Start Here | Overview
Strata Ownership for a BC Multiplex
The day you file a strata plan, a four-unit building stops being one property and becomes four owners who have to agree on things. Most strata advice in BC is written for towers. A four-unit building is exempt from some of those rules, stuck with others, and deadlocks in ways a large building never does. This is what actually applies at this size.
The Short Version
- 01A strata plan is what lets you sell the four units separately. On a single title you can only sell the whole building.
- 02Under 5 strata lots, the depreciation report requirement does not apply. The 10% minimum contingency contribution still does.
- 03Rental restriction bylaws stopped being enforceable in November 2022. Short-term rental bans survive.
- 04Unit entitlement, set once at survey, divides every strata fee for the life of the building. Changing it later needs a unanimous vote.
- 05In a four-owner building nobody has a 3/4 majority alone, so one holdout blocks every bylaw change.
- 06Water deductibles run six figures, and section 158 lets the strata recover the deductible from the owner responsible for the loss.
The Line That Runs Through Everything: 5 Strata Lots
BC strata law repeatedly draws a line at five lots. A fourplex sits below it and a five-unit building sits above it, and the difference in ongoing obligation is larger than the difference in one extra unit would suggest. If your lot supports either four or five units, this table is part of that decision.
| Requirement | 4 lots or fewer | 5 lots or more | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depreciation report | Exempt, for as long as the plan stays under 5 lots | Required, renewed on a 5-year cycle | Strata Property Regulation s. 6.22 |
| Contingency reserve fund contribution | No exemption. Minimum 10% of the operating fund budget | Same 10% minimum | Strata Property Regulation s. 6.1 |
| Strata council | Under 4 lots, every owner sits on council. At exactly 4 lots you elect one | Elected council of 3 to 7 under the Standard Bylaws | Schedule of Standard Bylaws, s. 9 |
| Bylaw amendment threshold | 3/4 vote. No discount for being small | 3/4 vote | Strata Property Act s. 128 |
From Single Title to Four Owners
Before you build
Decide whether the building is one title or four. This is a financing and exit decision, not a paperwork decision. A strata plan costs roughly $30,000 to $80,000 to register, and once the plan is filed at the Land Title Office the units are separate real property forever.
Filing the strata plan
A BC Land Surveyor draws the plan and assigns unit entitlement to each lot. Unit entitlement is usually habitable area, and it is the number that divides every future strata fee. Getting it wrong is expensive to fix later because changing it needs a unanimous vote.
First annual general meeting
The owner developer has to hand over the building and call the first AGM. This is where the first real budget gets set. The developer's interim budget is an estimate, and it is usually the most optimistic number the building will ever see.
Year one to year three
Everything is under warranty and nothing has broken yet, so fees feel cheap. This is the window where a small strata should be overfunding the contingency reserve, not congratulating itself on low fees.
Year five onward
First real expenses arrive. Roofing, exterior paint, and appliance replacement all land within a predictable band. A four-unit building has four wallets to draw from, so a $40,000 roof is a $10,000 special levy per owner if the reserve is empty.
The cost side of stratifying (survey, legal, filing fees) is broken down on our strata and legal structures guide, which compares strata against single title, bare land strata, and tenancy in common.
Everything in This Hub
START HERE
RUNNING THE STRATA
RISK & CONFLICT
Where Small Stratas Get Into Trouble
Treating the exemption as permission to skip planning
A 4-unit strata does not need a depreciation report. That is a legal exemption, not financial advice. The roof still ages on the same schedule as the 50-unit building down the street. Skipping the report saves a few thousand dollars and removes the one document that tells four owners what they should be saving.
Setting unit entitlement by unit count instead of area
If one unit is 1,400 sq ft and another is 900 sq ft, splitting fees four equal ways means the small unit subsidises the big one for the life of the building. Unit entitlement should be set at the survey stage, deliberately, because changing it afterwards requires a unanimous vote.
Assuming a rental restriction bylaw still works
Bylaws restricting long-term rentals stopped being enforceable in November 2022. Some older bylaw sets still contain them. They are dead text. If your plan depends on stopping a co-owner from renting their unit, that plan does not work in BC anymore.
Carrying the building's deductible on a personal policy that is too small
Water deductibles on BC strata policies commonly sit well into six figures. Section 158 of the Strata Property Act lets the corporation recover that deductible from the owner responsible for the loss. Your personal condo policy needs a deductible-coverage limit that actually matches the building's deductible.
Not writing bylaws that suit four people
The Standard Bylaws were written with larger buildings in mind. In a four-owner building any single owner controls more than a quarter of the vote, so no bylaw amendment passes over their objection. Decide the contentious items before the units are sold, not after.
Best For
- ✓ Building to sell the units individually, where separate titles are the whole point
- ✓ Four owners who already know each other and can agree on bylaws before units are sold
- ✓ Projects where individual mortgages on each unit beat one commercial loan on the whole building
Usually Fails When
- ✕ You want to keep the building as a single rental asset, because stratifying adds cost and governance for no benefit
- ✕ The co-owners have not agreed on short-term rentals, pets, or parking before the plan is filed
- ✕ Nobody wants to run the corporation, and there is no budget for a strata manager
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → Whether your lot yields 4 units or 5, because the 5-lot line changes ongoing obligations
- → How unit entitlement will be assigned, before the surveyor finalises the plan
- → The water damage deductible on the building policy, and whether each owner's personal policy covers it
- → Whether any bylaw you are inheriting still contains an unenforceable rental restriction
Common Questions
Does a 4-unit multiplex have to be a strata? +
No. A multiplex can stay on a single title and be held as a rental building or a family property. Stratifying is what lets you sell the units separately and lets buyers get individual mortgages. It is a decision about how you exit and finance the building, not a building code requirement.
Do small stratas in BC need a depreciation report? +
No. Section 6.22 of the Strata Property Regulation says section 94(2) of the Act does not apply while there are fewer than 5 strata lots in the plan. A 4-unit multiplex is exempt. A 5-unit building is not, and must obtain a report and renew it on a five-year cycle.
Can a strata in BC stop an owner from renting out their unit? +
Not for long-term rentals. Bill 44 removed the ability to enact rental restriction bylaws in November 2022, and existing ones stopped being enforceable. Short-term rentals are different: a strata can still restrict or ban rentals under 90 days by a 3/4 vote, and the provincial principal residence rule applies on top of that in most communities over 10,000 people.
How much are strata fees for a new BC multiplex? +
New low-rise strata fees in Metro Vancouver are generally quoted between roughly $0.25 and $0.40 per square foot per month, so a 1,100 sq ft unit lands in the low hundreds. The number that matters more is whether the budget includes a real contingency contribution. A low first-year fee usually means the reserve is being underfunded.
Who pays the strata insurance deductible in BC? +
By default it is a common expense paid through strata fees. But section 158(2) of the Strata Property Act lets the strata sue an owner to recover the deductible if that owner is responsible for the loss. A strata's own bylaws can set a stricter standard, so read the bylaws rather than assuming.
What happens when four owners cannot agree? +
The Civil Resolution Tribunal handles most strata disputes in BC and accepts strata claims of any amount. It cannot order the sale of a strata lot, wind up the corporation, or appoint an administrator. Small buildings reach deadlock faster because a single holdout blocks any 3/4 vote.
Does every owner sit on the strata council in a 4-plex? +
Not quite. Under the Standard Bylaws all owners must sit on council when there are fewer than four strata lots or four owners. At exactly four units you elect a council in the normal way, though in practice most four-owner buildings put everyone on it.
Related Reading
Official Sources Referenced
See How Many Units Your Lot Allows
Unit count decides whether you land under or over the 5-lot line that drives depreciation reports and reserve planning. Enter any BC address to check.