After The Sale | Strata vs Whole
Strata the Units or Sell the Building
A finished multiplex can leave your hands two ways. Stratify it and sell each unit to its own buyer, or sell the whole building to one buyer as a single title. The routes differ on price, timeline, buyer pool, and which of the obligations in this hub apply to you at all.
Key takeaways
- Separate titles require a deposited strata plan under the Strata Property Act. Without one you have a single parcel to sell.
- Stratifying is a form of subdivision and gets reviewed against subdivision requirements for access and servicing.
- Selling whole avoids REDMA entirely, because one transaction to one buyer is not marketing development units.
- Unit sales usually total more than a whole-building price, against a longer timeline and more transactions.
- The buyer pools are different. Units sell to owner-occupiers with ordinary mortgages, and whole buildings sell to investors.
What stratifying actually does
Stratifying converts one legal title into one title per unit, plus common property held by the strata corporation. That conversion is what lets four buyers each register a mortgage against their own home. A lender will not finance a share of an unstratified building for an individual buyer, because there is no separate title to secure against.
The process runs through the Strata Property Act and requires a strata plan approved and deposited at the Land Title Office. Because a strata plan is a form of subdivision, the proposal is evaluated against subdivision provisions including access and servicing at the proposed boundaries. This is a municipal approval process with its own timeline, not a registration formality.
It also creates an entity that outlives the sale. A four-unit strata corporation has bylaws, a budget, contributions, and the obligations described in the strata ownership guide. The developer hands that over to four owners who may never have sat on a strata council.
Selling the building whole
Selling the finished building as one title to one buyer is a single transaction. There is no strata plan, no strata corporation, and no marketing of development units, which means REDMA is not engaged regardless of how many homes the building contains. A six-unit building sold whole involves no disclosure statement, because nothing is being marketed as a development unit.
The buyer is an investor purchasing a rental building, and they finance it as one. That changes the pool. Instead of four owner-occupiers with ordinary residential mortgages, you are selling to someone assessing the building on its rental income and cap rate.
A whole-building buyer is generally paying on the strength of income rather than on what an owner-occupier would pay to live in one of the homes. That is why the sum of unit prices typically exceeds a whole-building price, and it is the central trade in this decision.
Comparing the two routes
Stratify and sell units
- Proceeds: usually the higher total, because owner-occupiers pay for a home rather than for an income stream.
- Timeline: longer. Strata approval plus four separate sales, each with its own financing and completion.
- Cost: survey, legal, and approval costs for the strata plan, plus conveyancing on every unit.
- Obligations: at five or more units, the full REDMA regime. At any size, warranty and GST per unit.
- Risk: four deals that can each fall through, spread across whatever the market does during the sales period.
Sell the building whole
- Proceeds: usually lower, priced against rental income rather than owner-occupier demand.
- Timeline: shorter. One transaction, one completion, no strata approval process.
- Cost: no strata plan, no per-unit conveyancing, one set of closing costs.
- Obligations: no REDMA at any size, because nothing is marketed as a development unit.
- Risk: concentrated in one buyer and one financing approval.
Why the two buyer pools price differently
An owner-occupier buying one unit is buying somewhere to live. Their price is set by what comparable homes cost in that neighbourhood and what a lender will advance against their income. They are not calculating a yield.
An investor buying the whole building is buying an income stream. Their price is set by the rent the building produces, the expenses it carries, and the return they require. Two buyers looking at the same physical building arrive at different numbers because they are valuing different things.
Where owner-occupier demand is strong, that gap is wide and stratifying captures it. Where the units are small, the location is rental-heavy, or owner-occupier demand is thin, the gap narrows and the simplicity of a single sale starts to look better. This is a question about your specific units in your specific market rather than a general rule.
Risk sits differently on each route
Four unit sales are four chances for a deal to fall through, spread across however many months the sales period runs. One buyer's financing fails, another's sale of their existing home collapses. The upside is that no single failure ends the project, because three other completions still fund it.
A whole-building sale concentrates everything in one buyer and one financing approval. It either completes or it does not, and if it does not you are back to marketing a finished building while carrying it. The exposure is shorter but less diversified, which matters most when the carrying cost is high.
Decide it at design, not at completion
Stratification is easier to plan for than to retrofit. Unit boundaries, separate services, parking allocation, and access all feed into a strata plan, and a building designed without them can reach completion as a structure that is awkward to stratify.
A developer who wants the option should design for it even if the decision is deferred. Keeping the strata route open costs little at the drawing stage and preserves the higher-proceeds exit. Discovering at completion that the building cannot readily be stratified removes that option at the point it is worth the most.
Best for, fails when, verify before
Stratifying works when
The units are attractive to owner-occupiers, the building was designed for separate titles, and you can carry the longer sales period.
Selling whole works when
You need one clean exit, the building rents well, and the discount to unit-by-unit proceeds is worth the speed and simplicity.
Verify before you commit
Whether the design supports a strata plan, what approval will take in your municipality, and what each route nets after costs.
The obligations each route switches on
This decision determines which pages in this hub apply to you. Stratifying five or more units engages REDMA in full: a filed disclosure statement, deposits held in trust under section 18, the seven-day rescission right under section 21(2), and the 12-month early marketing window if you sell before approvals land.
Stratifying four units engages none of those, and leaves the purchase agreement carrying the whole load. Selling the building whole engages none of them at any size, because a single sale to a single buyer is not the marketing of development units.
Two obligations survive every route. Mandatory home warranty insurance attaches to each new home under Homeowner Protection Act section 22(2), and GST applies to the sale of new residential housing. Neither has a unit threshold, and neither disappears by selling the building whole.
A third option: hold and rent
Selling is not the only exit. Keeping the building and renting the units avoids stratification, avoids REDMA at any size, and turns the project into a long-term income asset rather than a one-time gain. Plenty of multiplexes are built for exactly this.
The tax consequence is where care is needed. A builder who leases new units rather than selling them can trigger the self-supply rule, which treats the units as sold to the builder at fair market value for GST purposes. Planned from the outset this is manageable. Arrived at halfway through a sales campaign, it lands as an unbudgeted liability.
Common mistakes
- Designing without the strata option. Unit boundaries, services, parking, and access decide whether a strata plan is straightforward or awkward.
- Assuming stratifying is a registration step. It is a form of subdivision reviewed against access and servicing requirements, with a municipal timeline.
- Comparing gross proceeds. Compare each route net of survey, legal, approval, and per-unit conveyancing costs, and net of carrying cost over the sales period.
- Counting only the first phase. A Form P declaration covering six units across two phases is a six-unit development for REDMA purposes.
- Handing over a small strata with no records. Four owners inherit the common property and the warranty expiry dates, and nobody else will track them.
Where to go next
- Strata ownership for BC multiplexes covers what the corporation inherits.
- The five-unit threshold covers what stratifying five or more units triggers.
- The build-to-rent guide covers holding instead of selling.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to stratify a multiplex to sell the units separately? +
Yes. Separate legal title for each unit requires a strata plan deposited under the Strata Property Act. Without stratification the building sits on one parcel with one title, which can only be sold to one buyer. A lender will not finance an individual unit that has no separate title to secure against.
Is stratifying treated as a subdivision in BC? +
Effectively yes. A strata plan is a form of subdivision, so the proposal is evaluated against subdivision provisions including access, servicing, and compliance with other applicable bylaws at the proposed boundaries. It runs through a municipal approval process with its own timeline rather than being a registration formality at the Land Title Office.
Does selling a multiplex whole trigger REDMA? +
No. REDMA regulates the marketing of development units, and a single sale of one title to one buyer is not that. A six-unit building sold whole involves no disclosure statement, no statutory deposit trust, and no seven-day rescission right, even though the same building stratified and sold unit by unit would engage all three.
Which route produces more money? +
Selling units individually usually produces the higher total, because owner-occupiers pay for a home while a whole-building investor prices against rental income and a cap rate. The gap varies by project and market, so model both for your specific building rather than assuming the spread from another project applies.
Which route is faster? +
Selling whole. It is one transaction with one completion and no strata approval process. Stratifying adds the approval timeline for the strata plan and then four separate sales, each with its own financing condition and completion date. The sales period also exposes you to whatever the market does while it runs.
Can I stratify after the building is finished? +
It is possible but harder than planning for it. Unit boundaries, separate services, parking allocation, and access all feed into a strata plan, and a building designed without them may be awkward to stratify. Designing for the option costs little at the drawing stage and preserves the higher-proceeds exit.
What does the strata corporation inherit at handover? +
Bylaws, a budget, contribution obligations, and responsibility for the common property, which includes the building envelope carrying the five-year warranty coverage. On a four-unit strata that lands on four owners with no professional management, so a developer should pass on the warranty documents and expiry dates at handover.
Who buys a whole multiplex building? +
An investor purchasing a rental property, financing it as a single asset and assessing it on income. That is a different pool from the owner-occupiers who buy individual units with ordinary residential mortgages. The narrower pool is part of why whole-building sales typically price below the sum of unit values.
Can I sell some units and keep others? +
Yes, once the building is stratified each unit has its own title and can be dealt with separately. Retaining units and leasing them raises the self-supply question on the GST side, so a mixed strategy produces different tax treatments within one building and should be planned with an advisor before completion.
Does phasing a strata affect the REDMA count? +
Yes. Where a Phased Strata Plan Declaration in Form P is filed under Part 13 of the Strata Property Act, count the units across the whole declared development rather than the first phase alone. Six units declared across two phases of three is a six-unit development, and REDMA applies to it.
What costs come with stratifying? +
Survey and legal work to prepare the strata plan, the municipal approval process, deposit at the Land Title Office, and conveyancing on each unit sale rather than on one transaction. Against that sit the higher expected proceeds. Price both routes net of costs for your own project before deciding.
Should I decide this before or after construction? +
Before, at design. Stratification depends on how unit boundaries, services, parking, and access were laid out, and those are drawing-stage decisions. Deferring the commercial decision is fine, but design for the strata option so it remains available. Discovering at completion that the building resists stratification removes the higher-value exit.
Sources and references
Strata plan and phasing requirements per the Strata Property Act, read 6 September 2026. Sale price outcomes vary by project and are not stated here as figures.
See What Your Lot Can Build and Sell
Enter any BC address to see how many units the zoning allows, which side of the five-unit REDMA line that puts you on, and what the return looks like.