Form B Strata Guide: How to Read a BC Information Certificate Before Subject Removal

By Dan Marusin PREC November 4, 2026 17 min read

A Form B costs a buyer at most $35 plus 25 cents a page, and the strata has one week to hand it over. For that, you get a signed statement from the strata corporation about the unit's fees, any special levy already approved, the contingency reserve fund (CRF), lawsuits, outstanding work orders, parking, storage and insurance, with the rules, budget and latest depreciation report attached. And under section 59 of the Strata Property Act, what it says is binding on the strata if you relied on it reasonably.

It is the cheapest document in a condo or townhouse purchase and, in my view, the one that deserves the slowest read. Below is the form line by line, what each answer should make you do, what Form B leaves out, and how to fit it into a subject period that can be shorter than the time the strata is allowed to take.

Strata's deadline to provide it1 weekSPA s. 59(1)

Maximum fee$35plus up to 25¢ per page

Questions on today's form16lines (a) to (p), (l) repealed

Required attachments3rules, budget, depreciation report (plus any electrical planning reports)

What Form B is and who can get one

Form B is the Information Certificate prescribed by the Strata Property Regulation. An owner, a purchaser, or someone authorized by either of them can request it. "Purchaser" here means someone who has signed an agreement to buy, and the province's Form B page points out that the Act doesn't require that agreement to be free of subjects. So once your offer is accepted, you or your agent can order it directly from the strata or its property manager.

Three things about it matter more than people expect:

It's binding. The disclosed information is binding on the strata in its dealings with a person who relied on the certificate and acted reasonably. That gives you a footing if the certificate turns out to be wrong. A court can also make orders to give effect to, or relieve the strata from, an inaccurate certificate (s. 59(6)).
Except the insurance summary. Under s. 59(5.1), the insurance information isn't binding on the strata if it came from the strata's insurer or insurance agent. Treat that section as a summary, not a guarantee.
It's a snapshot. The answers are as of the date on the certificate. A Form B from three months ago, sitting in the listing package, is history. Ask for a current one.

If the building has sections (a mixed residential and commercial building, or a townhouse complex with an apartment block), the province says to request a Form B from both the strata corporation and the relevant section.

Form B line by line

The form asks a fixed set of questions. Here is each one, what I'd do with the answer, and the answers that make me slow down. The letters match the current Form B in the Regulation.

Form B: Information Certificate, what each line tells a buyer
Line	What it shows	What I check	Slow down if...
(a) Strata fees	Monthly fee for this unit	Matches the listing and the budget's fee schedule	Fee differs from the listing, or the budget shows a big jump next year
(b) Owing	What the seller owes the strata now	Should be $0 or cleared by completion	Arrears or fines: make payout a condition
(c) Alteration agreements	Owner took on costs for changes (flooring, A/C, etc.)	Read the attached agreement	You inherit repair or insurance duties you didn't price
(d) Approved levy	Future levy amount for this unit and due date	Who pays what under s. 109	Instalments fall after your completion date
(e) Over budget	Expected shortfall this fiscal year	Size vs. the operating budget	Any amount: the deficit must be cleared next year
(f) CRF	Reserve fund minus approved spending	Compare with the depreciation report's plan	Small balance next to big items due soon
(g) Unfiled bylaws	Bylaw changes passed, not yet at Land Title	Read them; they apply anyway	Changes to pets, parking, short-term rentals
(h), (h.1) Unfiled resolutions, wind-up	3/4 or unanimous resolutions not yet filed; any winding-up resolution	Read every one	Any wind-up resolution
(i) Votes coming	Notice given for a 3/4, 80%, unanimous or bylaw vote	Get the notice package	A levy or borrowing vote before or after you complete
(j) Legal	Court, arbitration, tribunal (CRT) matters and judgments	Who is suing whom and for what	Envelope, deficiency or insurance claims
(k) Work orders	Outstanding notices or orders for the unit or common property	Read the order	Fire, elevator or city orders with deadlines
(m), (n) Parking, locker	Which stall and locker, and how they're held	Part of the lot, LCP, or common property	Common property 'allocated', or 'may have been' by developer
(o) Insurance	Summary of the strata's coverage	Deductibles, especially water	Large deductibles; summary is not binding if from the insurer
(p) Electrical planning report	Whether the strata has one (attached)	EV charging capacity	No report and you plan to install a charger

Source: Strata Property Act s. 59; Strata Property Regulation, Form B; SPA Part 6 (ss. 105, 108, 109). "What I check" and "Slow down if" columns are Dan Marusin's read.

The money lines: (a), (d), (e) and (f)

Line (d) only shows a levy that's already approved. A levy that owners are about to vote on shows up, if at all, under line (i) as a notice. A levy that council is still talking about doesn't show up on Form B anywhere; you'll only see it in the minutes. When one has been approved, section 109 splits it by due date: the seller owes instalments due before the completion date, you owe the ones due on or after. If the instalments land after your completion date, that's a price conversation, and your lawyer or notary should put any credit in writing.

Line (e) is the one people skim. It's the amount the strata expects to overspend its budget this year. Under s. 105, an operating deficit must be eliminated during the next fiscal year, so a number here usually means higher fees or a levy is coming. Ask which.

Line (f) is the CRF after money that's already been approved but not yet spent. A building can report a healthy-looking CRF in its financial statements and a much smaller one on Form B because a roof project has been approved. Compare the Form B figure with the funding plan in the depreciation report attached to the same certificate. If the report says the windows are due in three years and the CRF can't cover them, the gap gets paid by owners later, one way or another.

The legal lines: (i), (j) and (k)

Each of these comes with attachments. A yes on (j) means the strata is a party to a court case, arbitration or Civil Resolution Tribunal matter, or has a judgment against it. That can be a small dispute with one owner over a fine or a large claim against a builder over a leaking envelope. The details matter, so read them rather than counting the yeses. A yes on (k) means a city, fire or other authority has issued a notice or work order that's still open. Those often come with deadlines and a cost.

Parking, lockers and insurance: (m), (n) and (o)

Parking is where Form B saves the most arguments. The form says whether each stall or locker is part of the strata lot, a separate strata lot, limited common property, or common property. If it's common property, the form says whether council allocated it, rents it to the owner monthly, or whether it "may have been allocated by owner developer assignment". The form itself warns that a common-property stall may be short-term exclusive use under s. 76 and may change in the future. If the listing says "two parking" and Form B says one is common property allocated by council, that second stall isn't something you're buying.

The insurance summary was added to Form B on April 1, 2023. Read the deductibles. Under s. 158 of the Act, a deductible on a strata claim is a common expense, but the strata can sue an owner to recover it if that owner is responsible for the loss. In practice that means your own condo insurance should cover the strata's deductible for the types of loss you could cause, which is a question for your insurance agent before subject removal, not after. The strata also has to tell owners as soon as feasible about any material change in coverage, including a higher deductible (s. 154).

What Form B doesn't tell you

Form B attaches the rules, but not the bylaws. Bylaws are where pets, short-term rentals, age limits, renovations and move-in fees live. It also doesn't include minutes, financial statements, engineering reports or the insurance policy itself.

Those are strata records under s. 35. A buyer isn't an owner, so the route is s. 36: the seller authorizes you in writing, and the strata has up to 2 weeks to provide the records (one week for bylaws and rules), at no more than 25 cents a page for copies. Sellers can order a package from the property manager when they list, so ask the listing agent whether one exists. Either way, this is the list I want before removing subjects.

What to collect on top of Form B before subject removal
Document	Why it matters	Where it comes from
Bylaws (current, with amendments)	Pets, short-term rentals, age 55+, renos, moving fees	Seller / strata (s. 36); amendments filed at Land Title Office
Council minutes (24 months or more)	Levies being discussed, leaks, insurance claims, disputes	Strata records via s. 36, seller's written authorization
AGM and SGM minutes	Votes held, failed levy votes, budget fights	Strata records via s. 36
Financial statements	Actual spending vs. budget, arrears, CRF history	Strata records via s. 36
Engineering and other repair reports	Envelope, roof, plumbing, elevator condition	Strata records via s. 36 (s. 35(2)(n.2))
Insurance certificate / policy summary	Deductibles by peril, coverage limits	Strata or property manager
Strata plan	Unit entitlement, limited common property	Land Title Office
Form F, Certificate of Payment	Seller owes nothing; needed to transfer title	Strata, max $15, current 60 days

Source: Strata Property Act ss. 35, 36, 59; gov.bc.ca: Paperwork for strata buyers and sellers; gov.bc.ca: Form F; Strata Property Regulation s. 4.4.

Minutes are where I spend the most time, because they show what's coming before it reaches Form B. "Council discussed obtaining quotes for the parkade membrane" in a council meeting six months ago is how a future line (d) looks today.

Rentals, age limits and Airbnb

Older advice says to check Form B for rental restrictions. That line is gone. Since November 24, 2022, under s. 141, a strata corporation must not screen tenants, require approval of tenants or otherwise restrict the rental of a strata lot, and the province says all rental-restriction bylaws are invalid. The same amendment removed the requirement to disclose how many lots are rented and to attach the developer's Rental Disclosure Statement (point-in-time text); the form's line itself was repealed by B.C. Reg. 6/2023.

Two limits survive, and neither is on Form B, so you have to read the bylaws:

Short-term rentals. A strata can still limit or ban short-term rentals by bylaw (passed by a 3/4 vote), with fines of up to $1,000 a day. If you're buying to host on Airbnb, the bylaws and the city's rules both have to allow it. My short-term rental post covers the provincial and Vancouver rules.
Age 55+. Since November 24, 2022, the only age restriction a strata can have is 55 or older, with exemptions for legacy residents and live-in caregivers, and since May 1, 2023, for children (including adult children) and younger spouses or partners. The province notes these bylaws restrict who can live in the unit, not who can own it. Buying in a 55+ building to rent to a younger tenant is the kind of plan that needs a careful read of the age-restriction rules first.

Fitting it into your subject period

Here's the timing problem. The strata gets up to a week for Form B and up to two weeks for records. Subject periods are negotiated deal by deal. Hypothetically, if yours is seven days and you only ask for documents after acceptance, the strata can legally deliver Form B on the last day and the minutes a week after your subjects are gone.

Strata documents and the purchase timeline
Step	Legal clock	What to do
Offer accepted	Rescission period starts	Order Form B the same day; ask the seller for the records package and written authorization
Rescission period	3 business days; walking away costs 0.25% of the price	If Form B is already in the listing package, read it now
Form B arrives	Strata has up to 1 week (s. 59)	Rush fees are sometimes charged for faster service
Records arrive	Strata has up to 2 weeks (s. 36); bylaws and rules 1 week	Minutes, financials, engineering reports, bylaws
Subject removal	Whatever your contract says	Extend in writing if documents are late; don't remove blind
Before completion	Form F within 1 week; valid 60 days	Your lawyer or notary orders it; it confirms the seller owes nothing

Source: Strata Property Act ss. 36, 59; gov.bc.ca: Form B; gov.bc.ca: Form F; Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation.

The home buyer rescission period gives you 3 business days to walk away from a residential strata purchase, but it costs 0.25% of the purchase price, and it's no substitute for a subject clause. On a $673,400 apartment (the GVR October benchmark) that's $1,684. A subject clause for review of strata documents, with enough days to actually get them, costs nothing.

On fees: hypothetically, a Form B with a 200-page package of rules, budget and depreciation report would cost at most $35 + 200 × 25¢ = $85. Some managers add a rush fee when you ask for it in less than 7 days. Whatever it is, it's small next to the other closing costs.

Is it the current form?

The province says to use the current version of Form B because it's regularly updated. An old template is a sign the manager may have missed something else, like the insurance summary or the electrical planning report question.

How Form B has changed
Effective	Change to Form B
March 1, 2012	Rules, current budget and latest depreciation report attached (plus the developer's rental disclosure, since removed)
January 1, 2014	Parking stall and storage locker allocation
July 2016	Civil Resolution Tribunal matters; any winding-up resolution passed
November 24, 2022	Rented-lots count and rental disclosure attachment removed
April 1, 2023	Summary of the strata's insurance coverage
2023 (B.C. Reg. 261/2023)	Whether the strata has an electrical planning report, with copies attached
2024 to Oct 27, 2026	No changes to s. 59 or Form B

Source: gov.bc.ca: Changes to strata legislation; Strata Property Act point-in-time; Table of Legislative Changes; Strata Property Regulation, Form B amendment history.

The electrical planning report line is worth a second look this year. Stratas created by the end of 2023 with five or more lots in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Regional District and the Capital Regional District have to obtain one by December 31, 2026 (December 31, 2028 elsewhere). Newer stratas have five years from the date the strata plan was deposited. So a "no" on line (p) in an older Burnaby or Surrey building this winter means the report is due soon; in a newer building it may not be due yet. Either way, ask council when it's scheduled.

How many Form Bs buyers are reading right now

Strata homes are most of what sells here. In October 2026, apartments and attached homes made up 1,360 of the 2,024 sales Greater Vancouver REALTORS® reported (67%). Not every attached home is a strata lot, but those are the property types where a Form B normally comes with the deal. The benchmark price was $673,400 for an apartment and $1,006,500 for a townhouse.

Active condo and townhouse listings by city EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot 2026-11-04. Active listings, condos plus townhouses

Vancouver2,742Surrey1,990Burnaby1,288Richmond1,168Coquitlam768Langley648North Vancouver589New Westminster410

Source: EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot 2026-11-04

Show the numbers

City	Active listings
Vancouver	2,742
Surrey	1,990
Burnaby	1,288
Richmond	1,168
Coquitlam	768
Langley	648
North Vancouver	589
New Westminster	410

Across those eight cities, EstateBlock's live data shows 9,603 active condo and townhouse listings, and 589 new ones in the last seven days. Each one is a Form B somebody will order. Prices below are asking prices of active listings, not sale prices.

Strata asking prices by city, 2026-11-04 (asking, not sale prices)
City	Condo median asking	Condo median days	Townhouse median asking
Vancouver	$797,943	50	$1,393,170
Burnaby	$688,000	57	$977,267
Surrey	$499,000	70	$786,285
Richmond	$685,869	76	$1,042,666
Coquitlam	$629,185	51	$1,090,000
North Vancouver	$791,333	42	$1,299,900
Langley	$509,000	51	$829,950
New Westminster	$549,900	44	$862,000

Source: EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot 2026-11-04 (Vancouver condos, Burnaby condos, Surrey townhouses and the other city pages listed in Sources). Median days on market for active listings.

Why this matters for Form B: with a median of 50 days on market for active Vancouver condos and 70 in Surrey, the typical listing isn't selling in a weekend. GVR's sales-to-active listings ratio for apartments was 13.5% in October, close to the 12% level GVR associates with downward pressure on prices. My read: in this market, a buyer can usually ask for a subject period long enough to get Form B and the minutes, and a seller who won't allow it is telling you something. I'd still look at how long the specific building's listings have been sitting before assuming that.

If you're comparing buildings rather than one unit, my condo vs townhouse post goes through fees and price per foot by type, and you can browse live Vancouver condo listings or Burnaby condo listings on EstateBlock.

If you're selling

Order Form B and the records package when you list, not when you get an offer. A buyer who can read the minutes and the depreciation report on day one can write a shorter subject period with fewer surprises, and fewer surprises mean fewer collapsed deals. Check line (b) first: if you owe the strata anything, sort it out early, because the strata can withhold the Form F your buyer's lawyer needs to transfer title while money is owing. And if your Form B shows a levy or a pending vote, say so up front. It's on the form either way, and it's better priced in than discovered.

One more seller point: you don't get your CRF contributions back when you sell. That money stays with the building, which is one more reason buyers pay attention to line (f).

If you're buying your first strata unit, the first-time buyer guide covers the rest of the process, and the Vancouver real estate page has neighbourhood context.

This is general information about the Strata Property Act, not legal advice. Before you rely on a Form B or remove subjects, confirm your situation with a lawyer or notary.

FAQ

What is a Form B in a BC strata?

Form B is the Information Certificate under section 59 of the Strata Property Act. It discloses the unit's strata fees, money owing, approved special levies, expected budget overspending, the contingency reserve fund balance, unfiled bylaws and resolutions, pending 3/4 or bylaw votes, legal proceedings, work orders, parking and storage allocation, an insurance summary and whether the strata has an electrical planning report. The rules, current budget and latest depreciation report are attached.

How long does a strata have to provide a Form B?

One week from the request. The maximum fee is $35 plus up to 25 cents per page for copies. Some strata managers charge a rush fee when it's needed in less than 7 days.

Can a buyer request a Form B directly?

Yes. An owner, a purchaser who has signed an agreement to buy, or someone authorized by either can request it. Other records such as minutes and financial statements need the seller's written authorization, and the strata has up to 2 weeks to provide them.

Does Form B show rental restrictions?

No. Since November 24, 2022, BC stratas can't restrict long-term rentals, and the Form B line about rented units was repealed. Short-term rental bans and 55+ age bylaws are still allowed, so read the bylaws, which are not attached to Form B.

Is the information on a Form B binding?

Yes, on the strata corporation in its dealings with a person who relied on it reasonably. The insurance summary is the exception when the strata got that information from its insurer or insurance agent.

Sources

Dan Marusin PREC, REALTOR® · Renanza Realty Inc., 777 Hornby St, Suite 600, Vancouver, BC. This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.