What a Condo Renovation Quote Should List, and What to Ask Before You Sign

The items to look for

Read the quote against this table. An item the quote leaves out is a question to ask in writing.

Scope, written against your building's bylaws

Ask whether the contractor has read your building's bylaws, rules and renovation form. A quote written without them leaves out the conditions your building sets.

Under the Standard Bylaws, the approval list in Bylaw 5(1) includes the parts of a unit the strata must insure. Section 9.1 of the Strata Property Regulation defines those as fixtures the original developer installed, including floor and wall coverings and electrical and plumbing fixtures. Most kitchen, bathroom and flooring work is on that list, so the quote should mark those lines as waiting for approval.

We write the scope once and use the same words in the quote and in the strata request, so the council approves the work the contract describes.

The strata request, fees and deposits

Ask who prepares the request to the strata and who answers the council's questions. Preparing it takes hours of work, and the quote should say whether those hours are in the price.

Ask who pays the building's charges. Section 6.9 of the Strata Property Regulation says a fee for the use of common property must be reasonable and must be set out in a bylaw or in a rule the owners have ratified. Each building sets its own amounts, so the quote should either include each charge by name or say that the owner pays it directly.

One document is yours alone to sign. Standard Bylaw 5(2) lets the strata require the owner to agree in writing to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration. Read that agreement before you sign the contract. Section 59(3)(c) of the Act makes the strata disclose it on the Information Certificate, the form a buyer of the unit receives.

The hazardous materials inspection

Section 20.112 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation puts the duty on the employers responsible for the work and on the owner together. Before renovation work begins, they must ensure a qualified person inspects for hazardous materials and writes a report.

The quote should say who arranges the inspection and whether its cost is in the price. If the report is still to come, the quote should say how removal will be priced once the report gives the location and the approximate quantity of each material. Ask for the name of the removal company. WorkSafeBC states that since January 1, 2024, asbestos abatement contractors must be licensed to operate in BC, and it publishes a list of licensed contractors.

Electrical and gas: licensed contractors and permits

Technical Safety BC states that owners of a strata "cannot obtain homeowner permits and must hire a licensed contractor". It adds that the contractor applies for the permit on the owner's behalf, and advises: "Check to ensure there is one in place before work begins."

The quote should name the electrical contractor, and the gas contractor if the work touches gas. Technical Safety BC licenses these contractors across BC, including in the 10 municipalities that issue their own permits, and its website has a page for searching licensed contractors. Inside Vancouver the City issues the electrical and gas permits and sets the fees. Ask whether those fees are in the price.

Protection of the common areas, dust and waste

Standard Bylaw 3(2) forbids damage to the common property beyond reasonable wear and tear. The owner answers for the contractor: section 130(1) of the Strata Property Act lets the strata fine an owner when a person the owner admitted for business reasons contravenes a bylaw or rule, and section 133 lets it require the reasonable cost of a repair.

The quote should list the covering for the elevator and the hallway, cleaning at the end of each day, and removal of waste by the route the building allows. Where tile or concrete will be cut, ask how the dust will be captured.

Insurance and the WorkSafeBC clearance letter

Your building's bylaws or alteration agreement set the liability insurance a contractor must show. Ask for the certificate with the quote and compare its amount and dates with what the building asks for.

A clearance letter comes from WorkSafeBC, the agency that runs workplace injury insurance in BC. Its website says: "A clearance letter confirms a business is registered with us and paying its premiums." Its page for homeowners recommends checking before you hire, and says that if the business is unregistered or behind on payments, "as a customer you could be held responsible for its premiums".

You can look the letter up yourself. WorkSafeBC's online application searches by the firm's account number or its precise legal or trade name. A letter that shows the firm as "active and in good standing" is honoured up to a date shown in the body of the letter. Check that date against your working dates.

If the strata sets conditions after you sign

A council can answer a request with conditions, and a condition can change the work. Ask the contractor to put the answers to these questions in the quote or the contract.

• Is the price fixed for the scope as it will be sent to the strata?
• How is a change priced if the council requires a different product or method?
• Does the start date wait for the strata's written approval?
• What do I owe if the strata refuses the work and I cancel?

How we handle changes, and where to read about payments

If a council asks for a change, we revise the scope, the price and the schedule together and send them back as one document. We set the start date after the written approval arrives.

Deposits, payment schedules and the amount an owner holds back from each payment are covered in our contractor hiring guide, with the sources for each figure.