Buying a Townhouse in BC: What's Different From a Condo or a House

A townhouse sits between a condo and a house: you get your own front door and often a yard, but in most cases you also join a strata. Here is what changes when you buy one in BC, from who fixes the roof and looks after the yard to parking, bylaws and the newer small townhouse projects.

The short version

Strata, bare land or freehold?

A townhouse is a style of building, not a type of ownership. Most townhouse complexes are stratas, but as the Province puts it, a townhouse in a strata development may look identical to a row house that isn't strata titled. The title search and the strata plan tell you which one you are buying:

• Building strata. Where a wall, floor or ceiling separates your home from a neighbour's or from common property, the boundary runs midway through its structural part, unless the strata plan shows otherwise. The strata insures the buildings shown on the plan.
• Bare land strata. The lots are defined by survey markers rather than walls and floors, and the plan usually doesn't show the homes, so in most cases you insure and maintain your own building while the strata looks after roads and other shared property. I cover these in Bare Land Stratas.
• Freehold rowhouse. Each home sits on its own titled lot, with no strata, strata fees or strata bylaws, and the shared walls rely on an agreement registered on title. Greater Vancouver Realtors has noted that the region has many strata townhouses but very few of these.

If anything on the title or the plan is unclear, ask your lawyer or notary before you remove subjects.

Who maintains what

In a building strata, the Standard Bylaws divide the work this way, unless your strata's own bylaws change them:

• The strata. The common property and common assets, with limits for limited common property (below), plus the structure and exterior of the buildings, the chimneys, stairs, balconies and other things attached to the exterior, the exterior doors, windows and skylights, and the fences and railings around patios, balconies and yards. That holds even where those parts are inside your strata lot.
• You. Everything else inside your home, such as flooring, cabinets, fixtures and appliances.
• Shared pipes and wires. Pipes, wires and ducts inside a wall, floor or ceiling between two homes, or inside your home but serving a neighbour or the common property, are common property, so the strata generally repairs them.
• Approvals. You need the strata's written approval before you change your home's structure or exterior, including its windows, exterior doors and skylights, and the strata can't unreasonably refuse.

Yards, patios and decks

Limited common property is common property designated for the exclusive use of one or more strata lots. A townhouse yard, patio or deck is often held this way; the Province's example is patios and balconies designated as limited common property in a townhouse complex. It can also be part of your strata lot or ordinary common property, so check the strata plan.

• Upkeep. Under the Standard Bylaws, you handle the routine upkeep of limited common property you use. The strata handles repairs that normally come up less often than once a year, along with the structure, the exterior, things attached to the building and the fences and railings around the yard. A strata's own bylaws may divide this differently, for example by having the strata look after every yard.
• Changes need approval. You need the strata's written approval before you alter common property, including limited common property, so ask before you add a shed, a hot tub, pavers or a new fence.

Roofs, siding and the reserve fund

Much of what a townhouse strata maintains is outside: roofs, siding, windows, decks, fences, internal roads and landscaping. For these, the strata's own records tell you more than a home inspection can:

• The depreciation report. A strata with five or more lots must get one at least every five years. It describes each item the strata maintains and its estimated service life over 30 years, from roofs, doors and windows to balconies and patios, and it must identify limited common property that owners maintain themselves.
• The reserve fund. Each year, owners must pay into the contingency reserve fund at least 10% of what they pay into the operating fund. Compare the balance with the work the report shows ahead.
• Mixed complexes. Where apartments and townhouses share a strata, a bylaw can identify the townhouses as a type of strata lot, so operating costs that benefit only them are shared by their owners alone. The townhouses can also form a section with its own budget.
• Older complexes. Many condos and townhouses built in the Lower Mainland in the 1980s and 1990s let rain into their walls. If the complex dates from then, ask what repairs have been done, read any envelope reports and the minutes, and see Leaky Condos in BC.

End units and inside units

An end unit shares one wall instead of two, so it often has more windows and sometimes a side yard. What to check:

• Strata fees. Where unit entitlement is based on habitable area, homes of the same size generally pay the same share wherever they sit in the row. Habitable area doesn't include patios, balconies, garages or parking stalls. Some stratas use the same number for every home instead.
• The extra wall. In a building strata, unless your bylaws say otherwise, the strata maintains the exterior either way, so an end unit's extra wall isn't yours to repair.
• The side yard. Check whether it is limited common property for your home, common property everyone can use, or part of your strata lot.

Parking, garages and storage

In a townhouse, parking may be a garage under your own roof rather than a parkade stall. Check:

• The garage. The strata plan shows whether it is part of your strata lot, and Form B must disclose the unit's parking and storage.
• Extra stalls. A second stall may be limited common property, or common property that council lets you use, generally for up to a year at a time. That permission can be cancelled on reasonable notice and doesn't pass to your buyer.
• The rules. Read the bylaws and rules on visitor parking, parking on internal roads and how garages may be used.
• EV charging. If you want a charger, ask how the strata handles requests. I cover the rules in Parking Stalls and Storage Lockers.

Bylaws and insurance

The bylaws reach your yard and front door too. The main points, covered in Strata Bylaws in BC:

• Rentals. Since November 24, 2022, a strata can't restrict long-term rentals, though its bylaws can still restrict short-term rentals.
• Age. Age restrictions are allowed only for 55 and over.
• Pets. Stratas can still limit or ban pets. Under the Standard Bylaws, you can keep one dog or one cat, plus some small caged and aquarium animals.
• Insurance. In a building strata, the strata insures the buildings shown on the plan, the common property and the fixtures the developer installed. You insure your belongings, improvements and liability, and if you are responsible for a loss, the strata can recover its deductible from you. See Condo Insurance in BC.

Townhouses under the small-scale housing rules

BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules require most urban municipalities to allow three or four homes on many lots once limited to a house or duplex, and up to six near frequent bus service. The Province's examples include townhomes, and I explain the zoning in More Homes per Lot. If a small project is sold as strata lots, a few things work differently:

• No depreciation report required. A strata with fewer than five lots doesn't need one, but the 10% minimum for the reserve fund still applies, so ask how the owners plan for repairs.
• Everyone on council. Under the Standard Bylaws, if there are fewer than four strata lots, or fewer than four owners, every owner sits on council.
• Insurance still applies. However small, the strata must insure the buildings on its plan and its common property.

Questions buyers often ask me

Is a townhouse a strata in BC?

Usually. Most townhouse complexes are stratas, and a few are freehold rowhouses with no strata. The title search and the strata plan show which you are buying, including whether the plan is a bare land strata plan.

Who pays to replace the roof on a strata townhouse?

In a building strata, generally the strata, paid from the contingency reserve fund or a special levy, since the Standard Bylaws make it responsible for the exterior. A strata's own bylaws can divide this differently, and in a bare land strata the roof is usually yours.

Can I put a hot tub or shed in my townhouse yard?

Usually only with the strata's written approval. A townhouse yard is often limited common property, and the Standard Bylaws require approval before you alter common property, including limited common property.

Do end units pay higher strata fees?

Not necessarily. Where unit entitlement is based on habitable area, homes of the same size generally pay the same share wherever they sit in the row, and garages, patios and balconies aren't counted.

Can a townhouse strata ban rentals or pets?

It can't restrict long-term rentals, but it can restrict short-term rentals. It can limit or ban pets, and under the Standard Bylaws you can keep one dog or one cat.

Comparing your options? See which strata documents to read first and what you actually own when you buy, or browse my featured listings.

This article is general information, not legal advice. The rules come from the Strata Property Act and Regulation and the Province's strata and housing pages, current at the time of writing, and every strata's plan and bylaws differ. For the Province's overview, see kinds of stratas.