How a multiplex becomes strata homes you can sell one by one

What a strata plan creates

Strata is a form of ownership where each owner holds their own unit, called a strata lot, and shares the rest of the building and land with the other owners through a strata corporation. The Strata Property Act defines a strata lot as "a lot shown on a strata plan". Everything on the plan that is outside the strata lots is common property, along with pipes, wires and ducts in the walls, floors and ceilings between lots when they serve more than one owner. Common property set aside for the use of one or more owners only, such as a patio for one unit, is limited common property.

Section 239 says land may be subdivided into 2 or more strata lots by depositing a strata plan in a land title office. When the registrar deposits the plan, section 249 says the registrar gives it a deposit number and registers a new indefeasible title for each lot. An indefeasible title is the official registered record of who owns the land. From that day, each strata lot can be sold or mortgaged on its own, the same way a house on its own lot can.

Each owner also holds a share of the common property. Section 251 says the registrar notes that share on every strata lot title, and the owner cannot sell or mortgage the share apart from the lot. The size of each share is set by unit entitlement, a number for each lot that also decides that lot's share of the strata's costs. For residential lots, section 246 allows three ways to set it: the habitable area in square metres, a whole number that is the same for every lot, or a number the Superintendent of Real Estate approves.

For a multiplex, this has a practical effect at design stage. Section 244 (2) says that in a residential strata, a parking stall, garage or storage area cannot be a separate strata lot. It must be part of a strata lot or part of the common property. If a buyer is meant to own their parking space, the plan has to draw it inside their lot or as limited common property for their use.

Freehold, strata and separate titles

On this site, a freehold multiplex means a building held on one title by one owner, or by co-owners, with no strata plan. The Strata Property Act uses the same word: it describes the person who applies to deposit a strata plan as the registered "owner of the freehold estate in the land". Before the plan is deposited, the whole lot is one freehold title. After deposit, each strata lot has its own title.

Separate titles without a strata are a different process. The Land Title Act, Part 7, controls subdivision into new parcels. Section 91 says a subdivision plan cannot be deposited until an approving officer, the official who approves subdivisions for the city, has approved it. Section 85 gives the approving officer 2 months to approve or reject the plan and lets them refuse it if the deposit is against the public interest. Section 87 lets them refuse a plan that does not conform to the city's zoning and subdivision bylaws. Each new lot therefore has to conform to the zoning and subdivision bylaws on its own, so check both bylaws before planning a lot split.

A bare land strata sits between the two. The Strata Property Act defines its lot lines as lines on a horizontal plane set by survey markers on the ground. Section 243 says an approving officer must approve a bare land strata plan before it is deposited. In a bare land strata, section 161 (2) lets each owner insure the building on their own lot, and the strata corporation's duty under Standard Bylaw 8 to repair the structure and exterior of a building applies only to strata lots in plans other than bare land plans.

Filing the plan: new buildings and occupied buildings

Section 240 says the land must be registered in the name of the person applying to deposit the plan. Section 244 lists what the plan shows, including the boundaries of the land and the area of each strata lot in square metres. The applicant must sign it. So must each holder of a registered charge on the land, unless the registrar decides that holder is not affected. A charge is any registered interest on title, such as a mortgage or a right of way. If a construction mortgage is registered on title, that lender is a chargeholder, so its signature or release belongs in the timeline.

Section 245 lists the papers that go with the plan: the Schedule of Unit Entitlement, any Schedule of Voting Rights, the strata corporation's mailing address, and any bylaws that differ from the Standard Bylaws. If unit entitlement uses habitable area, a BC land surveyor must certify that the schedule reflects the habitable area of the residential lots.

The approval path then depends on whether anyone has lived in the building. For a building no one has occupied, section 241 requires a BC land surveyor's endorsement on the plan certifying that fact, dated no more than 180 days before the plan is filed. For a building that has been occupied, section 242 sends the plan to the approving authority, which in a municipality is the city council. Council may approve it, approve it with conditions or refuse it, and section 242 (4) says the decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Section 242 also tells council what to weigh. It must not approve unless the building is in substantial compliance with the bylaws and building rules that apply. It must consider the priority of rental housing, any plan to relocate tenants, the life expectancy of the building and expected increases in maintenance costs. So a multiplex that is rented out first and stratified later needs a council decision, while one stratified before anyone moves in needs only the surveyor's endorsement.

The owner developer's duties until the owners take over

The owner developer is the person who owns the land when the plan is deposited. Until the first annual general meeting, section 5 says the owner developer acts as the strata council, and section 6 says it must act honestly and in good faith with the care of a reasonably prudent person.

Before any buyer signs a purchase agreement, section 13 requires the owner developer to deliver an interim budget for the first 12 months. At the first sale, called the first conveyance, section 12 requires the owner developer to put money into the contingency reserve fund, the strata's savings for repairs that do not happen every year. Section 3.01 of the Strata Property Regulation sets the amount at 10% of the estimated operating expenses when the first sale closes within one year of the plan deposit (rule as of the consolidation current to 20 October 2026). If actual costs in the interim period run higher than the budget, section 14 makes the owner developer pay the difference within 8 weeks after the first annual general meeting.

Section 16 sets the timing of that first meeting. It must be held within a 6-week period that starts on the earlier of two dates: when 50% plus one of the strata lots have been sold, or 9 months after the first sale. At the meeting, section 20 requires the owner developer to hand over records such as the building permit plans, contracts, the registered strata plan, and warranties and maintenance information. Within one week after the meeting, section 22 requires it to hand over the strata's money, keys and access devices. Section 23 requires it to keep its pre-meeting financial records for 2 years after control passes.

One new cost is scheduled. For a strata corporation established on or after 1 July 2027, section 6.23 of the regulation requires the owner developer to pay into the contingency reserve fund, toward the first depreciation report, the lesser of $5,000 plus $200 per strata lot, or $30,000 (amounts as of the regulation in force 23 October 2026). The payment is due by the first annual general meeting.

Selling the units: disclosure statements, deposits and warranty

The Real Estate Development Marketing Act, often shortened to REDMA, sets disclosure rules for developers who sell new strata lots and other development units. It applies to a developer who markets a development unit in British Columbia. Section 1 defines a development property to include 5 or more strata lots in a stratified building and 5 or more bare land strata lots. A duplex, triplex or fourplex strata falls below that number. A strata of five or six homes meets it. The regulation under the Act, B.C. Reg. 505/2004, contains no exemption based on the size of the project.

When the Act applies, section 14 says the developer must not market a unit until a disclosure statement has been prepared and filed with the superintendent. Section 15 says the developer must not enter into a purchase agreement until the buyer has received the statement, has had reasonable time to read it, and has signed a receipt. Section 21 gives the buyer 7 days to cancel by written notice, counted from the later of the agreement date and the receipt date. Section 18 requires the deposit to go promptly to a brokerage, lawyer, notary public or other prescribed person, who holds it in trust for both sides.

The same definition sets a lower number for shared interests in land: 2 or more. A shared interest is a share of a parcel owned with other people where each owner's right to use the land is limited to part of it. Selling co-ownership shares in an unstratified building, each tied to one unit, can fall inside this definition. Section 20 lets the superintendent grant an exemption, with or without conditions.

Home warranty is separate from marketing rules. BC Housing states that all new homes built by a Licensed Residential Builder must carry home warranty insurance with 2 years on materials and labour, 5 years on the building envelope and 10 years on structure. New strata units built by a Licensed Residential Builder carry that coverage when they are sold. A builder who wants to skip warranty because the building will stay rental uses the rental exemption covered in the rental chapter, and its covenant limits sales of individual units for 10 years.