An owner in a five-unit strata in Nanaimo wrote to a strata advice column in August 2025. Other owners said a building their size could run “casually”: no minutes, no financial statements, no copy of the insurance policy. Section 35 of the BC Strata Property Act lists the records every strata corporation must prepare and keep, and section 4.1 of the Strata Property Regulation sets how long each one stays. Neither has an exception for small buildings. A five-unit strata has more paperwork than a fourplex, because five lots also bring a depreciation report and an electrical planning report.
Below is the full list, how long to keep each record, who can ask to see it, and what goes wrong when a small strata keeps nothing. Our forms and records guide has the forms themselves.
The records every strata must prepare
Section 35(1) says the strata “must prepare” these records:
- minutes of every annual and special general meeting and every council meeting, with the results of every vote
- a list of council members
- a list of owners, with their strata lot addresses, mailing addresses if different, strata lot numbers, parking stall and locker numbers, and unit entitlements
- names and addresses of mortgage lenders who filed a request to be notified
- names of tenants, and any voting rights a landlord has handed to a tenant
- books of account showing money received and spent, and the reason for each
The Regulation adds one more: each council member’s telephone number, or another way to reach them at short notice (s.4.1(1)).
Section 35(2) then lists what the strata “must retain copies of”, including the registered strata plan, the Act and Regulation, the bylaws and rules, budgets and financial statements, income tax returns, correspondence, bank statements and cancelled cheques, every Form B it has issued, contracts, insurance policies, and any reports on the building.
How long to keep each record
| Record | Keep for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Strata plan and plan amendments from the Land Title Office | Permanently | SPA s.35(2)(b); Reg s.4.1(2) |
| Resolutions changing common property, including limited common property | Permanently | s.35(2)(e); Reg s.4.1(2) |
| Decisions of a judge, arbitrator or the Civil Resolution Tribunal, and legal opinions | Permanently | s.35(2)(h); Reg s.4.1(2) |
| Depreciation reports, electrical planning reports, EV charging reports | Permanently | s.35(2)(n.1), (n.3), (n.4); Reg s.4.1(2) |
| Engineering and other reports on major items | Until the item is replaced or disposed of | s.35(2)(n.2); Reg s.4.1(2.1) |
| Minutes and books of account | At least 6 years | s.35(1)(a), (d); Reg s.4.1(3) |
| Budgets, financial statements, tax returns, bank records, Form B certificates, waivers | At least 6 years | s.35(2)(f), (i), (j), (l), (m); Reg s.4.1(3) |
| Contracts and insurance policies | At least 6 years after the contract or policy ends | s.35(2)(g); Reg s.4.1(4) |
| Correspondence | At least 2 years | s.35(2)(k); Reg s.4.1(5) |
| Lists of owners and council, the Act, bylaws and rules | A current copy at all times | Reg s.4.1(6) |
Sources: Strata Property Act s.35; Strata Property Regulation s.4.1, as amended by B.C. Reg. 187/2025. Both current to October 27, 2026 on BC Laws.
A new strata also receives a set of documents from the developer at the first annual general meeting (AGM): building permit plans, contracts, the contractor list, warranties and manuals (s.20(2)). The Regulation sets how long those stay too. Plans, the strata plan and the contractor list are kept permanently, and warranties until the item is replaced or the warranty ends, whichever comes first (Reg s.4.1(7)).
Who can see the records, and how fast
Any owner can ask to inspect the records or get copies (s.36(1)). So can a tenant who holds the landlord’s rights, and anyone an owner authorizes in writing, such as a buyer’s REALTOR® or lawyer. A former owner can see the records from the time they owned (s.36(1.1)).
The strata must answer within 2 weeks, or within 1 week for bylaws and rules (s.36(3)). Inspection is free. Copies cost no more than 25 cents a page (Regulation s.4.2).
A strata with no records cannot meet that rule. An owner who asks during a sale gets nothing to show the buyer.
Financial statements are part of the AGM
Every year the strata must send out a proposed budget with the notice of the AGM, and that budget “must be accompanied by a financial statement” (s.103(2)). The Regulation lists what the statement shows: opening and current balances of both funds, all income, and every expense from each fund, including any spending made without a vote (s.6.7(1)). Within 8 weeks after the fiscal year ends, the strata must update the statement to the year end (s.6.7(2)).
In a small strata the statement can be one page. It still has to exist, and it has to match the bank statements the strata keeps for 6 years. Our budget and contingency reserve fund guide shows a simple layout.
Insurance papers
The strata must review its insurance every year, report on the cover at every AGM, and tell owners and tenants as soon as feasible of any material change, including a higher deductible (s.154). It must keep the policy for at least 6 years after it ends (Regulation s.4.1(4)).
A strata that does not hold its own policy cannot do any of that. It also cannot fill in Form B, because since April 1, 2023 every Form B must include a summary of the strata’s insurance (s.59(3)(l.2)).
Form B: where missing records cost money
A Form B, or Information Certificate, is the document a buyer’s side asks for before a sale. The strata must provide it within 1 week and can charge at most $35 plus 25 cents a page (s.59; Regulation s.4.4). It must state, as of its date, the monthly fees, money the owner owes, approved special levies, the reserve fund balance, unfiled bylaw changes, court and tribunal cases, and the insurance summary. The current budget, the rules and the latest depreciation report are attached.
The strata is bound by what it writes on a Form B for anyone who relies on it reasonably. A strata with no books is guessing at those numbers, and a buyer can hold it to the guess. Our Form B guide goes through every line.
Why five lots means more paperwork
At five lots, two reports the Regulation exempts smaller stratas from start to apply.
Depreciation report. A strata with 5 or more lots must get one from a qualified person and update it at least every 5 years (Regulation s.6.21). Stratas with fewer than 5 lots are exempt (s.6.22). For an existing strata outside Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Region, such as one in Nanaimo, with no report since December 31, 2020, the deadline is before July 1, 2027. A strata formed from July 1, 2024 to before July 1, 2027 must get its first report within 2 years of its first AGM. Our depreciation report page lists who may prepare one.
Electrical planning report. A strata with 5 or more lots outside those three regions needs one by December 31, 2028, and a new strata within 5 years of its plan being filed (Regulation s.5.8). If each lot has its own meter from the utility, the report can be a short statement saying so (s.5.11(3)).
Both reports are kept permanently once the strata has them.
Council and minutes in a five-lot strata
Under the Standard Bylaws, a strata with 4 or more lots and 4 or more owners elects a council of 3 to 7 members at the AGM (Standard Bylaw 9). Council must send owners its minutes within 2 weeks of each meeting (Standard Bylaw 19). Those minutes are part of the 6-year record under s.35(1)(a).
Running the strata yourselves is allowed. The Province says a strata may be self-managed, and owners in a self-managed strata do not need a licence to do the work. Self-managed or not, council keeps every duty above. Our page on self-managed stratas compares the two ways to run one.
A records starter kit for a small strata
The forms and records guide has the forms you will need along the way.
If your strata has been running “casually”, this is the order we would fix it in.
- Get the strata plan. Order a copy from the Land Title Office, and keep it permanently.
- Write the two lists. Owners with their lot numbers and unit entitlements, and council members with a phone number for each.
- Open the books. One account for the strata, statements filed by month, and a simple ledger of every payment in and out with the reason.
- Get the insurance policy. Keep the full policy, note the renewal date and the deductibles, and plan to report on it at the next AGM.
- Hold an AGM with minutes. Approve a budget, elect council, and record every vote.
- Set up folders by keep time. Permanent, 6 years, 6 years after a contract ends, 2 years. Put each document in the right one as it arrives.
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David Babakaiff, Co-Founder, VanPlex | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
