What does a strata manager do in BC?
A strata manager is the council's hired professional, not its boss. Here is what managers typically do, the licensing that governs them, the decisions that stay with council, and how to get the most from the relationship.
Last reviewed November 5, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.
The short answer
A strata manager is a licensed professional hired by the strata corporation to carry out council's decisions and run day-to-day administration: collecting fees, paying bills, keeping the books and records, arranging repairs and insurance, preparing budgets and notices, and often taking minutes. In BC, providing strata management services for others requires a licence under the Real Estate Services Act, regulated by BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). The manager acts on council's instructions; decisions stay with council and the owners.
What a strata manager does
The Act gives duties to the strata corporation and its council, not to managers. A manager's duties come from the strata management contract and from what council delegates (Standard Bylaw 20). A typical full-service contract covers:
| Area | Typical manager tasks |
|---|---|
| Money | Collect strata fees and special levies, pay approved invoices, keep the books of account, prepare monthly statements, chase arrears, hold strata funds in trust |
| Budget and AGM | Draft the budget with the treasurer, prepare the financial statement, assemble and send the AGM notice package, attend and help run the AGM |
| Building | Arrange routine maintenance and repairs within approved limits, obtain quotes, coordinate contractors, respond to emergencies |
| Insurance | Coordinate renewal with the broker, handle claims, help prepare the insurance report owners receive |
| Records | Keep the section 35 records, respond to records requests, issue Form B Information Certificates and Form F Certificates of Payment |
| Meetings | Attend a set number of council meetings, prepare agendas, take and circulate minutes |
| Correspondence | Handle owner correspondence and send bylaw complaint letters on council's instructions |
Service levels vary widely between companies and contracts. Some contracts include unlimited council meetings; others include a set number per year and charge for extras. Read the schedule of services and fees before comparing quotes.
Licensing and regulation
In BC, a person who provides strata management services to a strata corporation for remuneration must be licensed under the Real Estate Services Act and work for a licensed strata management brokerage. BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) licenses and regulates strata managers, sets their conduct rules, and handles complaints about licensees. Money a manager handles for the strata is held in the brokerage's trust account, separate from the company's own funds. Owners or councils with concerns about a manager's conduct can contact BCFSA; disputes about the strata's own decisions belong with the Civil Resolution Tribunal.
Council members who run their own strata without pay are not providing strata management services to others, which is why a self-managed strata needs no licence.
What a manager cannot do
- Make council's decisions. Council decisions are made by a majority of council members at a council meeting (Standard Bylaw 18). A manager advises and implements.
- Decide bylaw contraventions or fines. Council cannot delegate these decisions to anyone (Standard Bylaw 20(4)).
- Spend beyond delegated authority. Nobody may spend strata money without delegated authority (Standard Bylaw 21), so the contract and council resolutions should state spending limits.
- Vote at council meetings or hold an office. Officers are elected from among council members (Standard Bylaw 13), so a manager cannot be the strata's president, treasurer or secretary, though council can delegate secretarial work to them.
- Act as a proxy. A person providing strata management services may be a proxy only if the regulations permit it (section 56(3)(b)), and the Strata Property Regulation contains no such permission. The same applies to strata employees.
- Keep the records when the contract ends. The manager must hand every section 35 record to the strata within 4 weeks, or pay the strata $1,000 (section 37; Regulation 4.3).
Managers and the minutes
Many contracts make the manager responsible for taking council minutes, and the minutes are the strata's record, not the manager's. Council remains responsible for their accuracy, for approving them, and for informing owners within two weeks (Standard Bylaw 19). Late or thin minutes are one of the most common complaints councils have about their managers, and one of the easiest to fix: some managers now send their rough notes to a service like ours and circulate finished minutes the same day. Our company accounts for management firms are built for exactly that.
The management contract
The contract should state, at minimum, the services included and excluded, the fee and extra charges, the number of meetings included, spending authority and limits, how instructions are given, records handling, the term and how either side can end it. Whatever the contract says, section 39 lets the strata cancel on two months' notice after a 3/4 vote at a general meeting, and lets the manager cancel on two months' notice, without penalty. Details: how to change strata management companies.
Working well with a manager
- Give instructions through council decisions recorded in the minutes, and through one designated council contact, usually the president.
- Set spending limits by resolution and review them annually.
- Ask for monthly financial statements and an arrears list, and review them at council meetings.
- Agree a turnaround for minutes and correspondence, and measure it.
- Review the contract a few months before it renews, and get comparison quotes every few years.
Managed or self-managed?
Many small and mid-sized BC stratas, especially townhouse and bare land stratas on Vancouver Island and in the Interior, manage themselves. Self-management saves the management fee but moves every task in the table above onto volunteers, and the two that usually break first are the books and the minutes. Our self-managed strata guide covers the trade-off honestly.
Questions councils and owners ask
What does a strata manager do in BC?
Carries out council's decisions and runs day-to-day administration under a management contract: collecting fees, paying bills, keeping books and records, arranging repairs and insurance, preparing budgets and notices, attending meetings and often taking minutes.
Do strata managers need a licence in BC?
Yes. Providing strata management services to a strata corporation for remuneration requires a licence under the Real Estate Services Act. BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) licenses and regulates strata managers.
Is it legal for a strata manager to act as the council secretary?
A manager cannot hold the office of secretary, because officers are elected from among council members (Standard Bylaw 13). Council can delegate secretarial tasks such as taking minutes to the manager, and remains responsible for the minutes.
Can a strata manager hold proxies?
No. Under section 56(3) a person who provides strata management services, or a strata employee, can be a proxy only if the regulations permit it, and the Strata Property Regulation does not.
Can a strata manager attend a council hearing?
Yes, at council's request to assist, but the manager takes no part in council's decision. See our strata hearing templates.
What must a strata manager hand over when the contract ends?
Every section 35 record in their possession or control, within 4 weeks of the contract ending. A manager who does not must pay the strata $1,000 (section 37; Regulation 4.3).
Minutes the same day, managed or not
Whether council or the manager takes the notes, StrataMinutes turns them into complete, professionally formatted minutes, usually within minutes, with a compliance checklist. Management companies can put every manager on one company account.
Free for 30 days, then $29 a month. Cancel anytime.
This page is general information for BC strata corporations, not legal advice. Your strata's own filed bylaws may differ from the Standard Bylaws. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws, and BC Financial Services Authority's information on strata management licensing.
Related guides
How to Change Strata Management Companies
Self-Managed Stratas
Council Roles
Records Retention
Proxy Voting
Company Accounts for Management Companies