Effect of deposit of strata plan

239   (1) Land may be subdivided into 2 or more strata lots by the deposit of a strata plan in a land title office.

(2) The strata lots created by the deposit of a strata plan may, subject to this Act, devolve or be disposed of in the same manner and form as any land the title to which is registered in a land title office.

(3) Despite any other provision of this Act, a strata lot may not be subdivided by the deposit of a strata plan that, under section 2, would establish a strata corporation.

Title requirements for deposit of strata plan

240   Title to the land shown on the strata plan must be registered in the name of the person applying to deposit the plan, and the land shown on the strata plan must be shown as

(a) a single parcel on a subdivision plan, reference plan or air space plan deposited in a land title office,

(b) separate parcels, if the parcels are separated only by a highway, dike, stream or right of way,

(c) separate parcels that share a common boundary, if the parcels form part of a phased strata plan as set out in a Phased Strata Plan Declaration in the prescribed form, or

(d) separate parcels separated by land not owned by the person applying to deposit the strata plan, if an approving officer is satisfied that the strata plan would result in a viable development of benefit to the community.

Endorsement of nonoccupancy

241   (1) If a strata plan includes a building that has not been previously occupied, the plan must be endorsed by a British Columbia land surveyor certifying that the building has not been previously occupied.

(2) The endorsement must be dated not more than 180 days before the date the strata plan is tendered for deposit.

Approval for conversion of previously occupied buildings

242   (1) For the purposes of this section, "approving authority" means

(a) the municipal council of the municipality if the land is located in a municipality,

(b) the regional board of the regional district if the land is located in a regional district but not in a municipality and is neither Nisg̱a'a Lands nor treaty lands of a treaty first nation,

(c) the Nisg̱a'a Village Government if the land is located within Nisg̱a'a Village Lands,

(d) the Nisg̱a'a Lisims Government if the land is Nisg̱a'a Lands other than Nisg̱a'a Village Lands, or

(e) the governing body of the treaty first nation if the land is located within the treaty lands of that treaty first nation.

(2) If a person applying to deposit a strata plan wishes to include in the strata plan a previously occupied building, the person must submit the proposed strata plan to the approving authority.

(3) The approving authority may

(a) approve the strata plan, or approve the strata plan subject to terms and conditions, or

(b) refuse to approve the strata plan, or refuse to approve the strata plan until terms and conditions imposed by the approving authority are met.

(4) The decision of the approving authority under subsection (3) is final and may not be appealed.

(5) The approving authority must not approve the strata plan unless the building substantially complies with the following:

(a) the applicable bylaws of the municipality or regional district;

(b) applicable Nisg̱a'a Government laws;

(b.1) the applicable laws of the treaty first nation;

(c) the building regulations within the meaning of the Building Act, except, in relation to a treaty first nation that has entered into an agreement described in section 6 of that Act, to the extent that the agreement enables the treaty first nation to establish standards that are different from those established by the building regulations.

(6) In making its decision, the approving authority must consider

(a) the priority of rental accommodation over privately owned housing in the area,

(b) any proposals for the relocation of persons occupying a residential building,

(c) the life expectancy of the building,

(d) projected major increases in maintenance costs due to the condition of the building, and

(e) any other matters that, in its opinion, are relevant.

(7) If the approving authority approves the strata plan without terms and conditions, an authorized signatory of the approving authority must endorse the plan in accordance with the regulations.

(8) If the approving authority approves the strata plan subject to terms and conditions, an authorized signatory of the approving authority must endorse the plan in accordance with the regulations once the terms and conditions have been met.

(9) The endorsement must be dated not more than 180 days before the date the strata plan is tendered for deposit.

(10) The approving authority may, by resolution, with respect to a specified type of previously occupied building,

(a) delegate to an approving officer or other person designated in the resolution the exercise of the powers and performance of the duties of the approving authority under this section, and

(b) impose limits or conditions on the exercise of the powers and performance of the duties delegated by the resolution.

(11) This section does not apply to a strata plan that includes a previously occupied building if the person applying to deposit the strata plan is the government or the Crown in right of Canada.

Approval of bare land strata plan

243   (1) Before a person applies to deposit a bare land strata plan, the person must obtain the approval of an approving officer.

(2) If the approving officer approves the bare land strata plan, the approving officer must endorse the approval on the bare land strata plan in accordance with the regulations.

(3) An approving officer must not approve a bare land strata plan unless it complies with the regulations.

Strata plan requirements

244   (1) A strata plan must

(a) show the boundaries of the land included in the strata plan and, except in the case of a strata lot in a bare land strata plan, show the location of the buildings,

(b) contain a description sufficient for the registrar to identify the title to the land included in the strata plan,

(c) show the boundaries of the strata lots in accordance with section 68, and distinguish the strata lots by numbers or letters in consecutive order,

(d) show the area in square metres of each strata lot, including the areas and spaces referred to in subsection (2), if they are part of a strata lot,

(e) comply with rules, if any, made under section 75 of the Land Surveyors Act for the purposes of this section,

(f) be endorsed by a British Columbia land surveyor with an endorsement that

(i) buildings shown on the strata plan are within the external boundaries of the land that is the subject of the strata plan, or

(ii) appropriate and necessary easements or other interests exist to provide for access to any parts of the building that are not within the boundaries,

(g) be signed by

(i) the person applying to deposit the plan under section 240, and

(ii) each holder of a registered charge on all or part of the land included in the strata plan,

unless, in the registrar's opinion, the interests of persons who have not signed are not adversely affected by the deposit of the plan,

(h) be endorsed by an approving officer

(i) if it is a phased strata plan, under sections 224 and 225,

(ii) if it is a bare land strata plan, under section 243, or

(iii) if it is both a phased strata plan and a bare land strata plan, under sections 224, 225 and 243.

(i) in the case of a strata plan that includes a building,

(i) be endorsed by a British Columbia land surveyor under section 241 if the building has not been previously occupied, or

(ii) be endorsed by an authorized signatory of an approving authority under section 242 if the building has been previously occupied, and

(j) contain anything that is required by the regulations.

(2) Parking stalls, garage areas, storage areas and similar areas or spaces intended to be used in conjunction with a residential strata lot must not be designated as separate strata lots but must be included as part of a strata lot or as part of the common property.

Strata plans: accompanying documents

245   A strata plan tendered for deposit in a land title office must be accompanied by

(a) a Schedule of Unit Entitlement in the prescribed form that complies with section 246, and

(i) if the unit entitlement has been calculated in accordance with section 246 (3) (a) (i) or (b) (i), a certificate of a British Columbia land surveyor that states that the schedule reflects the habitable area of residential strata lots and the total area of nonresidential strata lots, or

(ii) evidence of the superintendent's approval if required under section 246,

(b) if voting rights are set out in a schedule, a Schedule of Voting Rights in the prescribed form that complies with section 247 or 248, together with evidence of the superintendent's approval if the approval is required,

(c) the mailing address of the strata corporation as required by section 62 (1), and

(d) any bylaws that differ in any respect from the Standard Bylaws.

(e) [Repealed 2023-10-1083.]

Schedule of Unit Entitlement

246   (1) The person applying to deposit a strata plan must establish the unit entitlement of a strata lot in accordance with subsection (3).

(2) The person applying to deposit a strata plan must indicate the unit entitlement of each strata lot in a Schedule of Unit Entitlement in the prescribed form.

(3) The unit entitlement of a strata lot, other than a strata lot in a bare land strata plan, must be calculated as follows:

(a) if the strata lot is a residential strata lot, the unit entitlement is either

(i) the habitable area, in square metres, of the strata lot, as determined by a British Columbia land surveyor, rounded to the nearest whole number,

(ii) a whole number that is the same for all of the residential strata lots, or

(iii) a number that is approved by the superintendent and that in the superintendent's opinion allocates a fair portion of the common expenses to the owner of the strata lot;

(b) if the strata lot is a nonresidential strata lot, the unit entitlement is either

(i) the total area, in square metres, of the strata lot, as determined by a British Columbia land surveyor, rounded to the nearest whole number,

(ii) a whole number that is the same for all of the nonresidential strata lots, or

(iii) a number that is approved by the superintendent and that in the superintendent's opinion allocates a fair portion of the common expenses to the owner of the strata lot.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), "habitable area" has the meaning set out in the regulations.

(5) If the strata plan consists of both residential and nonresidential strata lots, the Schedule of Unit Entitlement must be approved by the superintendent as fairly distributing the common expenses between the owners of the residential strata lots and the owners of the nonresidential strata lots.

(6) The unit entitlement of a strata lot in a bare land strata plan must be

(a) a whole number that is the same for all of the strata lots in the strata plan, or

(b) a number that is approved by the superintendent and that in the superintendent's opinion allocates a fair portion of the common expenses to the owner of the strata lot.

(7) Subject to the regulations, an owner or the strata corporation may apply to the Supreme Court for an order under subsection (8) if

(a) the unit entitlement of a residential strata lot is calculated on the basis of habitable area in accordance with subsection (3) (a) (i) or on the basis of square footage in accordance with section 1 of the Condominium Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 64, and

(b) the actual habitable area or square footage is not accurately reflected in the unit entitlement of the strata lot as shown on the Schedule of Unit Entitlement.

(8) On application under subsection (7) and after consideration of the matters set out in the regulations, the Supreme Court may

(a) order that a Schedule of Unit Entitlement be amended, in accordance with the regulations, to accurately reflect the habitable area or square footage of a strata lot, and

(b) make any other orders it considers necessary to give effect to an order under this subsection.

Schedule of Voting Rights not approved by superintendent

247   (1) If a strata plan has at least one nonresidential strata lot, the person applying to deposit the strata plan may establish a Schedule of Voting Rights in the prescribed form that sets out the number of votes per strata lot.

(2) In the Schedule of Voting Rights

(a) if a strata plan is composed of both residential and nonresidential strata lots,

(i) all residential strata lots must have one vote each, and

(ii) the number of votes for each nonresidential strata lot must be calculated as follows:

where the average unit entitlement of residential strata lots equals the total unit entitlement of all residential strata lots divided by the total number of residential strata lots, or

(b) if a strata plan is composed entirely of nonresidential strata lots, the number of votes for each strata lot must be calculated as follows:

Schedule of Voting Rights approved by superintendent

248   (1) If a strata plan has at least one nonresidential strata lot, the person applying to deposit the strata plan may submit to the superintendent for approval a Schedule of Voting Rights in the prescribed form that sets out the number of votes per strata lot in a way that is different from the requirements of section 247.

(2) The superintendent must approve the Schedule of Voting Rights if satisfied that it establishes a fair distribution of votes among owners.

Registrar must deposit

249   (1) The registrar must deposit a strata plan if satisfied that the application to deposit the strata plan and any accompanying documents comply with the requirements for deposit and registration in the Land Title Act and this Act, and any other applicable requirements.

(2) On deposit of a strata plan the registrar must assign to the strata plan a serial deposit number and register new indefeasible titles for the strata lots.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, and despite sections 261 (2), 267 and 270, the registrar is under no duty to ensure that a Schedule of Unit Entitlement or Schedule of Voting Rights complies with the requirements of this Act or the regulations, requires the approval of the superintendent or has been approved by the superintendent.

General index

250   (1) On the deposit of a strata plan, the registrar must establish a general index for the strata corporation.

(2) The registrar must make an endorsement of all of the following in the general index:

(a) the Schedule of Unit Entitlement referred to in section 245 (a);

(b) the Schedule of Voting Rights, if any, referred to in section 245 (b);

(c) the mailing address, and any fax number, of the strata corporation filed under section 62 or 245 (c);

(d) the bylaws referred to in section 245 (d);

(e) any amendments to the bylaws;

(f) any amalgamation agreements under section 269;

(g) any order of the registrar under section 275 or of the Supreme Court under section 279;

(h) any resolutions and accompanying documents that are required to be filed in the land title office under this Act;

(i) any other document relating to the strata corporation that is required to be filed in the land title office and that is not noted or endorsed elsewhere in the records of the land title office.

(3) If a document is required under this Act to be filed in the land title office, the filing is complete when an endorsement of the document is made in the general index.

Common property

251   (1) The registrar must include on each indefeasible title for a strata lot a reference to the owner's share in the common property created by the strata plan.

(2) An owner must not deal with the owner's share in the common property and common assets of the strata corporation separately from the owner's strata lot except as expressly allowed by this Act.

(3) A document that deals with a strata lot deals also, without express reference, with the share of the owner in the common property and common assets of the strata corporation.

Common property record

252   (1) On the deposit of a strata plan, the registrar must establish a common property record for the strata corporation.

(2) The common property record in subsection (1) forms part of the register.

(3) Despite any other provision of this Act or the Land Title Act, the registrar must note on the common property record a charge or other interest that separately charges the common property.

Subdivision of common property

253   (1) A disposition of common property by way of any of the following is a subdivision of land and Part 7 of the Land Title Act applies to that subdivision:

(a) a transfer of a freehold estate;

(b) a lease for a term exceeding 3 years;

(c) an interest that confers or may confer a right to acquire a freehold estate or a lease exceeding 3 years.

(2) Unless a contrary intention is shown, the signatures required under section 97 of the Land Title Act operate as a release of the interests of owners and registered charge holders in the common property to be subdivided, but do not operate to release a charge or interest that exclusively affects that common property.

(3) Despite the Land Title Act, the registrar may permit the signatures required under section 97 of that Act to appear on an accompanying instrument.

(4) When common property is subdivided, it ceases to be common property and becomes land held in the name of or on behalf of the strata corporation but not shown on the strata plan.

Certificate of Strata Corporation

254   A Certificate of Strata Corporation delivered to the land title office is, as far as the registrar is concerned, conclusive evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

Acquisition of land

255   If the strata corporation acquires land, the following words must be used to describe the transferees: "The Owners, Strata Plan [the registration number of the strata plan], a strata corporation under the Strata Property Act".

Certificate of Payment required

256   (1) The registrar must not accept any of the following for registration unless it is accompanied by a current Certificate of Payment in the prescribed form referred to in section 115:

(a) a lease of a strata lot;

(b) an assignment of a lease of a strata lot;

(c) an agreement for sale of a strata lot;

(d) a conveyance of title to a strata lot.

(1.1) If an application for registration to which subsection (1) applies is submitted electronically, the registrar must not accept the application unless the requirement under that subsection to submit a Certificate of Payment is satisfied under section 168.33 or 168.43 [supporting documents] of the Land Title Act.

(1.2) For the purposes of subsection (1.1), sections 168.33 (1) (c) (ii) and 168.43 (1) (c) (ii) of the Land Title Act do not apply in relation to the Certificate of Payment.

(2) The registrar is not required to retain the certificate.