“Everyone pays an equal share even though some units are twice the size. Is that fair?” An owner asked a strata advice column that question in August 2024. The split comes from the Schedule of Unit Entitlement, a form filed with the strata plan that gives each lot a number. If every lot has the same number, every lot pays the same share, whatever its floor area. The BC Strata Property Act gives no route to switch an equal schedule to one based on area after the plan is filed. What owners can change, with a unanimous vote, is the formula used to split the fees.
Below is where the equal split comes from, what can and cannot be changed, and the arithmetic for a duplex and a triplex. Our unit entitlement guide covers the basics.
Where the equal split comes from
The person who files the strata plan must set each lot’s unit entitlement and list it on the Schedule of Unit Entitlement (s.246(1), (2)). For a residential lot the Act allows three methods (s.246(3)(a)):
| Method | What it means | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Habitable area | The lot’s livable floor area in square metres, rounded to a whole number. Patios, balconies, garages, parking and storage do not count, except closets (Regulation s.14.2). | A BC land surveyor |
| Equal number | The same whole number for every residential lot | The developer |
| Superintendent approved | A number the Superintendent of Real Estate approves as a fair share of the costs | The Superintendent, for a $200 fee per schedule (Regulation s.14.8) |
Section 99 then splits every budget the same way: the lot’s unit entitlement, divided by the total of all lots, times the total contribution. The same number sets each owner’s share of the common property (s.66) and of any court judgment against the strata (s.166). Our unit entitlement guide has a worked example for a three-lot strata.
So an equal schedule is one of the three methods the Act allows. The person who filed the plan chose it at that time.
The arithmetic, two ways
A duplex with one 100 m² unit and one 200 m² unit, and a yearly budget of $8,000:
| Lot | Habitable area | Equal schedule | Area-based schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100 m² | $4,000 a year ($333.33 a month) | $2,667 a year ($222.22 a month) |
| B | 200 m² | $4,000 a year ($333.33 a month) | $5,333 a year ($444.44 a month) |
A triplex with units of 90, 90 and 180 m², and a budget of $12,000:
| Lot | Habitable area | Equal schedule | Area-based schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90 m² | $4,000 | $3,000 |
| B | 90 m² | $4,000 | $3,000 |
| C | 180 m² | $4,000 | $6,000 |
Example figures; our arithmetic using the s.99 formula. Put your own numbers into the fee split calculator.
Changing the schedule itself
Every section of the Act that amends a Schedule of Unit Entitlement keeps the method used when the plan was filed.
- Section 261 amends a schedule only “to reflect a change in the habitable area” of a lot, and only in a strata whose numbers are based on habitable area. It needs a unanimous vote, a new schedule with the Superintendent’s approval, and a Certificate of Strata Corporation filed at the Land Title Office.
- Section 264 says a new schedule after a plan amendment, such as dividing or joining lots, must use “the same formula for calculations that was used to establish” the original.
- Section 246(7) lets an owner or the strata ask the BC Supreme Court to correct a schedule, again only where the numbers are based on habitable area and do not match the real area. The Regulation bars it where the error was in the schedule when the plan was filed, and otherwise requires a gap of at least 10% or at least 20 m² (s.14.13).
None of these turns an equal schedule into an area-based one. The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), the online tribunal that hears most strata disputes, cannot hear claims under s.246 at all (Civil Resolution Tribunal Act s.122).
Changing the fee formula: the s.100 route
What owners can change is the formula used to split the fees. Under s.100, at an annual or special general meeting held after the first annual general meeting, the strata “may, by a resolution passed by a unanimous vote, agree to use one or more different formulas” for each lot’s share of the operating fund and the contingency reserve fund.
Three rules apply:
- Unanimous means every eligible voter. A unanimous vote is “a vote in favour of a resolution by all the votes of all the eligible voters” (s.1), present or not.
- It must be filed. The resolution “has no effect until it is filed in the land title office” with a Certificate of Strata Corporation stating it passed unanimously (s.100(3)).
- It can be undone the same way. Revoking or changing it also takes a unanimous vote (s.100(2)).
The owner of the larger unit has to vote yes. In a duplex, that is one of only two votes.
Smaller tools that do not need a new formula
Three rules split some costs by use, inside the existing schedule.
- Limited common property. Limited common property is common property set aside for one or more lots, such as a yard or a patio. If an operating cost benefits only limited common property, only the lots entitled to use it share that cost (Regulation s.6.4(1)). Our limited common property page explains how it is set.
- Types of strata lot. If the bylaws name types of strata lot, an operating cost that benefits only one type is shared only by lots of that type (Regulation s.6.4(2)).
- One special levy, split another way. A single special levy can use “another way that establishes a fair division of expenses for that particular levy”, with a unanimous vote (s.108(2)(b)).
Reserve fund contributions still follow unit entitlement under Regulation s.6.4(3) and s.6.5(2).
Votes do not follow size either
Each lot has one vote unless the plan has a Schedule of Voting Rights (s.53(1)), and that schedule is possible only when at least one lot is nonresidential (s.247, s.248). In an all-residential strata, every lot has one vote. The owner of the larger unit pays the same and votes the same under an equal schedule. Under an area-based schedule they pay more and still vote the same. Our vote calculator shows how votes add up in a strata of 2 to 6 lots.
Before you buy: read the schedule
You can find a lot’s unit entitlement in three places:
- The Schedule of Unit Entitlement (Form V, or Form 1 for plans filed before July 1, 2000), filed with the strata plan.
- The strata’s list of owners, which must show each lot’s unit entitlement (s.35(1)(c)(i)). An owner, or a person the owner authorizes in writing, can ask for a copy.
- The Land Title Office. A plan image costs $17.78 online plus $3.55 per online transaction for a pay-as-you-go account (LTSA fee listing, April 1, 2026).
If you are buying the larger unit in an equal-schedule strata, your share is lower than an area split would give you. If you are buying the smaller one, your share is higher. Either way, the schedule stays with the plan unless a filed s.100 resolution says otherwise. Our page on strata fees shows what those fees pay for.
What to do if your strata wants to change it
- Get the filed Schedule of Unit Entitlement and confirm which method it uses.
- Run both splits on the current budget so every owner sees the dollar change.
- Draft a s.100 resolution that states the new formula in plain terms.
- Put it on the agenda of a general meeting with at least 2 weeks’ written notice (s.45).
- If every owner votes yes, file it at the Land Title Office with the Certificate of Strata Corporation.
Have a lawyer check the wording before the vote. The next buyer and their lender will read the filed formula.
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David Babakaiff, Co-Founder, VanPlex | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
