Strata fees: how they are set and collected
Fees follow the budget and the schedule of unit entitlement, not council discretion. Here is the full cycle, including what to do when someone stops paying.
Strata fees are the corporation's oxygen: they fund the operating budget and the contingency reserve fund contribution. Owners sometimes imagine council sets fees; in truth council only proposes. The owners approve a budget at a general meeting, and the fees fall out of it arithmetically.
The formula
Under section 99 of the Strata Property Act, each lot's share of the total is calculated by unit entitlement: the figure on the strata plan's Schedule of Unit Entitlement, usually based on habitable area. A lot with twice the entitlement pays twice the fees. A strata can adopt a different formula only by the demanding process the Act prescribes, so for almost every strata, unit entitlement is the answer to "why is my share this number?"
Fees change when a new budget passes, normally at the AGM. Between budgets, fees cannot simply be raised; a mid-year shortfall is handled by a new budget at a special general meeting or by a special levy. If owners defeat a proposed budget, the previous fee schedule continues until a budget passes; see our budget guide.
Late payment: what a bylaw can add
The strata can charge interest on late fees only if a bylaw says so, and the rate is capped by regulation (ten percent per year, compounded annually, is the ceiling; check the current regulation). Without such a bylaw, arrears accrue interest-free. Reasonable payment plans are always available to council and cost nothing to offer first.
The collection ladder
- Statement and reminder. Most arrears are forgetfulness. A statement with a due date clears them.
- Formal demand. A letter from council stating the amount, the interest bylaw if any, and the next step.
- Lien for fees and levies. Unpaid strata fees and special levy contributions can support a lien against the lot under section 116, which gets the strata paid on sale or refinancing. Fines cannot be liened; they take the tribunal route instead.
- Civil Resolution Tribunal. For amounts a lien cannot capture or an owner disputes, the CRT is the usual forum. Its decisions turn heavily on the paper trail: budgets, minutes, statements, demand letters.
Arrears in the minutes
Record arrears in aggregate ("total arrears of $3,940 across two lots; demand letters authorized") and never as a named list. The minutes go to every owner and every future buyer; the debtor's identity is personal information. Our privacy guide covers the line in detail. When a sale clears arrears through a Form F undertaking, the minutes can simply note the account was settled.
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
Annual Budget
Special Levies
Form F Certificate
Minutes and Privacy