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What is a strata corporation?

What is a strata corporation?

Is a strata a condo? Not exactly. A strata corporation isn’t a type of building: it’s a legal framework for multiple people to own a property. You might be more familiar with terms like “condominium association” or “homeowners’ association” which are used in other provinces or countries. While they may seem similar, the laws are different in each area.

Unlike a single family home where the owner owns their house and land (freehold), in a strata property a building or land is subdivided into “strata lots”. Each person owns their strata lot (such as a condo) and has shared ownership of other areas such as hallways, lobbies, elevators, lawns, and walkways. These shared areas are the “common property”. Together the owners are all members of a strata corporation.

And don’t be confused by the word “corporation”. A strata corporation is not a business corporation. While it is usually a non-taxable entity, a strata corporation is also not a non-profit society or cooperative housing association. In British Columbia the governing legislation for a strata corporation and its owners is the Strata Property Act. The Business Corporations Act, Societies Act, and Cooperative Association Act do not apply to strata corporations.

Over the years, judges in the BC Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have provided their perspectives into this framework of joint ownership.

“A portion of the property is divided into individually owned units, the balance is owned in common and a strata corporation manages the common property and common assets for the benefit of the owners, who are generally “all in it together”.” King Day Holdings 2020 BCCA 342

“An equitable balance must exist between the independence of the individual owners and the interdependence of them all in a co-operative community.” Wake 2017 BCSC 2386

“A strata corporation, in carrying out its mandate, must consider and act in the best interests of all the owners. It must endeavor to accomplish the greatest good for the greatest number.” Gentis 2003 BCSC 120

Types of stratas

A strata corporation can be formed for almost any type of property. There doesn’t even have to be land. Leasehold strata corporations have buildings on land that is leased (rented) from First Nations, the government of British Columbia or Canada, a municipality, regional district, or other public authority. Air space parcel stratas are built in the “air” on top of someone else’s building!

A strata corporation could be formed for ownership of:

  • Condominiums
  • Townhouses
  • Duplexes and triplexes
  • Detached houses
  • Offices, units in a shopping centre, or warehouse units
  • Industrial spaces, even airplane hangars
  • Mixed use such as residential and commercial
  • Bare land (learn more about bare land stratas)
  • Vacation cottages
  • Lots for campers or RVs
  • Boat moorages or marina slips
  • Hotel rooms
  • Parking stalls
  • Storage facilities
  • and more

How is a strata corporation created?

A strata corporation is created automatically when a strata plan is deposited (filed) at the BC Land Title Office by the owner-developer. The strata plan is prepared by a British Columbia land surveyor. It shows the buildings (if any), the boundaries of strata lots, and identifies the strata lots by numbers or letters. In a phased strata, units in the development are constructed at different times. After the units in a phase are built, additional pages are filed to update the strata plan. Learn more about strata plans.

Once filed, the strata corporation exists and each strata lot can be sold. There is a title record at the Land Title Office for each strata lot. The title record will show the legal name of the strata (its registration number) and the number or letter of the strata lot.

Strata statistics

The Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA) publishes BC Real Estate Facts. As of March 31, 2023 there were:

  • 32,344 filed strata plans
  • 690,980 active strata lots

How large are strata corporations in BC? Most are small! See the number of strata plans by size.

  • 77% of stratas are 2-24 strata lots (54% 2-4 lots)
  • Only 7% are 80 or more lots

The first strata corporations in BC:

  • Construction projects in BC started after the Strata Titles Act was enacted in 1966.
  • BC’s first strata plan NW 1 was filed at the Land Title Office on February 29, 1968. Known as “Chateau Place”, these 42 townhouses in Port Moody still exist.
  • The first strata plan filed on Vancouver Island was VIS 1, a 63-unit townhouse complex in Port Alice, also built in 1968. It’s featured on the cover of VISOA’s May 2023 Bulletin magazine.

Often a strata building will have a nickname such as “Park Towers” or “Ocean Shores”. This is not the legal name. The Strata Property Act says that the legal name of the strata corporation is “The Owners, Strata Plan [the registration number of the strata plan]”. The registration number is found on the first page of the strata plan. The number is usually a 3-letter prefix code followed by 1-4 numerals.

Since May 2007, strata plans have been filed electronically. Regardless of where they are located in BC, these stratas have the prefix code EPS (Electronic Plan Strata) such as “The Owners, Strata Plan EPS9526”.

The first strata plans filed in BC in 1968 are NW1 in Port Moody (also known as Chateau Place), and VIS 1 in Port Alice (also known as Evergreen Terrace). Older stratas have registration numbers that might contain only one or two letters, or none at all. If there is a letter it refers to the region such as K (Kamloops), KR (Kelowna), NW (New Westminster), and VR (Vancouver). Many registration numbers don’t have letters such as Strata Plan 198 and Strata Plan 1052.

Over the years, the Land Title Office created 3-letter prefix codes for all properties in BC including older stratas. For example prefix K became prefix code KAS, NW became code NWS, VR became code VAS. A strata with no code such as Strata Plan 198 on Vancouver Island, became Strata Plan VIS198. Other codes are BCS (BC Strata), LMS (Lower Mainland Strata), NES (Nelson Strata), PGS (Prince George Strata), and PRS (Prince Rupert Strata).

This means that some stratas with strata plans filed before 1991 will have two names.

  • Legal name: The original registration number shown on the strata plan (which may have one, two, three, or no letters) is still the legal name of the strata corporation. You’ll see the legal name on the registered strata plan and on the title record for your strata lot. The strata should use the legal name for contracts, banking, and legal cases in courts and tribunals.
  • Non-legal name: The name with the 3-letter prefix code is used for property assessment (BC Assessment) and property taxes. Your municipality might also use this name when billing the strata for utilities such as water. Find property information at BC Assessment.

Member-only resources

Log in to your account to access the following resources:

  • Purchasing documents from the Land Title Office
  • 3 sample strata plans (including phased and bare land strata plans)
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