Running a self-managed strata well

What BC law requires

Self-managed and firm-managed stratas operate under the same Strata Property Act (SPA). Nothing is relaxed because you don't have a manager. The compliance calendar runs the same way:

• AGM every fiscal year, no later than two months after year-end (SPA section 40), with at least two weeks' written notice (section 45).
• Depreciation report every 5 years for strata corporations that are not exempt. BC's 2024 amendments removed the old annual ¾-vote deferral path for most strata corporations.
• Contingency reserve fund (CRF) contributions, the building's savings for major repairs, reflecting the depreciation-report schedule.
• Insurance meeting SPA s.149 coverage minimums. Annual renewal; price shocks are real in BC.
• Records kept as SPA section 35 requires. An owner who asks to see them must get them within two weeks (section 36).
• Strata plan and bylaws filed at the Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA). Bylaw amendments need a ¾ vote and an LTSA filing.

"We're self-managed" is not a defence at the CRT to a complaint about records access (SPA section 35) or a failure to give proper meeting notice (section 45).

The tools you'll need

Four software categories cover most of the day-to-day work a firm would do. Pick one tool per category.

1. Records + meetings

A cloud folder structure (Google Workspace, Dropbox) or a purpose-built platform like Condo Control, Strata Hub, or SelfManaged.ca. Must support owner access on request, version history, and secure backups.

2. Financial reporting

QuickBooks Simple Start (or Wave, free) for bank reconciliation and monthly financials. Separate strata bank account. One council member acts as treasurer; second reviews and co-signs. Quarterly financial package to council is the minimum cadence; monthly is better.

3. Collections

Pre-authorized debit (PAD) through your bank handles most monthly fee collection. The rest goes through email reminders, then registered letter, then lien. The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) can rule on unpaid fees; a lien is filed separately at the Land Title Office.

4. Compliance calendar

One shared calendar with recurring entries for: AGM date, depreciation report renewal year, insurance renewal, CRF contribution reviews, and bylaw-review cadence. Nothing fancy. Google Calendar or a pinned spreadsheet works. The AGM is the thing most often missed.

When self-management stops working

Three signals:

• Council turnover. The two people who knew the systems step down. New council doesn't know where anything is. Switch to a firm or to a better-documented system before this happens, not after.
• Capital project. Window replacement, re-roofing, envelope remediation. Too much vendor coordination and regulatory filing for a volunteer council. Hire at least transitional support.
• Legal dispute. Bylaw enforcement challenge, CRT filing, contractor dispute. Get a lawyer and a manager.

If you want to switch to managed

A strata management firm takes over the day-to-day work council does now: it collects fees and pays bills, keeps the books and the records, prepares meetings and the AGM package, and arranges insurance and repairs. Council still makes the decisions (SPA section 26), and the firm must hold a BCFSA licence (Real Estate Services Act, section 3). What it costs depends on your building's size and the services you choose; the Fee check shows a range.

Self-managed to fully managed is one of the harder transitions because you have no existing contracts to terminate, but also no existing records in the form a firm expects. Start with your top 5, then ask each firm how it onboards a building with no management records. Firms that take self-managed buildings expect that gap. The small-building scorecard tells you whether your building profile is a realistic fit for the full-service market.