New Form B Information Certificate Effective April 1, 2023

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Strata Property Managers, strata council members, and real estate professional please note that as of April 1, 2023, you must use an updated Form B Information Certificate.

Also see British Columbia Orders in Council OIC No. 31-2023 and OIC No. 32-2023, both issued on January 24, 2023.

Information Certificate (Form B)

The Information Certificate (Form B) is regularly requested by realtors, prospective purchasers, and lawyers during the process of purchasing a strata lot, but it can be requested at any time by an owner or authorized person. It contains information about the strata lot such as the amount of the strata fees, any amount owing, information about parking stalls and lockers, and much more. When issuing a Form B, the strata manager or council must also provide a copy of the current budget, rules, and the most recent depreciation report. Learn more about the Form B on page 6 of VISOA’s February 2022 Bulletin.

What’s new?

Effective April 1, 2023 Section 59 of the Strata Property Act says the Information Certificate (Form B) must disclose “(l.2) a summary of the strata corporation’s insurance coverage”. Accordingly, the Form B now includes part (o) which says to “Provide a summary of the insurance coverage on a separate sheet or sheets.” The strata property manager or council can simply provide a copy of the summary from the strata’s insurance provider. This document is usually 1-2 pages and shows each type of coverage, the limits, and the deductibles.

On April 1, 2023 section 59 (5.1) was added to the Strata Property Act to protect the strata corporation from errors in the information provided by the insurer: “Despite subsection (5), information in subsection (3) (l.2) disclosed in a certificate is not binding on the strata corporation if the disclosed information is obtained from the strata corporation’s insurer, as defined in section 1 (1) of the Financial Institutions Act, or insurance agent, as defined in section 168 of that Act.”

Note that Order No. 31-2023 completes two changes that were in Bill 44 The Building and Strata Statutes Amendment Act, 2022 passed on November 24, 2022. There is no longer a requirement to disclose the number of strata lots that are rented (part l), or to attach a copy of the owner developer’s Rental Disclosure Statement. The Order also repeals the Form J Rental Disclosure Statement.

The Form B is a prescribed form found in the forms section at the end of the Strata Property Regulation.

[Update December 6, 2023] Section (p) has been added to the Form B. It requires the strata to attach any electrical planning reports. Learn more about electrical planning reports.

Minimum Contribution to the CRF effective November 1, 2023

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Starting November 1, 2023 strata corporations and strata sections must contribute a minimum amount to their contingency reserve fund (CRF) annually. The amount of the annual contribution must be at least 10% of the total amount budgeted for operating expenses (the operating fund).

New Regulations

On January 24, 2023, British Columbia Order in Council OIC No. 32 amended the Strata Property Regulation regarding the minimum amount that owner developers, strata corporations, and strata sections must contribute to the contingency reserve fund (CRF).

Minimum contribution to the contingency reserve fund (CRF) by the owner developer

Sections 12 and 13 of the Strata Property Act require the owner developer to establish a contingency reserve fund, and include contributions in the interim budget. The percentages that determine the minimum amounts are now in Strata Property Regulation 3.01.

Highlights:

SPA 12 (1) At the time of the first conveyance of a strata lot to a purchaser, the owner developer must establish a contingency reserve fund by paying into the fund an amount calculated according to this section.

(2) If the first conveyance of a strata lot to a purchaser occurs no later than one year after the deposit of the strata plan, the minimum contribution to the fund must be the prescribed percentage of the estimated operating expenses as set out in the interim budget referred to in section 13.

The new Regulation 3.01 sets the prescribed percentage at 10%.

Similar changes were made to section 12 (3) (a); and section 13 (2) (b) which sets a prescribed percentage of 10% for contributions to the CRF in the interim budget (the budget before the first annual general meeting).

Minimum contribution to the contingency reserve fund (CRF) by strata corporations and sections

Previously the Regulations only required a strata corporation (or section) to keep their CRF at a minimum balance calculated as the value of 25% of the operating expenses in the most recent annual operating budget. For example, a strata corporation (or section) with operating expenses of $50,000 was only required to keep $12,500 in their CRF. There was no requirement to continue to contribute annually. Most strata owners realize that this amount is far too low to prepare for upcoming repair and renewal projects.

Highlights:

Strata Property regulation 3.4 and regulation 6.1 now require strata corporations (and sections) to contribute to their CRF annually regardless of how much is already in the CRF. They must contribute at least 10% of the value of the operating expenses set out in the budget. For example, a strata corporation (or section) with operating expenses of $50,000 would have to contribute a minimum of $5,000 to the CRF. If operating expenses go up to $65,000 next year, the minimum contribution next year would be $6,500 and so on every year. There is no maximum.

These Regulations become effective November 1, 2023. If your strata corporation or strata section’s annual general meeting (AGM) will be held on or after November 1, 2023, the budget approved at the meeting must include a contribution to the CRF of at least 10% of the value of the operating expenses.

The details

Section 93 of the Strata Property Act “Minimum and maximum contributions to contingency reserve fund” says “Subject to the requirements set out in the regulations, the strata corporation must determine the amount of the annual contribution to the contingency reserve fund.”

Regulations effective November 1, 2023:

Contingency reserve fund contribution in first annual budget
Regulation 3.4
For the purposes of section 93 of the Act, the amount of the annual contribution to the contingency reserve fund for the fiscal year following the first annual general meeting must be at least 10% of the total amount budgeted for the contribution to the operating fund for the 12-month period covered by that budget.

Contributions to contingency reserve fund
Regulation 6.1
(1) For the purposes of section 93 of the Act, the amount of the annual contribution to the contingency reserve fund for a fiscal year, other than the fiscal year following the first annual general meeting, must be determined after consideration of the most recent depreciation report, if any, obtained under section 94 of the Act.
(2) The amount of the annual contribution must be at least 10% of the total amount budgeted for the contribution to the operating fund for the current fiscal year.

Note: The operating fund is the portion of the budget for operating expenses.

Changes to the Strata Property Act Now in Effect

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On November 24, 2022, The Building and Strata Statutes Amendment Act, 2022 was passed in the BC Legislature and received Royal Assent. This means the following changes to the Strata Property Act about age restriction bylaws, and rentals are now in effect. Certain requirements for electronic meetings come into effect in 4 months.

No Rental Restrictions

  • No rental restriction bylaws are allowed in any strata corporation in BC. See landlords and strata corporations for more information.
  • Any current rental restriction bylaws are unenforceable.
  • (s. 141) The strata corporation cannot screen tenants, establish screening criteria, require the approval of tenants, require the insertion of terms in tenancy agreements or otherwise restrict the rental of a strata lot. (This also means that the strata cannot charge a landlord or tenant “extra” deposits or fees such as surcharges, administration or management fees, or increased strata fees. Fees that apply to all owners and residents such as a move-in or move-out fee are permitted as long as they have been set out in a valid  bylaw or rule.)
  • (s. 146) A Form K is still required under the Act “Within 2 weeks of renting all or part of a residential strata lot, the landlord must give the strata corporation a copy of the notice [Form K] signed by the tenant.”
  • The strata may still have a bylaw like Standard Bylaw 4 which says “On request by the strata corporation, a tenant must inform the strata corporation of the tenant’s name.”
  • (s. 139 & 140 repealed) A developer is no longer required to issue Rental Disclosure Statements [Form J] and a strata is no longer required to keep those records.
  • (s. 142 repealed) The effect of this is that a rental of a strata lot to a family member no longer creates an assignment of the owner’s powers and duties under section 148.
  • (s. 144 repealed) Since any owner can now rent their strata lot, there is no longer a need for owners to request an exemption due to hardship. Current requests for hardship are now moot. The owner can simply rent their unit.

Notes:

  • Stratas may continue to have bylaws or pass a new bylaw that prohibits or restricts short-term rentals such as AirBnBs. There is some tricky case law about these bylaws. Have a strata lawyer write this bylaw for you, or to review your current bylaw, to ensure that it will achieve your goal of banning or restricting “short-term accommodations”.
  • Per Strata Property Act s. 138 Eviction by Strata Corporation, the Residential Tenancy Branch Policy Guideline 27 has been updated to state that a strata corporation can issue a Notice to End Tenancy and apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution in place of the landlord.

Age restrictions

  • (s. 123.1) Age restriction bylaws are allowed for any ages 55 or greater (e.g. 55+, 60+).
  • No other age restriction bylaws are allowed (e.g. 19+, 45+).
  • Any current age restriction bylaws under the age of 55 are invalid (e.g. 19+, 45+).
  • Age restriction bylaws can require all persons, or one or more persons residing in the strata lot to have reached the minimum age.

Age restriction bylaws (s 123.2) do not apply to:

  • A person of who resided in the strata lot immediately before the bylaw was passed
  • Age restriction bylaws do not apply to a caregiver who resides in the strata lot for the purpose of providing care to another person who resides in the strata lot and is dependent on caregivers for continuing assistance or direction because of disability, illness, or frailty.

Electronic meetings

  • (s. 49) Effective immediately all strata corporations can hold annual and special general meetings by telephone or other electronic means (no bylaw required).

These requirements take effect after a 4-month transition period ending on March 24, 2023:

  • (s. 45(3)) The Notice must include the date, time, and place of the meeting (if there will be in-person attendance), and if being held electronically, instructions for how to attend by electronic means. (The strata council chooses the format of the meeting: in-person, electronic, or combination of methods, often called a hybrid meeting.)
  • (s. 49) The electronic means must enable the chair of the meeting to identify whether a person attending by electronic means is an eligible voter.
  • The method must allow all persons attending the meeting to communicate with each other.
  • Voting cards are not required for eligible voters attending an annual or special general meeting by electronic means.
  • An eligible voter attending an annual or special general meeting by electronic means is not entitled or required to vote by secret ballot. (This allows greater flexibility to use online voting platforms, polling features etc. The strata corporation may conduct a secret ballot physically and/or electronically, but is not required for those attending electronically. There may be more than one method used to vote for a resolution to accommodate all eligible voters.)

Pets

  • (s. 123) The section about limits to pets has been reworded for clarification.

Learn more

Watch the video of our webinar held on December 3, 2022, featuring a panel of four strata lawyers: The Strata Property Act: What changed?

See updates on the BC Strata Housing website.

If you are a VISOA member you can submit your questions to the Strata Support Team.