Quick links
- BC Strata Housing: Strata plan and strata lots
- Find your strata plan number at: BC Assessment
- Land Title Office: Find strata property information
The strata plan creates the strata corporation
The strata plan is a core piece of information about your strata and your strata lot. You need to understand your strata plan to understand how laws and bylaws apply. The information on the strata plan is central to determining who owns what, who can use what, and who is responsible for what.
The strata plan is the ‘big bang” that creates your strata corporation. Your strata corporation was created automatically when the strata plan was deposited (filed) at the BC Land Title Office by the owner-developer. The strata’s legal name includes the registration number on the first page of the strata plan.
Boundaries, strata lots, and common property
The strata plan is often confused with building drawings. The architect’s drawings are used for construction purposes. They do not show who owns what. The strata plan is prepared by a British Columbia land surveyor. The plan includes the boundaries of the land and the strata lots, and the location of the buildings, if any.
Purchasers and owners should review the strata plan to understand what the owner owns (strata lot), what limited common property (LCP) they have exclusive use of, and what is common property (CP). These are called legal designations.
Each strata lot is identified by a number or letter such as “SL 3” or “SL B”. A strata lot such as a condo or townhouse usually has boundaries that end at the center of the walls, floors and ceilings. However, a balcony, patio, lawn area, garage, or driveway might be marked as part of the strata lot. For example “Pt. 4” means part of SL 4.
Areas that are not part of strata lot are common property. They are usually marked “CP”. An area can still be CP even if it’s not marked CP. Remember, if it’s not part of a strata lot it’s common property.
Some common property is marked limited common property “LCP#”. This is still common property but only the strata lot owner can use it. For example, a parking stall or patio might say LCP 6. The stall or patio is limited common property for the exclusive use of the owner of strata lot 6. The owner doesn’t own the parking stall or patio, they don’t have full control over it, and they can’t sell it. They simply have the right to use it because they own strata lot 6.
In bare land stratas, the strata plan is filed before any homes are constructed. The strata lot is essentially a plot of land. The common property could include roads, streetlights, a septic system, a clubhouse, playground, and walking paths. Learn more about bare land stratas.
Phased strata plans
In a phased strata, units in the development are constructed at different times. Imagine for example, an owner-developer wants to build a condo tower of 48 units, a block of 16 townhouses, and commercial area with a restaurant and 5 units for retail businesses. They might want to break up the construction project into three phases.
- They build the condo tower, file a strata plan for strata lots #1-48, and sell the condos.
- Next they build the townhouses. They file phase two of the strata plan for strata lots #49-64 and sell the townhouses.
- Finally they build the restaurant and retail units. They file phase three of the strata plan for strata lots #65-70.
The strata plan on file at the Land Title Office is one document that includes the pages from all three phases. It shows all buildings, all 70 strata lots, the common property, and limited common property for the exclusive use of certain strata lots.
Member-only resources
Log in to your account to access the following resources:
- 3 sample strata plans (including phased and bare land strata plans)
- Purchasing documents from the Land Titles Office
