.avif){kind=logo}
Roughly one in three Lower Mainland homes sits inside a strata corporation. Most of those corporations are run by volunteer councils with full-time jobs and no legal training. The body of rules, contracts, financial obligations, and reporting requirements that governs them, however, is not volunteer-friendly.
This guide is a single, current reference for the basics: what professional strata management is, what it actually delivers, and how owners and councils can tell whether they're getting fair value. We've written it the way we wish someone had written it for our newest clients: in plain language, with concrete numbers, and with the BC context built in.
1. What is strata management?
A strata corporation is the legal entity created when a building or development is registered as a strata under BC's Strata Property Act. Every owner of a strata lot is automatically a member of that corporation. The corporation owns and is responsible for the common property: the building envelope, the roof, the parking lot, the elevators, the lobby, the boiler, the insurance policy, and the dollars in the bank.
A strata council is a small group of owners (usually three to seven) elected at the annual general meeting to make decisions on the corporation's behalf. Council members are volunteers. They have fiduciary duties under the Act but no specialized training requirement.
A strata management company is a licensed professional firm hired by the corporation to handle day-to-day administration. The relationship is set out in a written management contract, and in BC the firm and its individual managers must be licensed, bonded, and regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA).
Quick definition. A strata manager works for the strata council, not for individual owners. The council is the client. Owners interact with the manager through the council or through formal channels, not as direct customers.
2. What a strata management company actually does
The shorthand is “everything that isn't a council vote.” A more useful breakdown:
Financial administration
- Operating budget preparation and monthly variance reporting
- Strata fee collection and arrears management
- Separate trust accounts for operating funds, contingency reserve funds, and any special-levy funds
- Annual financial statements and audit coordination
- Accounts payable: vetting and paying invoices on the corporation's behalf
Governance support
- Notice and minute preparation for council meetings, AGMs, and SGMs
- Attending council meetings (typically 6–12 per year) and the AGM
- Bylaw and rule enforcement, including hearing administration
- Records storage and FOI-style records requests from owners
- Election administration at the AGM
Building & contractor coordination
- 24-hour emergency response (water leaks, elevator entrapments, security)
- Trade tendering and contract administration
- Insurance renewals, appraisals, and claims liaison
- Building safety compliance: fire systems, elevator inspections, roof anchors
- Coordinating depreciation reports, engineering studies, and capital projects
Compliance & advisory
- Updating councils on legislative changes (Strata Property Act, BCFSA, Bill 35, depreciation report rules)
- Filing annual reports with BC Registry Services
- Producing Information Certificates (Form B) and Form Fs for property sales
- Liaison with strata lawyers and engineers as needed
Read the full breakdown of strata management services →
3. How to choose a strata management company in Vancouver
The Lower Mainland has dozens of licensed strata management firms, and the difference between a great fit and a frustrating one is rarely about the size of the firm. It's about portfolio loading, geography, and conflict policy.
The ten questions we'd ask any prospective firm:
- How many strata lots does each manager handle? An overloaded manager is the single biggest predictor of poor service. Industry-healthy ranges are 250–500 lots per manager depending on complexity.
- Where is your geographic focus? A manager driving from Vancouver to Maple Ridge twice a week burns time you pay for.
- Are you, the firm, and the assigned manager all licensed and bonded with BCFSA?
- Do you offer in-house trades, in-house insurance, or affiliate referral fees? Each is a conflict of interest the council should price in.
- Who answers the after-hours emergency line? An employee, an answering service, or a third-party call centre? Each gives a different response time.
- Show me a sample monthly financial package. If it's hard to read, your council will spend hours each month asking questions.
- How are management fees structured: flat, per-unit, or hybrid? Per-unit aligns incentives; flat fees can favour large corporations.
- What is your typical tenure with clients? Industry average is 4–6 years; firms that hold clients longer typically have lower manager turnover.
- Can I speak to two current clients of similar size? Reference calls are the single best diligence tool.
- What does it cost to leave? Termination notice periods of 60–90 days are normal; anything longer deserves scrutiny.
Read the full guide to choosing a strata management company →
4. First-time strata owner rights and responsibilities
Buying a strata lot in BC means buying both a piece of real estate and membership in a corporation. New owners often aren't briefed on what that membership means. The five things every owner should understand:
You pay strata fees, and they aren't optional
Fees are calculated each year by the budget approved at the AGM and allocated by your unit entitlement (broadly, your unit's share of the building). Non-payment leads to a lien and, eventually, forced sale.
You can attend any general meeting and vote on most decisions
The AGM is where the budget, council elections, and major decisions happen. Three-quarter and unanimous vote items (bylaw changes, significant alterations, special levies) are decided here.
You can request the corporation's records
The Strata Property Act gives you the right to inspect minutes, bylaws, contracts, financial statements, and most other records on reasonable notice and for a small per-page fee.
You're bound by the bylaws and rules
Even bylaws you weren't around to vote on. They run with the land. Tenants are bound too. The owner is responsible for ensuring compliance.
You can run for council
Any owner in good standing can stand for election, even in their first year. If you want to influence how your building is run, this is the path.
Read the full first-time strata owner guide →
5. Strata Council 101
Council members hold a fiduciary duty to act honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the strata corporation. That obligation is in the Act (section 31) and it does not waive when you make a mistake.
Practical guardrails that keep councils out of trouble:
- Document decisions in minutes. If it isn't in the minutes, the next council won't know it happened.
- Quorum and notice rules matter. A decision made without proper notice can be unwound by the Civil Resolution Tribunal.
- Conflicts of interest must be disclosed. If your spouse owns the painting company tendering for the lobby refresh, recuse yourself from that vote.
- Council can't enforce a bylaw the corporation hasn't passed. “We've always done it this way” isn't a bylaw.
- You're indemnified for honest mistakes, not negligent ones. Most stratas carry directors-and-officers insurance. Confirm yours does.
Read the full Strata Council 101 guide →
6. Full-service vs. financial-only management
Most BC stratas hire full-service management, where the firm handles finance, governance, contractors, and compliance. Smaller stratas (10–30 units) sometimes choose financial-only management, where the firm handles bookkeeping and trust accounts and the council handles meetings and contractors directly.
The trade-offs at a glance: full-service runs about $25–$55 per unit per month with 3–6 hours per council member per month; financial-only runs about $8–$18 per unit per month but burns 12–25 hours per council member per month.
Read the full management-model comparison →
7. The true cost of strata management fees in 2026
There are two numbers owners should know: total strata fees (what every owner pays each month for everything the corporation does) and the strata management fee (the slice that goes to the management company).
Total strata fees, Metro Vancouver, 2026
- Low-rise wood-frame condos: $0.45–$0.55 / sq ft / month
- Concrete high-rises with amenities: $0.55–$0.70 / sq ft / month
- Townhouse complexes: $0.30–$0.45 / sq ft / month
For a typical 800 sq ft Vancouver condo, that translates to $360–$560 per month.
The management slice
Of that total, professional management typically accounts for $25–$55 per unit per month in 2026, usually 8% to 18% of the total strata fee depending on building size and complexity. The rest goes to insurance (frequently the largest line item), utilities, contracted services, and the contingency reserve fund.