Strata Depreciation Reports in BC: The 2026 Rules and How to Read One
Since July 1, 2024, every strata corporation in BC with five or more lots has had to get a new depreciation report at least once every five years, and the old trick of skipping it with a 3/4 vote every year is gone. In Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley the catch-up deadline for buildings with no report since the end of 2020 was July 1, 2026. That date has passed. So if you're buying a condo or townhouse today and the Form B package comes without a depreciation report, or with one from 2019, that tells you something about how the building is run.
The report itself is a long document written by one of six designated professions, and it's tempting to read the executive summary and move on. I think the part that matters most for your money is in the financial forecasting section: the 30-year cash-flow funding models. That table tells you whether the contingency reserve fund (CRF) can pay for the roof, the windows and the elevator, or whether the plan quietly relies on special levies that will land on whoever owns the unit at the time. Below are the current rules, checked against the Strata Property Act and Regulation, and how I'd read that table before removing subjects.
Source: Strata Property Regulation ss. 5.8, 6.1, 6.21, 6.22; Government of B.C., depreciation report requirements.
The rules now, and what changed
Two separate sets of amendments changed how BC stratas plan for big repairs. The first, effective November 1, 2023, put a floor under CRF contributions. The second, effective July 1, 2024, made depreciation reports mandatory on a fixed cycle. A third change, which took effect for reports obtained from July 1, 2025, limited who can write the report.
The CRF change is easy to miss because it sounds technical. Under the old version of section 6.1 of the Regulation, a strata whose reserve was below 25% of its operating budget had to put in the lesser of 10% of the operating budget or whatever topped the fund up to 25%. Once the fund hit 25%, there was no minimum at all. A building could sit at a quarter of one year's operating budget for decades and be fully compliant. Now the contribution has to be at least 10% of the operating fund budget every year, whatever the balance, and the strata has to set it after considering its most recent depreciation report.
| Rule | Before | Now | In force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum yearly CRF contribution | Lesser of 10% of operating budget or the top-up to 25%, only while the CRF was under 25% of the operating budget | At least 10% of the operating fund budget, every year | Nov 1, 2023 |
| How often a depreciation report is needed | Every 3 years | At least once every 5 years | July 1, 2024 |
| Skipping the report | Allowed by a 3/4 vote at each AGM | Not allowed; only stratas with fewer than 5 lots are exempt | July 1, 2024 |
| Who can write it | Anyone with the knowledge and expertise | Six designated professions (engineers, architects, technologists, appraisers, reserve planners, quantity surveyors) | July 1, 2025; list widened Oct 27, 2025 |
| Required content | Component inventory, 30-year forecast, 3 funding models | Same, plus an executive summary; ventilation and air conditioning added to the systems list | July 1, 2024 |
| Developer's money toward the first report | No payment tied to the report | Lesser of $5,000 + $200 per lot, or $30,000, paid into the CRF | Stratas created on or after July 1, 2027 |
Source: Strata Property Regulation ss. 6.1, 6.2, 6.21 to 6.23; Regulation point-in-time versions (pre-2023 s. 6.1, pre-2024 s. 6.2); B.C. news release, 2024; Government of B.C., changes to strata legislation.
Two things the new rules don't do. They don't force a strata to follow any of the funding models in the report. The province says plainly that the models are there for the strata's consideration and "do not have to be adopted" (gov.bc.ca). And the 10% floor is tied to the operating budget, not to what the building will actually need. A 40-year-old concrete tower and a five-year-old wood-frame building with the same operating budget have the same legal minimum. That's why the report matters more than the minimum.
Who had to have a report by when
Section 6.21 of the Regulation sets the dates. The "specified area" it refers to is the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the Fraser Valley Regional District and the Capital Regional District, minus islands you can only reach by boat or air (Bowen Island and the Southern Gulf Islands fall outside it). Every city in the table further down is inside it: Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam and the rest are Metro Vancouver members, and Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission are in the Fraser Valley Regional District.
| Strata | First or catch-up report due |
|---|---|
| Created before July 1, 2024, no report since Dec 31, 2020, in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley or CRD | Before July 1, 2026 (passed) |
| Same, located elsewhere in BC (incl. Bowen Island, Southern Gulf Islands) | Before July 1, 2027 |
| Created July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027 | Within 2 years of the first AGM |
| Created on or after July 1, 2027 | Within 18 months of the first AGM; developer pays toward it |
| Fewer than 5 strata lots | Exempt |
Source: Strata Property Regulation ss. 6.21, 6.22; Government of B.C., depreciation report requirements.
The same regions face a second date soon. Existing stratas with five or more lots in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the CRD must have an electrical planning report by December 31, 2026 (elsewhere, December 31, 2028). The province describes it as a look at the building's current electrical capacity and its ability to meet new demand, such as EV charging, heat pumps and cooling. Form B now asks whether the strata has one, so it will be in the package you read.
My read on the deadlines: a Metro Vancouver building that still has no report dated after 2020 is behind the law, and I'd want to know why before I'd want to know anything else. The section of the Regulation that sets the deadline doesn't attach a penalty to it, so "behind" doesn't mean the building is unsellable. It means the council either hasn't prioritized it or is avoiding what the report would say. Ask, and get the answer in writing through your agent.
What a depreciation report has to contain
Section 6.2 of the Regulation lists the contents. In plain terms, every report has:
- A component inventory based on an on-site visual inspection: structure, roofs and roof decks, windows, doors, skylights, electrical, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, fire protection, security, amenities, parking and roads, water and sewer, landscaping and fencing, interior finishes, green building components, balconies and patios. Each item gets an estimated service life over 30 years.
- A 30-year cost forecast for the items paid from the CRF, with the interest and inflation assumptions written down.
- At least three cash-flow funding models over 30 years. They can use the CRF, special levies, borrowing or a mix.
- The current CRF balance net of money already approved but not yet spent, and how the fund is being topped up today.
- Who wrote it: name, qualifications, errors-and-omissions insurance (if any) and their relationship to the strata. Plus the date and an executive summary.
What it is not: a technical audit. The province's own guidance points out that the inventory is visual, while a technical audit looks for construction and design defects and usually involves opening walls (gov.bc.ca practical tips). A clean depreciation report doesn't mean there is no leak behind the cladding. If the minutes mention water ingress or an envelope study, that's a separate document to ask for.
How to read the 30-year funding table
Each funding model is usually a year-by-year table: opening CRF balance, contributions, interest, projected spending, closing balance. Some reports add a chart. Here's what I look at, in order.
1. Which model did the strata adopt? The report offers three or more; the budget shows which one owners are actually paying. Put the CRF line from the current budget next to the models. If the budget matches the cheapest model, read that model's assumptions twice.
2. Where does the closing balance bottom out? Scan the closing-balance column for the lowest number and the year it happens. A model that drops to zero or close to it in a year with a big project is a model that needs a special levy or a loan in that year, even if it doesn't say so in those words.
3. Does the model use special levies or borrowing? The Regulation allows funding models built on levies and loans. A model with a levy in year 3 is telling you the strata expects owners to write a cheque in year 3. If you'll own the unit in year 3, that cheque is yours.
4. What's coming in the next five to seven years? The cost schedule lists each component's remaining life. Roofs, windows, cladding, elevators, boilers and parkade membranes are the big ones. A cluster of them in the next few years is where the money question is.
5. What are the assumptions? The report must state its interest and inflation rates. If construction inflation is assumed well below recent experience, every future cost in the table is too low. You don't need to be an engineer to see whether the inflation number looks optimistic.
6. How old is the report? A report is a snapshot. If it's three or four years old and the strata has since approved a big project, the table no longer matches reality. Minutes fill that gap.
A worked example: two ways to fund the same building
This example is hypothetical, with round numbers, to show the mechanics. Say a 60-unit building has an operating budget of $300,000 a year and $400,000 in its CRF. Its depreciation report projects a roof replacement in year 8 costing $900,000 and an elevator modernization in year 12 costing $600,000. To keep it simple I've ignored interest on the fund and treated those costs as already inflated to the year they happen. Your unit has a unit entitlement of 85 out of 4,500 total; unit entitlement is usually based on habitable area, and it sets your share of fees and levies (gov.bc.ca).
Model A pays the legal minimum: 10% of $300,000, or $30,000 a year. Model B pays $95,000 a year.
- A: legal minimum ($30,000/yr)
- B: $95,000/yr
Source: Hypothetical example for illustration; minimum contribution rule from Strata Property Regulation s. 6.1.
Show the numbers
| A: legal minimum ($30,000/yr) | B: $95,000/yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Y0 | $400K | $400K |
| Y1 | $430K | $495K |
| Y2 | $460K | $590K |
| Y3 | $490K | $685K |
| Y4 | $520K | $780K |
| Y5 | $550K | $875K |
| Y6 | $580K | $970K |
| Y7 | $610K | $1.07M |
| Y8 | $0 | $260K |
| Y9 | $30K | $355K |
| Y10 | $60K | $450K |
| Y11 | $90K | $545K |
| Y12 | $0 | $40K |
Under model A the fund runs short by $260,000 in year 8 and $480,000 in year 12. Those gaps have to come from special levies (or a loan, which owners also repay). Model B never needs a levy and ends year 12 with $40,000 in the bank.
| Your unit | Model A | Model B |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly strata fee | $519.44 | $621.76 |
| CRF part of fee | $47.22 | $149.54 |
| Special levy, year 8 | $4,911 | $0 |
| Special levy, year 12 | $9,067 | $0 |
| CRF + levies, 12 years | $20,778 | $21,533 |
Source: hypothetical example; unit share = unit entitlement ÷ total unit entitlement, the strata-fee formula in Strata Property Act s. 99 and the 3/4-vote levy basis in s. 108.
Here's the uncomfortable part. Over the 12 years, the unit pays almost the same total under either model: $20,778 versus $21,533. The building's bills don't change. Underfunding only changes who pays and when. Model A's fee is $102.32 a month lower, which looks better on a listing. But the year-8 levy alone equals about 48 months of that saving, and the owners who enjoyed the low fees in years 1 to 7 aren't the ones who pay if they sold in year 7.
And there's no refund for the seller. Section 101 of the Act says a seller isn't entitled to get their CRF contributions back. Under section 109, if a levy is approved before the sale completes, the seller owes the instalments due before the completion date and the buyer owes the rest. A building that's about to vote on a levy is a building where timing matters a lot.
So when I compare two similar condos and one has noticeably lower strata fees, I don't treat that as a saving until I've seen the funding table. Lower fees are sometimes a well-run building with good reserves. Sometimes they're model A.
Red flags I'd look for
| What you see | Where to find it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| No depreciation report, or the newest is from before 2021 | Form B attachments | In Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley the catch-up deadline passed July 1, 2026; ask why |
| Budget CRF contribution at or near 10% of the operating budget | Current budget | That's the legal floor, not a plan; compare it with the report's models |
| Adopted model's balance hits zero or near zero | Report, funding models | Points to a levy or loan in that year |
| Funding model built on special levies | Report, funding models | The plan expects owners to pay lump sums |
| Approved levy with future instalments | Form B, item (d) | Under s. 109 the buyer owes the instalments due on or after completion |
| Notice of a 3/4 or unanimous vote not yet held | Form B, item (i); minutes | Often a levy or major repair about to be voted on |
| Expenses expected to exceed the budget | Form B, item (e) | A deficit has to be eliminated the next fiscal year (s. 105) |
| Lawsuits, tribunal claims, outstanding work orders | Form B, items (j) and (k) | Can mean costs not in the report at all |
| Minutes mention leaks, envelope review, engineer's study | Council and AGM minutes | A depreciation report is visual; it isn't a technical audit |
| Recent notice of a change in insurance coverage or deductibles | Form B insurance summary; owner notices | Strata must tell owners of material coverage changes, including higher deductibles |
Source: Strata Property Act s. 59 (Form B contents); Strata Property Act ss. 101, 105, 108, 109; Strata Property Regulation Form B; Government of B.C., practical tips; Government of B.C., changes to strata legislation (insurance change notices).
Why this matters more in today's condo market
Apartment prices have been sliding, and that gives buyers time to read documents. GVR's September 2026 apartment benchmark was $682,500, down 6.2% from a year earlier, and apartment sales fell 18.6% to 777 (GVR). The apartment sales-to-active ratio was 11.4%; GVR says ratios below 12% for a sustained period put downward pressure on prices. In the Fraser Valley the apartment benchmark was $461,800, down 9.3% year over year (FVREB).
EstateBlock's live listing data shows how much strata inventory there is to choose from. On October 16, 2026 the cities below had 8,069 condos and 3,341 townhouses listed, 11,410 strata homes in total, every one of them inside the region where the July 1, 2026 catch-up deadline applied. These are asking prices of active listings, not sale prices.
| City | Condos | Condo median asking | Townhouses | Townhouse median asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 2,302 | $798,969 | 520 | $1,398,850 |
| Burnaby | 1,091 | $687,000 | 214 | $920,333 |
| Richmond | 906 | $685,600 | 363 | $1,049,668 |
| North Vancouver | 462 | $799,000 | 146 | $1,298,000 |
| Coquitlam | 624 | $632,475 | 201 | $1,069,000 |
| Port Moody | 144 | $699,000 | 38 | $932,950 |
| New Westminster | 346 | $545,333 | 64 | $874,944 |
| Surrey | 1,123 | $499,002 | 950 | $789,103 |
| Langley | 403 | $499,999 | 275 | $829,000 |
| Maple Ridge | 151 | $450,000 | 127 | $749,900 |
| Abbotsford | 320 | $399,000 | 242 | $666,450 |
| Chilliwack | 197 | $369,000 | 201 | $624,900 |
Source: EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot Oct 16, 2026 (asking prices of active listings, not sale prices); regional districts from Metro Vancouver and the FVRD member list (gov.bc.ca).
Source: EstateBlock.com live listings, snapshot Oct 16, 2026 (asking prices of active listings, not sale prices)
Show the numbers
| City | Median days |
|---|---|
| Richmond | 68 |
| Surrey | 64 |
| Abbotsford | 62 |
| Burnaby | 55 |
| Chilliwack | 54 |
| Maple Ridge | 53 |
| New Westminster | 51 |
| Langley | 51 |
| Coquitlam | 42 |
| Vancouver | 38 |
| Port Moody | 35 |
| North Vancouver | 33 |
The median condo listing in Richmond had been up for 68 days; in North Vancouver, 33. My read: when listings sit, a buyer has more room to ask for a longer subject period, and that's what you need to read a long report properly and ask questions. In this market I wouldn't let anyone talk me into a subject-free offer on a strata without having seen the depreciation report and the minutes first. If a seller won't give you time for that, you've learned something too.
A falling market also changes the levy math. A special levy is paid in cash on top of a mortgage, and it doesn't shrink when prices do. If a levy is coming, it's a fair thing to price into an offer. How much is a negotiation, not a formula, and I'd talk it through with your lawyer before writing it into the contract.
What to do before subject removal
Here's the order I'd work in once an offer is accepted subject to documents.
- Get the Form B. The strata has to provide it within one week of a request, and the fee is capped at $35 plus copying. The most recent depreciation report, the current budget and the rules must be attached. Read items (d), (e), (f), (i), (j) and (k) first: approved levies, expected overspending, the CRF balance, pending big votes, legal proceedings, work orders.
- Read the depreciation report's executive summary, then the funding models. Find the model the budget follows. Note the lowest closing balance and the year, and every levy or loan in the first seven years.
- Read the minutes. Council, AGM and SGM minutes are records owners (and people they authorize in writing) can get under sections 35 and 36. I'd ask for at least two years. Minutes are where a leak, a lawsuit or a levy shows up before it reaches Form B.
- Compare the CRF balance with what's due soon. If the next five years of projects cost much more than the fund plus five years of contributions, the difference has to come from somewhere.
- Check the electrical planning report (or ask when it's coming, if the deadline hasn't passed).
- Ask your lawyer or notary how any approved or pending levy is handled in your contract. Section 109 sets the default split, and a contract can say more.
Budget the paper costs as part of your closing costs; the Form B is one of the few with a legal price cap. If you're weighing a brand-new building against an older one, the depreciation picture is one of the bigger differences, and I go through the rest of that comparison in presale vs resale in Vancouver. Strata fees and the CRF also sit alongside property tax in the monthly cost of owning; the Vancouver property tax breakdown covers that side. For the full buying sequence, see the first-time home buyer guide, the guide to buying a presale condo and the closing cost calculator.
Sources
- Strata Property Act, Part 6 (ss. 92 to 109: CRF, depreciation report, special levies)
- Strata Property Act, Part 4 (ss. 35, 36 records; s. 59 Information Certificate)
- Strata Property Regulation (ss. 5.8, 6.1, 6.2, 6.21 to 6.23; Form B)
- Strata Property Regulation, point-in-time versions (previous ss. 6.1 and 6.2)
- Government of B.C.: Strata depreciation report requirements
- Government of B.C.: The contingency reserve fund (CRF)
- Government of B.C.: Changes to strata legislation
- Government of B.C. news release: depreciation report regulations (2024)
- Government of B.C.: Depreciation reports, practical tips
- Government of B.C.: Special levies
- Government of B.C.: Unit entitlement
- Government of B.C.: Paperwork for strata buyers and sellers
- Metro Vancouver: Member jurisdictions
- Government of B.C.: Fraser Valley Regional District voting strength (member municipalities)
- Greater Vancouver REALTORS: September 2026 stats package
- Fraser Valley Real Estate Board: September 2026 statistics package
- EstateBlock.com: Vancouver condos for sale (snapshot Oct 16, 2026)
- EstateBlock.com: Burnaby condos for sale (snapshot Oct 16, 2026)
- EstateBlock.com: Surrey condos for sale (snapshot Oct 16, 2026)
- EstateBlock.com: Richmond condos for sale (snapshot Oct 16, 2026)
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.