The short answer
Under BC's Standard Bylaws, the owner repairs and maintains the strata lot, and the strata repairs the common property plus the structure, exterior, balconies, and exterior windows and doors. An owner who signed an agreement under Bylaw 5(2) or 6(2) took responsibility for expenses relating to the alteration. Inside a unit, the strata's required insurance covers the fixtures the original developer installed (Strata Property Act, s. 149(1)(d)).
The default split under the Standard Bylaws
The owner repairs the unit, and the strata repairs the common property and the outer parts of the building. Two bylaws set this out. Standard Bylaw 2(1) says an owner must repair and maintain the owner's strata lot, except for what the bylaws make the strata's responsibility. Standard Bylaw 8 lists the strata's share.
Limited common property is divided by how often the work comes up. Limited common property is common property set aside for the exclusive use of one or more units. Under Bylaw 2(2), an owner who has the use of it must repair and maintain it, except for the strata's share. Under Bylaw 8(c), the strata's share is the repair and maintenance that ordinarily occurs less often than once a year, plus a list of parts the strata repairs however often the work is needed.
The table shows the split. It reads the Standard Bylaws only.
| Part of the building | Who repairs and maintains it | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| The inside of the unit, apart from the strata's parts listed in the next row | Owner | Standard Bylaw 2(1) |
| Within the unit: the structure of the building, the exterior, balconies and other things attached to the exterior, doors, windows and skylights on the exterior or that front on the common property, and railings that enclose a balcony or patio | Strata | Standard Bylaw 8(d) |
| Common property that is open to all owners, such as hallways and elevators | Strata | Standard Bylaw 8(b), Act s. 72(1) |
| A pipe, wire or duct that serves another unit or the common property, including where it runs through your unit | Strata, because the Act defines it as common property | Act s. 1 (definition of common property), Standard Bylaw 8(b) |
| Limited common property: work that ordinarily occurs once a year or more often | The owner who has the use of it | Standard Bylaws 2(2) and 8(c)(i) |
| Limited common property: work that ordinarily occurs less often than once a year, and at any time its structure, exterior, balconies, exterior doors and windows, and railings | Strata | Standard Bylaw 8(c) |
How your building's bylaws can change the split
A strata can change the default in both directions. Section 72(2)(a) of the Strata Property Act lets a strata, by bylaw, make an owner responsible for the repair and maintenance of limited common property that the owner has a right to use. Section 72(3) lets a strata, by bylaw, take responsibility for specified portions of a strata lot.
Read your building's filed bylaws for both kinds of change before you plan work on a balcony, a patio or anything else outside the unit's walls.
The depreciation report is a second place to look. It is the report a strata obtains on the repair and replacement cost of the building's major items and their expected life. Section 6.2(2)(c) of the regulation requires the report to identify the common property and limited common property that the strata lot owner is responsible to maintain and repair.
What the agreement on expenses changes
The agreement moves cost to the owner for the altered part. Standard Bylaw 5(2) lets the strata require, as a condition of approving an alteration to a strata lot, "that the owner agree, in writing, to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration". Bylaw 6(2) uses the same words for an alteration to common property.
The bylaws stop at those words and leave the detail to each agreement, so the document you sign decides the answer. Before signing, read it for the answers to these questions, and ask the strata in writing about any it leaves open:
The last question matters most in a kitchen or a bathroom. Standard Bylaw 7 lets a person authorized by the strata enter a unit on 48 hours' written notice to repair common property, and a shared pipe behind new tile is common property. The Standard Bylaws are silent on who pays to put an owner's added finishes back afterwards. Ask for the answer to be written into the agreement.
Ask a lawyer to read the agreement if any answer is unclear. We give the owner the drawings and the scope in the same words as the contract, so the agreement can describe the altered parts exactly.
- Which parts of the unit or the common property does it name as altered?
- Does it cover the cost of the renovation work only, or also later repair and maintenance of the altered parts?
- Does it cover damage to other units or the common property that the altered parts cause later?
- Does it say what happens to the agreement when the unit is sold?
- If the strata has to open a wall or lift a floor you installed to reach common property, who pays to put the finishes back?
The agreement is disclosed when the unit is sold
A signed agreement is disclosed to buyers. The Information Certificate, also called Form B, is the form a strata must give to an owner or a buyer on request. Section 59(3)(c) of the Act requires it to disclose "any agreements under which the owner takes responsibility for expenses relating to alterations to a strata lot, the common property or the common assets".
The Province's page on Form B lists those agreements among the documents that may be required as attachments. A buyer's lawyer or notary can therefore read the agreement before the sale completes.
Keep your own file for a future sale: the approval letter, the signed agreement, the drawings, any permit and the contractor's invoices. Whether an agreement signed by one owner applies to the next owner is a legal question that depends on its wording. Ask a lawyer.
Insurance: the strata's policy covers what the developer installed
A strata must insure the original fixtures, and whether it insures your new ones is the strata's choice. Section 149(1) of the Act makes the strata insure the common property, the common assets, the buildings shown on the strata plan, and "fixtures built or installed on a strata lot, if the fixtures are built or installed by the owner developer as part of the original construction". Section 9.1(1) of the regulation defines fixtures as items attached to a building, including floor and wall coverings and electrical and plumbing fixtures.
Fixtures added later come under a different section. Section 152(b) says the strata may obtain insurance for fixtures that were not built or installed by the owner developer. The word is "may". Ask the strata manager in writing whether the building's policy covers owner improvements.
The Act lets the owner insure them. Under section 161(1), an owner may insure fixtures in the unit other than the original ones, and improvements to the original ones.
The Province's page on strata owner insurance describes what an owner's policy, often called a condo policy, can cover. Its list includes "Improvements ('betterments') to the strata lot made by the current and previous owners, up to a stated limit". The same page says that after a change in insured property it is important for the owner to contact the insurance broker immediately. A finished renovation is such a change. Give your broker the value of the new work and ask whether the stated limit covers it.
The strata's insurance deductible
A deductible is the amount the insured party pays toward a loss before the insurer pays. Section 158(1) of the Act makes the deductible on a strata's claim a common expense, shared by the owners through strata fees.
Section 158(2) then adds that this "does not limit the capacity of the strata corporation to sue an owner in order to recover the deductible portion of an insurance claim if the owner is responsible for the loss or damage that gave rise to the claim".
An owner can be responsible without having been careless. The Province's page says: "A strata owner can be deemed responsible, and required to pay the strata corporation's insurance deductible, even if not 'at fault' or negligent." Its example is a dishwasher hose that breaks early and sends water into the common property and other units.
The amount can be large. The Province's page, published July 23, 2025, says strata corporation insurance deductibles "can range from $100,000 to $750,000 or higher". It adds that a strata owner's policy can cover some or all of the deductible. Ask the strata for its insurance summary, find the water damage deductible, and give that figure to your broker. Section 154(c) requires the strata to inform owners as soon as feasible of any increase in a deductible.
When the renovation itself causes damage
The owner can be charged for damage to the building during the work. 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 or to the parts of a unit the strata must repair or insure.
The strata can repair the damage and charge the cost. Under section 133 of the Act, the strata may do what is reasonably necessary to remedy a contravention of its bylaws, including work on the common property, and may require the reasonable costs to be paid by the person who can be fined. Section 130(1) makes that person the owner when the contravention is by someone the owner admitted for business reasons, which covers a contractor.
Water needs the most care, because a leak can reach the common property and other units, as in the Province's example. Before plumbing work starts, we ask the strata manager how the water to the unit is shut off and who has to be told. We photograph the route to the unit before the first day and after the last.
Confirm two policies before work starts: the contractor's liability insurance, in the amount your building's bylaws or alteration agreement set, and your own condo policy.
Sources
- Strata Property Act, SBC 1998, c. 43 (sections 1, 59, 72, 130, 133, 149, 152, 154, 158 and 161), read October 4, 2026
- Strata Property Act, Schedule of Standard Bylaws (Bylaws 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8), read October 4, 2026
- Strata Property Regulation, B.C. Reg. 43/2000 (sections 6.2 and 9.1), read October 4, 2026
- Province of BC, Strata owner and tenant insurance (published July 23, 2025), read October 4, 2026
- Province of BC, Insurance for strata corporations (published July 23, 2025), read October 4, 2026
- Province of BC, Form B: Information Certificate (published September 1, 2026), read October 4, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Who repairs a balcony that is limited common property in a BC strata?
Under Standard Bylaw 8(c), the strata corporation repairs and maintains the balconies, the railings that enclose them and the building's exterior on limited common property, however often that work is needed. The owner who has the use of the balcony does the remaining upkeep that ordinarily occurs once a year or more often, under Bylaw 2(2). A building's own bylaws can give the owner more of the work under section 72(2)(a) of the Strata Property Act.
Who pays to repair a shared pipe that runs through my condo wall?
Under the Standard Bylaws, the strata corporation repairs a pipe that serves other units, including the part that runs through your wall. Section 1 of the Strata Property Act defines such a pipe as common property when it is capable of being used, and intended to be used, by another strata lot or the common property. Standard Bylaw 8(b) and section 72(1) give the repair of common property to the strata.
Does the strata's insurance cover a kitchen I renovated in my condo?
A BC strata's required property insurance covers the fixtures the original developer built or installed, under section 149(1)(d) of the Strata Property Act. For fixtures added later, section 152(b) says the strata may obtain insurance, which leaves the choice to each strata. Ask your strata manager in writing whether the building's policy covers owner improvements, and ask your own broker to cover the new kitchen under your condo policy.
Can a strata make me pay its insurance deductible after a leak from my unit?
Yes, a BC strata can sue an owner to recover the deductible on the strata's insurance claim when the owner is responsible for the loss or damage, under section 158(2) of the Strata Property Act. The Province's strata insurance page says an owner can be deemed responsible even when the owner was not at fault or negligent. It gives a dishwasher hose that breaks early as an example.
How large can a strata's insurance deductible be in BC?
The Province of BC's strata insurance page, published July 23, 2025, says strata corporation insurance deductibles can range from $100,000 to $750,000 or higher, depending on the number of units and the strata's claims history. Section 154(b) of the Strata Property Act makes a strata report on its insurance coverage at each annual general meeting. Ask the strata manager for the current summary and read the water damage deductible.
Should I tell my insurer after renovating my condo?
Yes, tell your insurance broker when a condo renovation is finished. The Province of BC's page on strata owner insurance says it is important to contact the broker immediately after a change in insured property. The same page says an owner's policy can cover improvements to the unit made by the current and previous owners, up to a stated limit, so ask whether that limit covers the value of the new work.
Is my alteration agreement attached to the Information Certificate when I sell?
An alteration agreement must be disclosed on the Information Certificate, and it may be attached. Section 59(3)(c) of the Strata Property Act requires the certificate to disclose any agreements under which the owner takes responsibility for expenses relating to alterations. The Province's page on Form B lists those agreements among the documents that may be required as attachments. Keep your signed copy, so that you can give it to your own lawyer at sale.
Can a strata bylaw make me repair all of my limited common property?
Yes, a BC strata can pass a bylaw that makes an owner responsible for the repair and maintenance of limited common property the owner has a right to use. Section 72(2)(a) of the Strata Property Act allows it. Under the Standard Bylaws the owner's share is smaller: Bylaw 8(c) leaves the strata the work that ordinarily occurs less often than once a year. Read your building's filed bylaws to see which version applies.
Does a strata expenses agreement cover later repairs or only the renovation?
The answer is in the text of the agreement you sign. Standard Bylaw 5(2) lets a BC strata require an owner to agree in writing "to take responsibility for any expenses relating to the alteration", and the bylaw gives no further detail. Read the agreement for whether it names later repair and maintenance of the altered parts, and ask the strata in writing about anything it leaves open before you sign.
Where can I see which parts of my building the owners must repair?
Your building's bylaws set who repairs what, and its depreciation report lists the result. Section 6.2(2)(c) of the Strata Property Regulation requires a depreciation report to identify the common property and limited common property that the strata lot owner is responsible to maintain and repair. The most recent report, if the strata has one, is attached to the Information Certificate under section 59(4)(d) of the Strata Property Act.
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