BC Strata Depreciation Reports: The 2026 Deadline
If your strata has five or more lots, the depreciation report is no longer something a council can vote to put off. The waiver that let owners defer it by a three quarters vote is gone, and there is a date attached. For strata corporations in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District, a current report must be in place by 1 July 2026. For the rest of British Columbia the date is 1 July 2027. This guide explains what counts as current, what the report has to contain, who is allowed to prepare it, and what a council should be doing now. It is general information and not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your strata with the Province of British Columbia and read your own bylaws, because the consequences of getting this wrong land on the council.
The deadline, and what counts as current
Two dates matter. Strata corporations with five or more lots in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District must hold a current depreciation report by 1 July 2026. Everywhere else in British Columbia, the date is 1 July 2027.
The word doing the work is current. A strata needs a report if it either has no depreciation report at all, or has one that was completed before 31 December 2020. An old report in a filing cabinet does not satisfy the requirement, which surprises councils who remember commissioning one years ago.
- Five or more strata lots brings you into the requirement
- No report at all means you need one
- A report completed before 31 December 2020 means you need a new one
- After the first report, it has to be updated at least every five years
- The old option to waive or defer by a three quarters vote of owners has been removed
That last point is the real change. Depreciation reports used to be effectively optional for any strata whose owners preferred not to pay for one, and many voted the same way every year. There is now nothing to vote on.
What the report has to contain
A depreciation report is a long term funding document, not a condition survey. It describes what the strata owns in common, what shape it is in, how long each item has left, and what it will cost to replace. Then it models how to pay for all of that.
- The physical condition of the common property and the strata's assets
- The remaining service life of those components, over a 30 year timeline
- At least three cash flow funding models
- Findings based on an on-site visual inspection, not a desk exercise
The three funding models are the part a council should read closely, because this is where the report stops being a technical document and starts being a decision. Each model is a different answer to the same question: how much do owners contribute each year, and how much risk of a special assessment are they accepting in exchange for paying less now.
How to read the funding models
- Find the annual contribution each model assumes, and compare it with what owners pay today
- Find the lowest balance each model reaches, and in which year
- Ask what happens in that year if a major component fails early
- Check which assumptions drive the result, usually inflation and interest
- Decide which model the council is actually recommending, and say so in writing
A report that is received and filed without a decision has cost the strata money and changed nothing. The useful output is a contribution figure the council can defend at a general meeting. To test a contribution against a replacement schedule before the meeting, use our reserve funding calculator.
Who is allowed to prepare it
Since 1 July 2025, depreciation reports must be prepared by a qualified professional from a defined set of designations. A council cannot prepare its own report, and neither can a well meaning owner who used to be in construction.
- Professional engineers
- Architects
- Applied science technologists
- Accredited appraisers
- Certified reserve planners
- Quantity surveyors
When you request quotes, ask which designation the person signing the report holds, not which designations the firm employs. Those are different answers, and only the first one matters if the report is questioned later.
Expect availability to get worse as the dates approach. A large number of BC strata corporations are subject to the same two deadlines, and there is a finite number of qualified professionals. Councils that start early get a choice of provider; councils that start in the spring of 2026 get whoever is left.
What a council should do now
- Confirm your lot count and which deadline region you are in
- Find your last depreciation report and check its completion date against 31 December 2020
- If you need one, get three quotes and ask each about the signing professional's designation
- Budget for it in the current fiscal year rather than the one the deadline falls in
- Collect your records before the site visit: age of components, past replacements, warranties, previous reports
- Book the site inspection with enough time to receive and present the report before the deadline
- Put the funding model decision on a general meeting agenda, not just the report itself
Step five saves real money. A professional who has to reconstruct the history of the building spends billable time doing it, and the resulting assumptions are weaker than they need to be. A council that hands over a clean record of what was replaced and when gets a better report for less.
If your records are scattered across several owners' inboxes and a cupboard, that is the ordinary situation and it is worth fixing before the inspection rather than after. For what to keep and for how long, see record keeping for a strata or HOA.
What this does to your contributions
For many strata corporations the report will show that current contributions are too low for the replacement schedule the building actually has. That is uncomfortable, and it is also the point of the exercise.
There are only three ways to fund a major replacement: contribute more each year, levy a special assessment when the bill arrives, or borrow. The first is the cheapest and least disruptive, and the only one available in advance. A council that raises contributions in response to a report is doing the job; a council that files the report and keeps contributions flat has chosen special assessments without saying so out loud.
- Higher annual contributions spread the cost and are predictable for owners
- A special assessment arrives as a single large bill, often at a bad time for someone
- Borrowing moves the cost in time and adds interest, and usually needs owner approval
- Doing nothing is a decision to use one of the other two later, at a worse price
If you are heading towards an assessment anyway, the communication matters as much as the arithmetic. For how to plan and announce one, read special assessments.
Frequently asked questions
When does my BC strata need a depreciation report by?
Strata corporations with five or more lots in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District need a current report by 1 July 2026. The rest of British Columbia has until 1 July 2027. Confirm which region applies to your strata with the Province, because the date follows the location of the property.
We already have a depreciation report. Do we need a new one?
If it was completed before 31 December 2020, yes. The requirement is for a current report, and reports completed before that date do not count. After the first report you also have to update it at least every five years.
Can owners still vote to waive the depreciation report?
No. The provision that allowed a strata to waive or defer the report by a three quarters vote of owners has been removed, so there is no longer a vote available to put it off.
Who is allowed to prepare a depreciation report?
Since 1 July 2025 it must be prepared by a qualified professional: a professional engineer, architect, applied science technologist, accredited appraiser, certified reserve planner or quantity surveyor. Ask which designation the person signing your report holds, rather than which designations the firm employs.
What does the report have to include?
The physical condition of the common property and assets, remaining service life over a 30 year timeline, and at least three cash flow funding models, based on an on-site visual inspection. The funding models are the part a council has to make a decision about.
Will this increase our strata fees?
Often, yes, because many strata corporations are contributing less than their replacement schedule needs. A council can keep contributions flat, but that is a decision to fund major work through a special assessment or borrowing later, and it is worth recording in the minutes with reasons.
Related
This guide is general information, not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules vary by state and province; confirm specifics for your community with a qualified professional.