B Information Certificate is $35 under section 4.4 of the Strata Property Regulation (BC Reg 43/2000). The $35 cap is for the Form B certificate itself; a $0.25/page photocopy cap applies separately to (a) attachments accompanying Form B and (b) copies of other strata documents requested under section 4.2 of the Regulation (which implements Strata Property Act s. 36 — bylaws, rules, financial statements, AGM/SGM minutes).

Form B must be issued within 1 week (commonly rendered as 7 days) of request, per SPA s. 59.

NOT to be confused with Bill 44 (2023) SSMUH. The 2022 Bill 44 amended the Strata Property Act effective November 24, 2022 to: (1) void all rental restriction bylaws (strata corps can no longer prohibit or limit rentals to non-family); (2) restrict age-restriction bylaws to a minimum age of 55, with exemptions for some caregivers and prior residents (and, from May 1, 2023, for children and younger spouses or partners).

Bylaws limiting or banning short-term rentals remain allowed (BC Government, Changes to strata legislation).

Strata corporations of 5+ residential units must obtain a depreciation report every 5 years. Effective July 1, 2024 — phased compliance dates apply. A strata corporation that has no depreciation report, or whose report was received before December 31, 2020, must obtain one by July 1, 2026 if it is in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley or the Capital Regional District; by July 1, 2027 everywhere else in BC, including the Southern Gulf Islands and Bowen Island (islands within those three districts reachable only by boat or air fall in the later group).

A strata whose report was received on or after December 31, 2020 stays on the ordinary 5-year cycle. The depreciation report must accompany Form B once mandatory for that strata.

BC strata insurance rules and the 2020 reform package. Bill 14 (2020), the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2020, took effect on Royal Assent, August 14, 2020: a strata corporation must inform owners and tenants as soon as feasible of any material change in its insurance coverage, including an increase in a deductible (Strata Property Act, s. 154(c)).

Since April 1, 2023 the Form B Information Certificate must carry a summary of the strata's insurance coverage (s. 59(3)(l.2)); the summary is not binding on the strata when it comes from the insurer or agent (Strata Property Act, s. 59(5.1)). Property insurance must be on the basis of full replacement value (s. 149(4)).

A deductible is a common expense shared through strata fees (s. 158(1)), and a strata may pay it from the contingency reserve fund or a special levy without the usual 3/4 vote (s. 158(3)). Section 158(2) lets the strata sue an owner who is responsible for the loss or damage to recover the deductible; the Province says the owner need not be negligent.

Neither the Act nor the Strata Property Regulation, as consolidated to October 27, 2026, sets a maximum on that recovery. The Province now says deductibles can range from $100,000 to $750,000 and higher depending on the number of units and the claims history, and that an insurer must give the strata 30 days' notice of non-renewal or a material change.

Earthquake deductibles are a percentage of replacement value, typically 10% to 20%. Earlier industry-reported premium and deductible figures from 2019 to 2022 are history and are not stated here as current.

Companion legislation to Bill 44 (see bc.bill44_2023_ssmuh). The Transit-Oriented Areas regulations under the Housing Statutes (Transit-Oriented Areas) Amendment Act, 2023 (Bill 47) — Royal Assent November 30, 2023, regulations made December 7, 2023 — designate prescribed transit hubs across BC as Transit-Oriented Development Areas (TOD Areas). Within an 800m radius of a designated SkyTrain station and 400m of a designated bus-exchange / RapidBus stop, municipalities are required to permit minimum density and height per provincial Tier (1/2/3 — distance bands from the station).

Around a SkyTrain station the regulation sets minimum allowable densities, which a municipality must allow and may exceed: tier 1 within 200m, at least 5.0 FAR / 20 storeys; tier 2 from 200-400m, at least 4.0 FAR / 12 storeys; tier 3 from 400-800m, at least 3.0 FAR / 8 storeys (the figures for Burnaby, Coquitlam, both Langleys, New Westminster, Port Moody, Richmond and Surrey; other municipalities have their own tables in B.C. Reg.

263/2023). Around a bus exchange the regulation uses its own bands, which it numbers tier 4 (within 200m) and tier 5 (200-400m), and the prescribed minimums are lower than the SkyTrain ladder and vary by jurisdiction — Metro Vancouver, the rest of BC, and smaller jurisdictions each get different figures, so the bus-side density for a specific hub has to be read off the regulation for that municipality.

Provincial framework overrides single-family-only and most low-density municipal zoning within the TOD area. Municipalities had to designate the TOD areas in their bylaws by June 30, 2024. Lower Mainland designated SkyTrain station hubs include Surrey Central, Gateway, King George (Surrey), Lougheed Town Centre, Production Way–University, Coquitlam Central, Lincoln, Burquitlam, plus Langley's future SkyTrain stations (Surrey-Langley extension) and, in Langley, the Langley Centre Exchange (Carvolth is not in the regulation).

Practical consequence for buyers and sellers: a house listed inside a TOD area may carry assemblage value materially above the lot's detached-housing comparable; a strata unit inside a TOD area may face significant near-term redevelopment pressure (and future demolition / displacement risk) that should be priced into purchase decisions.

NOT to be confused with Bill 44 (2022) Building and Strata Statutes Amendment Act. The 2023 Bill 44 (Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023) requires most BC municipalities to permit 3-4 units on lots zoned for single-family/duplex, and 6 units on larger lots near "frequent transit" hubs. Which number applies turns on two conditions the unit counts are meaningless without: lot area, where a parcel of 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) or smaller carries the 3-unit minimum and a parcel larger than 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) carries the 4-unit minimum, and distance to frequent transit, where 400 m of a qualifying stop unlocks the 6-unit minimum on a lot above 280 m² (3,014 sq ft).

A stop QUALIFIES if it is served by at least one bus route on which a bus is scheduled to stop at least every 15 minutes on average, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (B.C. Reg. 262/2023, section 2(4)). No map is the legal test.

The Province's policy manual suggests liaising with the transit operator to identify qualifying stops and says the lowest level of service may be used where service varies seasonally; the regulation itself says nothing about seasons. Most municipalities adopted bylaws by the June 30, 2024 statutory deadline. Township of Langley adopted its 2024 small-scale housing bylaw on November 18, 2024 (extended deadline grant).

Also abolishes most public hearings for OCP-conformant rezoning. Amended by Bill 25 (2025), the Housing and Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, which received Royal Assent November 27, 2025 and widened the definition of a restricted zone to reach zones permitting a detached house plus a secondary suite plus a detached accessory dwelling — closing the argument that a zone already allowing three units sat outside the requirement.

Local governments had to bring bylaws into line with the widened definition by June 30, 2026, and the Province may override a non-compliant zoning bylaw.