Stratify Your Plex | How to Stratify
How to Stratify a Multiplex in BC, Step by Step
You stratify a multiplex by depositing a strata plan at the Land Title Office, and for a new building that nobody has lived in, no city approval is needed under the Strata Property Act. The order matters: the choices you make before design decide whether the units can be sold, and moving in too early adds a city approval. This page gives the 14 steps for a new duplex to sixplex, from one title to separate strata titles, with the section of the law behind each one.
The Short Answer
- 01A multiplex becomes separate strata titles when a strata plan is deposited at the Land Title Office. At that moment the strata corporation, "The Owners, Strata Plan [number]", exists (Strata Property Act s.239, s.2).
- 02For a new building that nobody has ever lived in, the Act asks for no city approval. A BC land surveyor certifies on Form S that it was never occupied, dated no more than 180 days before the plan is filed (s.241).
- 03If anyone has lived in the building, even for a short time, it is "previously occupied" and the city must approve the plan on Form T under section 242. That is a strata conversion.
- 04Decide strata or rental before you design. A rental exemption from home warranty puts a covenant on title that bars the sale of any unit for 10 years from first occupancy.
- 05The plan goes in with Form V (unit entitlement), Form X (mailing address), Form Y (your own bylaws, if any) and, on paper, Form Z. Every mortgage lender signs the plan. The Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) charges $105.30 to deposit it.
- 06If you sell the units, you are the owner developer: interim budget, a reserve fund deposit of at least 10%, the first annual general meeting (AGM) and a handover of documents (s.5 to s.24).
Two Paths: Never Occupied, or Occupied
The law splits every building into two groups. A building that was never occupied goes to the Land Title Office with a surveyor's Form S. A building that was "previously occupied" needs the city council, or an officer it names, to approve the plan on Form T (s.241, s.242).
"Previously occupied" means occupied at any time, for any purpose. The only exception is a unit the developer uses as a display lot (Regulation s.14.1). So a new fourplex where the owner moved into one unit, or rented one unit for a month, is on the conversion path. The steps below are for the first path. The before move-in page explains how to stay on it, and the can I stratify page sorts out which path your building is on.
The 14 Steps, in Order
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01 Decide strata or rental before you design
This comes first because home warranty, the unit count in some zones and the tax rules all depend on it. Under the Homeowner Protection Act, no new home may be built unless it is enrolled for home warranty insurance, and no new home may be sold, or offered for sale, during construction or within 10 years of the first occupancy permit unless it is covered by warranty or exempt (HPA s.22). The building permit itself needs proof of warranty and a licensed builder, or proof of an exemption (s.30). Minimum cover is 2 years on materials and labour, 5 years on the building envelope and 10 years on the structure.
The rental exemption is the way to build without warranty insurance. It covers a rental building on one title, a strata whose units are all held by one owner, or 3 or more rental units on one title. In return, a covenant goes on title that bars the sale or other disposition of any unit for 10 years from first occupancy (Homeowner Protection Act Regulation s.2(2), (2.1)). BC Housing's page describes no way to release it early. If you plan to sell even one unit inside 10 years, build with warranty.
You also cannot use an owner builder authorization for a multiplex. An owner builder may build only a detached home on one title, or a single unit in or attached to an existing building or a new non-residential building, plus a secondary suite (HPA Regulation s.19).
In Vancouver's R1-1 zone, tenure also sets the unit count. A building with 7 or 8 units must be secured as 100% rental. Any other tenure, strata included, allows at most 6 units (R1-1 District Schedule s.3.1.1.3).
Tax rules differ too. A builder who rents out its own new units accounts for GST on fair market value when the first unit is leased or occupied (the self-supply rule). The 100% GST rebate for purpose-built rentals needs at least 4 units and 90% of them held for long-term lease. How a later strata sale affects either rule is not confirmed by our sources, so ask a tax accountant before you rent first and sell later.
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02 Check your city's rules
The Strata Property Act sets no city step for a new, never-occupied building. Cities still control what gets built, and some attach strata limits at the development or building permit. The City of North Vancouver asks you to note the plan to stratify when you apply for the building permit (Council Policy No. 4). Vancouver registers a covenant at development permit that limits strata lots to the number of principal units when a new duplex or multiplex has suites or lock-offs. Burnaby says a new building registers "directly with the Land Title Office".
Nanaimo's small-scale housing guide says stratification "must also occur at the time of construction, before the units are occupied, and all units must be stratified at the same time." Read your city's page before you finish the design.
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03 Design with strata lots in mind
A strata lot is a home with its own title. A secondary suite cannot be a separate strata lot in Vancouver ("under any circumstances"), Burnaby, Coquitlam, the City of North Vancouver or Nanaimo. Laneway homes and coach houses are blocked in Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver, New Westminster and Coquitlam. So count only principal units when you plan the number of titles.
Parking stalls and storage spaces cannot be separate strata lots (s.244(2)). Give them to a unit as limited common property instead (step 5), or include them inside a lot.
In a building, a lot's edge runs through the middle of the wall, floor or ceiling it shares with the next lot or with common property, unless the plan shows another line (s.68). Everything on the plan outside every lot is common property, owned by all the owners and looked after by the strata (s.1, s.66). Decide on paper which parts each home gets as its lot, which parts are shared, and which shared parts one home should use alone as limited common property.
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04 Choose the unit entitlement (Form V)
Unit entitlement is the number that sets each lot's share of the common property and of every shared cost (s.66, s.99). For a residential lot it is one of three things (s.246(3)(a)): the habitable area in square metres, set by a BC land surveyor and rounded to a whole number; the same whole number for every lot; or a number approved by the Superintendent of Real Estate. Habitable area leaves out patios, balconies, garages, parking stalls and storage, but counts closet space (Regulation s.14.2).
If you use habitable area, the surveyor also signs a certificate for it. A plan that mixes residential and non-residential lots needs the Superintendent to approve Form V (s.246(5)). The Superintendent charges $200 per schedule (Regulation s.14.8).
Choose with care. Changing unit entitlement later takes a unanimous vote, a new Form V approved by the Superintendent and a Certificate of Strata Corporation (s.261). Each lot has one vote unless a Schedule of Voting Rights (Form W) applies, and that schedule needs at least one non-residential lot (s.53, s.247).
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05 Mark limited common property on the plan
Limited common property is common property set aside for one or more lots only: a yard, a deck, a roof patio, a parking stall. The owner developer can designate it on the strata plan it deposits (s.73(a)), and can designate parking stalls by plan amendment before the first AGM (s.258).
After that, it takes either a unanimous vote to amend the plan (s.257) or a 3/4 vote filed with a sketch plan, which takes effect only when filed (s.74). Under the Standard Bylaws, the owner who uses limited common property repairs it, except for work that happens less than once a year and for structure, exterior, balconies, windows and fences, which the strata repairs (Standard Bylaws 2(2) and 8(c)).
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06 Write your own bylaws (Form Y)
The Standard Bylaws in the Schedule to the Act apply to every strata, except where different bylaws are filed. You file different bylaws with the plan on Form Y.
Do it now, because changing them later is hard. In a strata where every lot is residential, no bylaw can be amended before the second AGM without a unanimous vote (s.127(1)). After that, a change needs a 3/4 vote and has no effect until Form I is filed at the Land Title Office (s.128).
Some limits apply to every bylaw. A bylaw that breaks the Act, the Regulation or the Human Rights Code is not enforceable to that extent (s.121). Since a 2022 change to the Strata Property Act, a strata cannot restrict rentals (s.141), and an age bylaw must set a minimum age of 55 or more (s.123.1). A strata can still limit short-term rentals, with fines of up to $1,000 a day (Regulation s.7.1).
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07 Hire a BC land surveyor to prepare the plan
The title must be in the applicant's name, and the land must be one parcel, with a few exceptions (s.240). The plan must show the land boundaries, where the buildings sit, each lot's boundaries and each lot's area in square metres (s.244).
The surveyor signs Form U, which states that the buildings are inside the land boundaries. For a new building, the surveyor also signs Form S, which certifies that the building was never occupied. Form S must be dated no more than 180 days before the plan is tendered for deposit (s.241; Regulation s.14.5). The plan needs an approving officer's sign-off only if it is a phased or bare land plan.
Surveyor fees have no published source. They are quoted per job.
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08 Get every lender's signature
The applicant signs the plan, and so does every holder of a registered charge on the title, such as a mortgage lender (s.244). A construction lender has to agree before the plan can go in. Ask your lender early how it handles a strata plan on a loan secured by the whole lot.
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09 File the plan and its forms
These documents go with the plan (s.245): Form V, the Schedule of Unit Entitlement; Form W, the Schedule of Voting Rights, only if one is used; Form X, the strata corporation's mailing address; and Form Y, any bylaws that differ from the Standard Bylaws. A paper filing adds Form Z, the Application to Deposit, and the duplicate title if there is one (Regulation s.14.6, s.14.9).
In an electronic filing, the LTSA takes images of Forms V, W, X and Y attached to a Strata Property Act Filing form, together with an electronic Application to Deposit Plan (Land Title Practice Manual 245).
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10 Pay the Land Title Office fee
The LTSA fee to deposit a plan is $105.30 (Item 5, fee listing of April 1, 2026), plus $3.55 per electronic transaction, or $2.20 on a prepaid account. Registration fees are exempt from GST and PST. Whether the LTSA also charges a fee for each new strata lot title is not confirmed by our sources; ask the LTSA or your surveyor.
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11 The strata corporation exists
When the plan is deposited, the land becomes 2 or more strata lots and the strata corporation exists, named "The Owners, Strata Plan" and the plan number (s.239, s.2). Each strata lot has its own parcel identifier (PID) and can be sold or mortgaged on its own.
Until the first AGM, the owner developer acts as the council (s.5) and must act honestly and with reasonable care, which includes pursuing warranty claims (s.6). Before the first sale, it may pass resolutions alone (s.8).
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12 Owner developer duties at the first sale
The owner developer pays every strata expense up to the end of the month in which the first lot is conveyed (s.7). Each buyer gets an interim budget before signing. It covers the 12 months from the month after the first sale (s.13).
At the first sale, the owner developer pays into the contingency reserve fund (CRF) at least 10% of the interim budget's operating expenses, if that sale is within 1 year of deposit. If it is later, the minimum is 10% for each year since deposit, up to 50% (s.12; Regulation s.3.01).
If actual costs exceed the interim budget, the owner developer pays the difference within 8 weeks after the first AGM. At 10% to under 20% over, it pays 2 times the overage on top; at 20% or more over, 3 times (s.14; Regulation s.3.1). Property insurance must run until at least 4 weeks after the first AGM (s.15).
After the first sale, a contract between the strata and the owner developer or a related party needs a unanimous vote at a special general meeting (s.10), and most other 3/4 resolutions need a unanimous vote (s.11).
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13 Sell the units
A new home sold within 10 years of the first occupancy permit must be covered by home warranty insurance or be exempt (HPA s.22). If no warranty insurance applies, the builder and the seller still owe 2, 5 and 10 year protection under HPA s.23.
At 5 or more strata lots, the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA) applies. You cannot market the units until a disclosure statement is filed, each buyer signs for a copy before the contract, deposits go into a brokerage, lawyer or notary trust account, and buyers can cancel within 7 days of the later of the contract or their signed receipt. The filing fee is $2,250 for fewer than 10 units (REDMA s.14, s.15, s.18, s.21; REDMA Regulation s.13).
Under 5 lots, the 3-business-day Home Buyer Rescission Period applies. A buyer who cancels pays 0.25% of the price (Property Law Act s.42; Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation).
For each sale the strata gives a Form B Information Certificate within 1 week for at most $35 plus 25 cents a page, and a Form F Certificate of Payment within 1 week for at most $15. The sale cannot register without the Form F, which is good for 60 days (s.59, s.115, s.256). A buyer from the owner developer holds back 7% of the price for up to 55 days for builders liens, and liens against the lot must be filed within 45 days of the sale (s.88).
Buyers may qualify for the GST new housing rebate (36% of the GST, up to $6,300, full at $350,000 or less and none at $450,000 or more), the first-time home buyer GST rebate (up to $50,000, full at $1,000,000 or less, nil at $1,500,000, for a builder contract signed on or after March 20, 2025), and the BC newly built home exemption from property transfer tax (full at a fair market value of $1,100,000 or less, partial up to $1,150,000).
The BC home flipping tax took effect January 1, 2025: 20% of net income on property sold within 365 days, falling to nil at 730 days. Property held to build on is exempt only if a return is filed. Whether the 730-day count starts again for each new strata lot is not confirmed by our sources.
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14 Hold the first AGM and hand over
The first AGM must be held within the 6 weeks that start on the earlier of two dates: when 50% plus one of the lots have been sold, or 9 months after the first sale (s.16). A late meeting costs the owner developer $1,000 for up to 30 days, plus $1,000 for each further 7 days (s.17; Regulation s.3.1).
At that meeting the owner developer hands over the building permit plans, every contract, any REDMA disclosure statement, the registered strata plan, a list of contractors and suppliers, all warranties and manuals, and the strata records (s.20; Regulation s.3.2). Owners approve a first annual budget by majority vote (s.21), and at least 10% of the operating fund contribution goes to the reserve fund (Regulation s.3.4). Money and keys go to the council within 1 week (s.22).
A new strata of 5 or more lots formed between July 1, 2024 and before July 1, 2027 needs its first depreciation report within 2 years of the first AGM, and an electrical planning report within 5 years of deposit (Regulation s.6.21, s.5.8). Under 5 lots, neither report is required.
City Pages
Each city page lists who approves a conversion, the 2026 fee, the tenant rules, and whether a suite or laneway home can be its own strata lot, from the city's own documents.
Who Does What
Six parties touch a strata plan for a new building, and two more (the Superintendent and BC Housing) come in for some buildings.
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| You, the owner | Decide strata or rental, choose the unit entitlement and the limited common property, approve the bylaws, sign the plan as applicant. After deposit you are the owner developer: interim budget, reserve fund payment, insurance, first AGM and handover. |
| BC land surveyor | Prepares the strata plan with lot areas in square metres (s.244), signs Form U, signs Form S for a never-occupied building (s.241), and certifies habitable area if unit entitlement uses it (s.245). |
| Lawyer or notary | Drafts the custom bylaws and the sale documents if you hire one; the sources we read set no rule on who must draft them. Under REDMA, buyer deposits must be held in a brokerage, lawyer or notary trust account (REDMA s.18). |
| Mortgage lender | Signs the strata plan as holder of a registered charge (s.244). A plan cannot be deposited without every charge holder's signature. |
| Land Title Office (LTSA) | Receives the plan and its forms, deposits it, and the strata lots and the strata corporation exist from that moment (s.239). Fee $105.30 plus $3.55 per electronic transaction. |
| City | Issues the building and occupancy permits. Approves the plan on Form T only if the building was ever occupied (s.242). Some cities add strata limits at permit stage, such as Vancouver's covenants and the City of North Vancouver's building permit note. |
| Superintendent of Real Estate | Approves Form V when unit entitlement is set by the Superintendent or the plan mixes residential and non-residential lots ($200 per schedule). Receives REDMA disclosure statements at 5 or more lots. |
| BC Housing | Runs the rental exemption program, which puts the 10-year no-sale covenant on title (Homeowner Protection Act Regulation s.2). |
Best For
- ✓ A new duplex to sixplex that nobody has lived in yet
- ✓ Owners who plan to sell or refinance units one by one
- ✓ Family buildings where each household wants its own title and mortgage
Usually Fails When
- ✕ Anyone moves in, or a unit is rented, before the plan is deposited
- ✕ The building was enrolled under the rental exemption and you want to sell within 10 years
- ✕ You count a secondary suite or a laneway home as its own strata lot in a city that bars it
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → Your city's strata rules at development and building permit
- → Your lender's consent to sign the strata plan
- → Home warranty enrolment before the building permit
- → The 180-day date on Form S against your deposit date
If Someone Already Lives in the Building
An older duplex, a plex with tenants, or a new building where you moved in before the plan was filed all take the conversion path. The city council, or an approving officer it names for that type of building, decides on Form T, and its decision is final with no appeal (s.242). It must refuse unless the building substantially complies with the local bylaws and the building regulations. It must also weigh the need for rental housing in the area, plans to relocate the people living there, the building's life expectancy and expected increases in major repair costs.
The Act sets no tenant notice rule, so each city writes its own. In Vancouver, at least two thirds of the households must consent in writing, and the 2026 fee report proposed $7,640 for the application. In Burnaby, Council decides every conversion and a lived-in building must fully meet the current Zoning Bylaw and BC Building Code. The strata conversion page compares every city we checked.
What You Can Price Today
The fees set by law for a new building are small. The LTSA charges $105.30 to deposit the plan, plus $3.55 per electronic transaction. The Superintendent charges $200 per schedule it examines, and only some plans need it. A REDMA filing at 5 or more lots costs $2,250 for fewer than 10 units. A title search for each new lot costs $11.06.
The large costs are professional fees: the surveyor's plan, and the lawyer or notary for bylaws and sale documents. No BC land surveyor, lawyer, the LTSA or the Association of BC Land Surveyors publishes a figure we could find, so ask for a written quote from each. The cost page lists every fee with a public source.
Common Questions
How do you stratify a duplex in BC? +
For a new duplex that nobody has lived in, a BC land surveyor prepares a strata plan with 2 strata lots and signs Form S to certify that it was never occupied. You file the plan with Form V, Form X and any custom bylaws on Form Y, and every lender signs it. The Land Title Office deposits it for $105.30 and the strata corporation exists from that moment. If anyone has lived in the duplex, the city must first approve a strata conversion under section 242.
How do you stratify a property in BC? +
You deposit a strata plan at the Land Title Office. The plan is prepared by a BC land surveyor, signed by the owner and every lender, and filed with the unit entitlement schedule (Form V), the strata corporation's address (Form X) and any custom bylaws (Form Y). A new building needs the surveyor's Form S; a building that was ever occupied needs city approval on Form T (Strata Property Act s.241, s.242, s.244, s.245).
How do you strata title a property? +
Strata titles are created by depositing a strata plan at the Land Title Office. The plan must show 2 or more strata lots, each lot's area, and the common property. Once it is deposited, each strata lot has its own title and PID, and the owners form a strata corporation named "The Owners, Strata Plan [number]".
How does strata title work? +
Each owner owns their strata lot and a share of the common property set by unit entitlement. All the owners together are the strata corporation. They pay strata fees into an operating fund and a contingency reserve fund, follow the bylaws, and elect a council at each AGM. In a strata of fewer than 4 lots, every owner is on council.
How much does it cost to stratify a duplex? +
The government fees are published: $105.30 for the LTSA to deposit the plan, plus $3.55 per electronic transaction, and $200 per schedule if the Superintendent must approve unit entitlement. A conversion of an occupied duplex in a standard residential zone adds the city fee, which in the cities we checked runs from $200 in Victoria (a $150 review fee plus $50 for final approval, under 3 units) to $7,640 proposed for 2026 in Vancouver. Surveyor and lawyer fees have no published source; they are quoted per job, so no total can be given.
Does the city have to approve a strata plan for a new building? +
Not under the Strata Property Act. For a building that was never occupied, the surveyor's Form S takes the place of city approval (s.241). Cities can still add steps at permit stage: the City of North Vancouver asks you to note the plan to stratify at building permit, and Vancouver uses covenants to limit strata lots to principal units.
What does previously occupied mean? +
Occupied at any time, for any purpose. The only exception is a unit the owner developer uses as a display lot (Strata Property Regulation s.14.1). A tenant, a family member or the owner living in one unit makes the whole building previously occupied.
How long is Form S good for? +
Form S must be dated no more than 180 days before the strata plan is tendered for deposit (Strata Property Act s.241). If that window passes, the surveyor must certify again, and that is possible only while the building is still unoccupied.
Can a parking stall be its own strata lot? +
No. Parking stalls and storage spaces cannot be separate strata lots (s.244(2)). The owner developer can give each unit its stall as limited common property on the plan, or before the first AGM by plan amendment (s.73, s.258).
Can I sell the units if I used the rental exemption? +
Not for 10 years. The rental exemption from home warranty puts a covenant on title that restricts the sale or other disposition of any unit for 10 years from first occupancy (Homeowner Protection Act Regulation s.2). BC Housing's page describes no early release.
Does a 4-unit strata need a REDMA disclosure statement? +
No. REDMA covers 5 or more strata lots in a stratified building. A sale of one of 2 to 4 strata lots falls under the 3-business-day Home Buyer Rescission Period instead. REDMA does apply when 2 or more undivided shares of one parcel are sold.
When is the first AGM of a new strata? +
Within the 6 weeks that start on the earlier of two dates: when 50% plus one of the lots are sold, or 9 months after the first sale (s.16). The owner developer pays $1,000 if it is up to 30 days late, plus $1,000 for each further 7 days.
Can I stratify a building where I live in one unit? +
Yes, but it is previously occupied, so the plan needs the city's approval on Form T under section 242. Each city sets its own fee and rules for that approval. The strata conversion page compares them.
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