Form B: the certificate every sale asks for
When a lot is selling or refinancing, someone requests a Form B and the clock starts. Late or wrong certificates create real liability for the strata.
The Form B Information Certificate is a statutory snapshot of a strata lot and its corporation, prescribed by section 59 of the Strata Property Act. Buyers, their lawyers, and lenders rely on it to understand what they are stepping into: the fees, the levies, the litigation, the rules of the community. Because they are entitled to rely on it, the strata corporation is bound by what it certifies. An error on a Form B is not a typo; it can become the strata's cost.
What a Form B discloses
Among other things, the certificate states, as of the date it is issued:
- The monthly strata fees payable for the lot, and any amounts owing
- Any agreements affecting the lot, such as alteration agreements
- Special levies that have been approved but not yet collected
- Court proceedings, arbitrations, or tribunal claims the strata is party to
- Bylaw or rule amendments not yet filed or ratified
- Parking stalls and storage lockers allocated to the lot
Attachments matter as much as the form: the current rules, the most recent budget and financial statements, and the depreciation report, among others, travel with it. Buyers typically also request two years of minutes separately, which is one more reason the minutes need to exist and read professionally. See our records guide for what must be on hand.
Deadline and fee
The strata must provide a Form B within one week of the request. The fee is capped by regulation at a modest amount (around thirty-five dollars, plus copying charges for attachments); a strata cannot use the price to discourage requests. For self-managed stratas the practical answer is a reusable package: keep the standard attachments current in one folder so a Form B request is thirty minutes of work, not a scramble through three volunteers' basements.
Accuracy protects the strata
Before signing, check the levy list against the general meeting minutes, check amounts owing against the ledger, and check the litigation section with anyone who would know. If a levy was approved at an SGM whose minutes are vague, the Form B inherits the vagueness. This is one of the quiet ways minute quality turns into money: certificates are only as reliable as the records behind them.
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
Form F Certificate
Records Retention
Depreciation Reports
Self-Managed Stratas