Depreciation reports are no longer optional
The old annual waiver vote is gone. Most BC stratas must now obtain a report on a five-year cycle, with deadlines that depend on where the strata is.
A depreciation report is a thirty-year physical and financial plan for the strata's assets: what the building's components are, when they will need renewal, what that will cost, and how the contingency reserve fund could pay for it. For years BC stratas could waive the requirement annually by three-quarter vote, and many did. That era is over.
What changed
Amendments to the Act and regulation, phased in through 2023 to 2025, removed the waiver entirely and put reports on a mandatory five-year cycle. Stratas with four or fewer lots are exempt. Since mid-2025, reports must be prepared by members of prescribed professions (engineers, applied science technologists, certified reserve planners, quantity surveyors, appraisers and similar), so the informal self-done report no longer qualifies. First-cycle deadlines were set by region:
| Where the strata is | First report due |
|---|---|
| Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and the Capital Regional District | July 1, 2026 |
| Everywhere else in BC, including Vancouver Island outside the CRD | July 1, 2027 |
Confirm the current deadlines and professional list on gov.bc.ca before relying on them; the phase-in details have been adjusted more than once. New strata corporations get their own timeline for a first report.
If your strata is in the 2026 group and has not obtained a report, treat it as this quarter's priority: qualified providers are booked out and the deadline has arrived. Island stratas outside the Capital Regional District have until July 1, 2027, which is closer than it feels once you are in a provider's queue.
What the report is for
Beyond compliance, the report is the document that turns budget season from guesswork into arithmetic. It feeds the CRF contribution line, flags the decade's big-ticket items early enough to fund them gradually, and, under the amended spending rules, expenditures consistent with its recommendations can be authorized by a lighter vote. Buyers and lenders read it through the Form B, and an absent or expired report is increasingly read as a red flag that prices into sales.
Council's job around the report
Commission it early, give the provider access and records, and when it arrives: receive it formally at a council meeting (minute it), circulate it to owners, and put its funding scenarios in front of the next AGM alongside the budget. The report only earns its fee when the minutes show the corporation actually using it.
Let us handle the minutes themselves
StrataMinutes turns your council's rough notes into complete, professionally formatted minutes that meet the requirements of the Strata Property Act, usually within minutes. Every document comes with a compliance checklist.
No payment details needed for your first council meeting.
This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.
Related guides
Reserve Fund (CRF)
Annual Budget
Form B Certificate
Strata Insurance