Start Here | What Is Strata
What Is a Strata in BC?
A strata is a building or a piece of land divided into strata lots that people own one by one, plus common property that all the owners share. In BC it starts when a strata plan is filed at the Land Title Office, and at that moment the owners become a strata corporation. This page explains each part in plain words, with the section of the Strata Property Act behind it.
The Short Answer
- 01A strata divides one building, or one piece of land, into strata lots that people own one by one, plus common property that all the owners share (Strata Property Act s.1, s.66).
- 02It starts when a strata plan is filed at the Land Title Office. From that moment a strata corporation of all the owners exists, named "The Owners, Strata Plan [number]" (s.2, s.239).
- 03Your share of the common property and of every shared cost comes from your lot's unit entitlement, a number on the strata plan (s.66, s.99).
- 04Condos, townhouses, duplexes and houses in a bare land strata can all be strata. You cannot tell by looking at the building: the title shows a strata plan number.
- 05A strata lot can be freehold, which means you own the lot outright, or leasehold, where the land is leased from a government or other public body (s.1, s.199).
- 06As at March 31, 2026, BC had 35,098 filed strata plans and 807,738 active strata lots (Land Title and Survey Authority).
What Strata Means
Strata is how BC lets several people each own one home inside a shared building, or one lot inside a shared piece of land. Before the strata plan is filed, the property has one title. After it is filed, every strata lot has its own title and its own parcel identifier (PID), and each one can be sold or mortgaged by its owner.
The same filing creates the strata corporation, named "The Owners, Strata Plan" followed by the plan number (Strata Property Act s.2). You join it by owning a strata lot: every lot owner is a member.
The word covers many building types: condos, townhouses, duplexes and houses in a bare land strata can all be strata. The Province says "you can't tell by looking whether a building or development is strata-titled." A townhouse row with a strata plan and a townhouse row on one title can look the same from the street.
The law behind all of this is the Strata Property Act and its Regulation. Our guide to the Strata Property Act lists what each Part of the Act does.
Six Words That Explain Every Strata
Strata lot
A strata lot is "a lot shown on a strata plan" (s.1). In a building, its edge runs through the middle of the wall, floor or ceiling between it and the next lot or the common property, unless the plan shows a different line (s.68). Each strata lot has its own parcel identifier (PID) and its own lot number in its legal description, and it is taxed as a separate parcel together with its share of the common property (s.67).
Common property
Common property is the land on the strata plan that is outside every strata lot. It also includes pipes, wires and ducts inside the walls between lots, or that serve more than one lot (s.1). The owners own it together, each in a share set by unit entitlement, and the strata corporation looks after it.
Limited common property
Limited common property is common property set aside for the use of one or more lots only, such as a yard, a deck or a parking stall (s.1). The developer marks it on the strata plan. After that it takes a unanimous vote to amend the plan (s.257), or a 3/4 vote filed with a sketch plan (s.74). Under the Standard Bylaws the owner who uses it 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 and 8).
Strata corporation
The strata corporation is every owner acting together. The Act creates it when the plan is filed, and it can sign contracts, hire people, sue and be sued (s.2). It has no shares, and the owners are its members. A judgment against the strata is shared by all the owners in unit entitlement shares (s.166). The Province says a strata corporation "does not have limited liability like a company."
Strata plan
The strata plan is the survey document filed at the Land Title Office. It shows the land, the buildings, each lot and its area in square metres, and it is signed by a BC land surveyor, the owner who files it and every lender with a mortgage on the land (s.244). Its number, such as "LMS 789", is part of the strata corporation's legal name.
Unit entitlement
Unit entitlement is the number that sets each lot's share of the common property and of the strata's costs (s.66, s.99). For a home it is one of three things: the habitable area in square metres measured by a BC land surveyor, the same whole number for every lot, or a number approved by the Superintendent of Real Estate (s.246). Habitable area leaves out patios, balconies, garages, parking stalls and storage (Regulation s.14.2).
Strata Compared With Other Ways to Own
A multiplex in BC can be held in more than one way. The table sets a building strata beside a single freehold title, a bare land strata and co-ownership of one title. The title choices page goes through each one for a plex owner.
| Building strata | Freehold, single title | Bare land strata | Co-ownership of one title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you own | Your strata lot, plus a share of the common property | The whole lot and the building on it | The land inside survey markers, plus a share of shared areas such as roads | A share of one title that covers the whole property |
| A title for each home | Yes. Each lot has its own PID | One title for the whole property | Yes. Each lot has its own PID | No. All owners are on one title |
| Strata corporation, fees and bylaws | Yes | None: no strata plan means no strata corporation | Yes | None: no strata plan means no strata corporation |
| Who insures the buildings | The strata, at full replacement value (s.149) | The Strata Property Act does not apply | The owner of each lot insures the house on it | The Strata Property Act does not apply |
| Approval before filing | None for a new building nobody has lived in. City approval if anyone has ever lived in it (s.242) | Splitting into separate lots needs the approving officer (Land Title Act s.91) | Approving officer (s.243) | No strata plan is filed |
| Disclosure rules when selling new homes | Real Estate Development Marketing Act at 5 or more lots | Not covered in this table | Real Estate Development Marketing Act at 5 or more lots | Real Estate Development Marketing Act at 2 or more shares |
Sources: Strata Property Act s.1, s.66, s.149, s.161, s.242, s.243; Land Title Act s.91; Real Estate Development Marketing Act s.1. When a strata is wound up by an 80% vote, the owners become co-owners of the land as tenants in common (Strata Property Act s.272, s.273).
Is Strata Title Freehold?
It can be. The Act defines a strata owner as the person shown in the land title register as the owner of "a freehold estate in a strata lot" (s.1). So a freehold strata lot is yours outright, with a share of the common property and a vote in the strata corporation.
The other kind is a leasehold strata. The land sits under a ground lease from a government or other public body, and the "owner" of a lot is a leasehold tenant (s.199).
People also use "freehold" to mean a house on its own title with no strata plan. That home has no strata corporation, so it has no strata fees and no strata bylaws. Our freehold vs strata comparison sets the two side by side for a duplex.
Is an HOA a Strata?
BC strata law uses the term "strata corporation". The words "homeowners association" appear nowhere in the Strata Property Act or the Standard Bylaws. A group of homes is a strata only when its land is on a strata plan filed at the Land Title Office.
To check, look at the legal description on the title. A strata lot's legal description includes a strata plan number. The plan number is two or three letters and a number, such as "VR 1234" or "LMS 789"; the letters show the region and the period when the plan was registered. A title search from the Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) costs $11.06, plus $3.55 for an online search on a pay-as-you-go account (LTSA fee listing, April 1, 2026).
What Strata Fees Pay For
Strata fees are each owner's share of the yearly budget. The Act requires two funds, and strata fees pay into both (s.92). The operating fund pays for costs that come once a year or more often: the Province lists utilities, landscaping, cleaning, small repairs, strata management and the strata's insurance. The contingency reserve fund (CRF) pays for costs that come less often, such as a new roof.
At least 10% of the operating budget must go into the reserve fund every year, at every size of strata (Regulation s.6.1). Each lot pays its unit entitlement divided by the total unit entitlement, times the budget (s.99). Under Standard Bylaw 1, fees are due on or before the first day of each month.
The strata fees page covers how fees are set and how they go up, and the fee split calculator works out each owner's share from unit sizes.
Who Runs a Strata
The owners decide the large questions at general meetings. The annual general meeting (AGM) must be held within 2 months after the end of the strata's fiscal year (s.40). The yearly budget passes by a majority vote (s.103). A bylaw change needs a 3/4 vote, and it has no effect until it is filed at the Land Title Office on Form I (s.128).
Between meetings, an elected council runs the strata and enforces the bylaws (s.26). Under the Standard Bylaws the council has 3 to 7 members. When a strata has fewer than 4 lots or fewer than 4 owners, every owner is on council (Standard Bylaw 9). A strata can hire a licensed strata manager or run itself. The Province says a strata "may be self-managed".
The Standard Bylaws in the Schedule to the Act apply to every strata, except where the strata has filed different bylaws at the Land Title Office.
Strata in a 2 to 6 Unit Building
The same Act covers a duplex and a tower, but a few rules change with the number of lots. With fewer than 4 lots, every owner sits on council and a general meeting needs owners holding 2/3 of the votes to start (s.48). Under 5 lots, the strata needs no depreciation report and no electrical planning report, and it can be wound up without a court order (Regulation s.6.22, s.5.8; Act s.274). In a 2-lot strata, the president has no tie-breaking vote (Standard Bylaws 18 and 27).
The rules by size table shows every one of these for 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lots. If you are planning to turn a plex into strata titles, start with the readiness check.
Common Questions
What is strata? +
Strata is the BC way of dividing land or a building into strata lots that people own one by one, plus common property that all the owners share. It begins when a strata plan is filed at the Land Title Office, and from that moment a strata corporation of all the owners exists (Strata Property Act s.2, s.239).
What is a strata? +
A strata is a property created by a strata plan, together with the strata corporation that the plan creates. Every owner of a strata lot is a member of that corporation, pays strata fees and follows the bylaws.
What does strata mean? +
In BC, "strata" means property divided by a strata plan into lots with separate titles and shared common property. "Strata-titled" means the property was created that way. The Province says you cannot tell by looking whether a building is strata-titled.
What is a strata property or a strata title property? +
A strata property, or strata-titled property, is a home or building on land that has a strata plan. Each strata lot has its own title and PID, so it can be sold and mortgaged on its own, and the owner also owns a share of the common property.
How does strata title work? +
Each owner owns their lot and a share of the common property set by unit entitlement. Owners pay strata fees into an operating fund and a contingency reserve fund, follow the bylaws, and elect a council at each annual general meeting to run the strata between meetings.
What are strata fees? +
Strata fees are each owner's share of the strata's yearly budget. They pay into two funds: an operating fund for costs that come once a year or more often, and a contingency reserve fund for costs that come less often. At least 10% of the operating budget must go to the reserve fund each year (Regulation s.6.1). The fees page has the detail.
What is a strata lot? +
A strata lot is a lot shown on a strata plan (Strata Property Act s.1). In a building its edge is the middle of the wall, floor or ceiling it shares with the next lot or the common property, unless the plan shows another line. Each strata lot has its own PID and lot number.
Who owns the land in a strata title? +
The owners own it. Each owner owns their strata lot, and all the owners together own the common property land, each in a share equal to their unit entitlement divided by the total (s.66). The strata corporation manages that land for them. Land registered in the corporation's own name is a "common asset".
Is strata title freehold? +
Yes, unless it is a leasehold strata. The Act defines an owner as the person registered as owner of "a freehold estate in a strata lot" (s.1). The other kind is a leasehold strata, where the land is under a ground lease from a government or other public body (s.199).
What is freehold strata? +
Freehold strata means you own your strata lot outright, together with a share of the common property and membership in the strata corporation. Our freehold vs strata page compares it with a home on its own title.
Is an HOA a strata? +
A group of homes is a strata only if its land is on a strata plan filed at the Land Title Office. The words "homeowners association" do not appear in the Strata Property Act or the Standard Bylaws. A title search shows a strata plan number in the legal description when the property is strata.
Are duplexes strata? +
A duplex is a strata only if a strata plan was filed for it. The Province says the strata law applies to "duplexes and triplexes if they are strata-titled". A strata duplex must collect strata fees and carry strata insurance like any other strata.
What is limited common property? +
Limited common property is common property set aside for the use of one or more strata lots only, such as a yard or a parking stall (s.1). It still belongs to all the owners, and the strata controls it.
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