Renovating a Condo Kitchen in Vancouver: What Stays, What Changes, and the Order of Work

What stays in place, and why

Three things in a condo kitchen stay where they are unless the strata agrees to a change: the shared pipes, the shared ducts and the building's structure.

Section 1 of the Strata Property Act defines common property, the parts of a building that all the owners own together. The definition includes pipes, wires, cables, chutes and ducts for water, sewage, drainage, gas, electricity, heating and cooling in two cases. The first is when they sit inside a wall, floor or ceiling that forms a boundary of the unit. The second is when they run inside the unit and can serve another unit or the common property.

A drain that carries water from the kitchens above yours meets the second test where it passes through your wall. So does an exhaust duct that other units also use. Changing either one needs written approval under Standard Bylaw 6. The sentence that says a strata must not unreasonably withhold its approval appears only in Bylaw 5, which covers your own fixtures.

The structure is the third part. Standard Bylaw 5(1)(a) requires written approval before an alteration that involves the structure of a building. If your floor and ceiling are concrete slabs, treat them as structure until the building's drawings show otherwise.

For the layout, this has one practical result. The sink, the dishwasher, the range and the hood each connect to the building at a fixed point. The plan with the fewest approvals keeps each of those connections where it is.

What can change once the strata approves

Most of what you see in a kitchen can be replaced. Cabinets, counters, the tile on the wall behind the counter, the sink, the tap and the attached lights are all items attached to the building. Section 9.1 of the Strata Property Regulation calls such items fixtures, and Standard Bylaw 5(1)(g) requires the strata's written approval before an owner alters the fixtures the original developer installed.

That approval falls under Bylaw 5, and Bylaw 5(2) says the strata must not unreasonably withhold it. The strata may ask you to agree in writing to take responsibility for expenses relating to the alteration.

Appliances are treated differently. Section 9.1 leaves refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers and microwaves out of the definition of fixtures when they can be removed without damage to the building. Under the Standard Bylaws, replacing one of those with another in the same place needs no approval. Your building's own bylaws can require more, so read them.

Inside those limits the design is yours: cabinet layout, drawer sizes, counter material, lighting positions and colours.

Electricity: the building's capacity sets the limit

Before you choose appliances, find out how much electricity your unit can draw. The Province of BC says almost all strata corporations have finite electrical capacity, and that paying for upgrades to that capacity can be expensive.

Strata corporations with five or more units must obtain an electrical planning report, a document that records the capacity of the building's electrical system, the existing demand and the spare capacity. The deadline for buildings in Metro Vancouver is December 31, 2026. Ask your strata whether its report is done and ask for a copy.

The report gives an overview of the whole building. The Province says it "cannot inform the installation of electrical loads", and that when an owner wants to add equipment that will increase the electrical demand, the strata needs to ensure a qualified professional selects the equipment, confirms the electrical capacity, and tells the strata whether upgrades are needed.

In a kitchen this applies to any new appliance that uses more electricity than the one it replaces, and to any appliance added where none stood before. We list each new appliance with the electrical rating printed on the maker's product sheet, and we send that list with the strata request, so the capacity question is answered before anything is ordered.

Electrical and gas permits

A licensed contractor does the electrical work in a condo kitchen. Technical Safety BC, the body that runs BC's Safety Standards Act, states that owners of a strata "cannot obtain homeowner permits and must hire a licensed contractor".

Its list of electrical work that needs a permit includes installing or moving light switches or electrical outlets, replacing light fixtures, and connecting permanently installed equipment such as a dishwasher or a range hood. A kitchen renovation that moves an outlet or connects a new dishwasher is on that list. The contractor applies for the permit, and Technical Safety BC advises owners to check that one is in place before work begins.

The same applies to gas work. Installing or replacing a gas range or cooktop, and installing or replacing gas piping, are on Technical Safety BC's list of gas work that needs a permit. Gas pipes are also named in the Act's definition of common property, so a change to a gas line that serves other units, or that sits in a boundary wall, needs the strata's approval under Bylaw 6.

Inside the City of Vancouver, the City issues electrical and gas permits. Technical Safety BC's list of 10 municipalities that issue their own permits shows Vancouver for both. Confirm with the City which permits your kitchen needs.

Ventilation: the range hood and its duct

Find out where the existing hood sends its air before you choose a new one. The answer decides which approvals the hood needs.

A duct is common property when it sits inside a boundary wall, floor or ceiling, or when it can serve another unit. Connecting a new hood to a shared duct is a change to common property under Bylaw 6. A new opening through an outside wall is an alteration to the exterior of the building, which is Bylaw 5(1)(b).

Ask the strata three questions in writing. Where does the kitchen exhaust from my unit go? Is that duct shared with other units? Does the building limit the type or strength of fan that may be connected to it?

Then ask the hood supplier whether the model you want needs a duct to the outside, or filters the air and returns it to the kitchen. Give the strata the product sheet for the model you choose.

Getting cabinets and counters to the unit

Everything in a condo kitchen arrives through the lobby, the elevator and the hallway. We measure that route before anything is ordered.

On the site visit we measure the elevator door, the inside of the elevator, the hallway corners and the unit's entry door. Tall cabinets and long counter pieces are checked against those measurements. Where a counter is too long for the elevator, it is made in sections and the joins are planned at the design stage, so you see where each join will be before you approve the drawing.

A condo has no garage or driveway for storage. We schedule the cabinet delivery for the days just before installation and book it with the building in the way its rules require. Our published wait for a cabinet order is 8 to 12 weeks, a figure we wrote for house kitchens, so we place the order only after the strata's written approval has arrived and the capacity check is complete.

We cover the hallway floor and the elevator surfaces your building asks us to protect. Standard Bylaw 3(2) forbids damage to the common property, and section 130(1) of the Act lets the strata fine an owner for a bylaw contravention by a person the owner admitted to the building for business reasons.

The order of work in a condo kitchen

The building work follows the same order as a house kitchen. A condo adds the first four steps.

• Read the building's bylaws, rules and alteration agreement, and visit the unit to find each pipe, duct and wire the kitchen connects to.
• Have a qualified person inspect the areas the work will disturb for hazardous materials. Section 20.112 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires this before renovation work begins.
• Fix the layout and choose the cabinets, counters, fixtures and appliances, so the product sheets exist.
• Send the strata request and wait for the written approval. Settle the permit question with the City.
• Order the cabinets, then book the building for the delivery days.
• Protect the common areas, then remove the old kitchen. Any hazardous material named in the report is contained or removed first.
• Do the plumbing and electrical work inside the walls and have it inspected before the walls are closed. We photograph it for your file.
• Install cabinets, then measure for the counters. Install counters, wall tile, sink, tap, lights and appliances.
• Test every water connection and every appliance, clean the unit and the route, and give the strata the documents its approval asked for.

What the strata request should cover for a kitchen

Name every connection to the building in the request. A council member who has never seen your kitchen should be able to tell which parts are being replaced and which shared parts are being touched.

For a kitchen that means the fixtures being replaced, the position of the sink and whether its drain connection changes, each new appliance with its electrical rating, where the hood connects, any gas work, and any cutting or drilling of concrete. Attach the drawings, the product sheets, the hazardous materials report and the contractor documents your building lists.

Our strata guide explains the request, the conditions a council can set and the steps after a refusal.