Elevator Bookings, Deliveries and Waste During a Condo Renovation in Vancouver

Who sets the rules for the elevator and deliveries

Your building sets them. We searched the Strata Property Act on October 4, 2026 and found the word "elevator" 0 times. The Standard Bylaws have no booking procedure, no delivery hours and no moving rules.

The route is common property. The Province's page on common property says that in a condominium, common property typically includes hallways and elevators, and that the strata corporation exclusively controls it. The same page says owners can use the common property except to the extent the Act, the regulations, the bylaws or the rules restrict that use.

A building can put its requirements in a bylaw or in a rule. Section 125(1) of the Act lets rules govern the use, safety and condition of the common property, so elevator and hallway requirements are often rules. A rule must be set out in a written document that can be photocopied, so you can ask for a copy.

The legal test for an elevator or moving fee

Section 110 of the Act says a strata must not impose user fees for the use of common property other than as set out in the regulations. Section 6.9(1) of the Strata Property Regulation then sets two requirements. The amount must be reasonable, and the fee must be set out in a bylaw or in a rule the owners have ratified.

Section 6.9(2) lists ways to set the amount. A fee may be fixed, or worked out on a reasonable basis such as the user's rate of consumption, the recovery of the strata's operating or maintenance costs, the number of users, or the duration of use.

The Province's page on bylaws adds that a rule "cannot impose a user fee until it has been ratified by majority vote by owners". When a fee appears on an invoice, ask which bylaw or ratified rule sets it and what the amount is based on.

Damage on the route, and who answers for it

Standard Bylaw 3(2) says an owner, tenant, occupant or visitor must not cause damage, other than reasonable wear and tear, to the common property. A delivery driver and a worker carrying waste are visitors to the building.

The owner answers for them. Section 130(1) of the Act lets the strata fine an owner when a bylaw or rule is contravened by a person the owner admitted to the premises for business reasons. Section 133 lets the strata do what is reasonably necessary to remedy a contravention, including work on the common property, and require the reasonable costs from the person who may be fined.

Section 135 sets steps the strata must take before a fine or a bill. It must have received a complaint, given the owner the particulars in writing, and given a reasonable opportunity to answer, including a hearing if the owner asks for one.

Standard Bylaw 3(1)(c) also applies on the route. It forbids using the common property in a way that unreasonably interferes with the rights of other persons to use and enjoy it. An elevator held for one renovation while residents wait falls within those words when it is unreasonable.

A waste bin or a storage space on the property

A bin in the parking area and a stack of materials in a service room both occupy common property. Section 76 of the Act lets a strata give an owner permission to exclusively use common property. The permission may carry conditions, lasts for a period of up to one year, and can be cancelled on reasonable notice.

Ask in writing before a bin arrives, and ask which form the permission takes in your building.

What to ask the strata for in writing

Send these questions to the strata manager before the schedule is set. The answers decide how many trips fit in a day.

• A copy of each bylaw and rule on moving, deliveries, the elevator and renovation waste, and whether each rule has been ratified.
• Which elevator may carry materials, and its inside width, depth, height and door opening.
• The weight the elevator may carry.
• How a booking is made, who confirms it, and how many days ahead it must be requested.
• The days and hours when deliveries and waste removal are allowed.
• Which entrance and route to use, and where a delivery vehicle may stop.
• What protection the building requires on the elevator walls and floor and in the hallway, and who installs the elevator's own wall pads.
• Whether renovation waste may go in the building's bins, and whether a bin may stand on the property.
• Whether the strata inspects the route before and after the work, and who attends.

How we plan deliveries

We measure the elevator, the unit door and the tightest corner of the hallway before we order. Long items such as countertops and trim are ordered in lengths that fit the elevator, or we raise the question with the strata before the order is placed.

We list the delivery dates in the owner's request to the strata, and we book the elevator in the way the building's rules set. Deliveries are grouped so that the elevator is booked on as few days as the job allows.

Each supplier's driver receives the entrance, the route and the booked time in writing.

How we protect the route and remove waste

We photograph the entrance, the elevator and the hallway before the first delivery and again after the last trip. The photographs carry their dates.

Where the building allows it, we cover the elevator walls and floor and the hallway floor between the elevator and the unit, and we protect the corners along the route. We remove the covering on the schedule the building sets.

Waste leaves the unit in closed bags or covered containers, during the hours the building allows, by the route the building names. We clean the hallway and the elevator floor after each day's trips. Building bins are used only with the strata's written permission.