Depreciation Reports in BC: How to Read One Before You Buy

A depreciation report is a 30-year forecast of a strata's repair and replacement costs, and it is one of the best clues you have to what a condo or townhouse will cost you after you move in. Here is what the report contains, the BC rules as they stood in June 2026, how to read its tables, and the red flags I look for before a buyer removes subjects.

The short version

What a depreciation report contains

Under the Strata Property Act, a depreciation report estimates the repair and replacement cost of the strata's major items and their expected life. The Strata Property Regulation requires:

• An executive summary. Start here, then read the sections behind it.
• A physical component inventory and evaluation. Each item the strata maintains, from the structure, exterior and building systems to amenities, parking, utilities, landscaping, interior finishes, balconies and patios, with its estimated service life over 30 years. It must be based on an on-site visual inspection of the site and, where practicable, of the items.
• A summary of repairs and maintenance. The work that usually comes up less than once a year, or not at all, which is what the contingency reserve fund pays for.
• A financial forecast. Projected costs over 30 years, the assumptions behind them, including interest and inflation rates, and at least three cash-flow funding models.
• The preparer's details. Their name, qualifications, relationship with the strata corporation and errors and omissions insurance, if any, plus the date of the report.

The BC rules as of June 2026

The rules were tightened on July 1, 2024. Before then, stratas had to update their reports every three years but could put them off each year with a 3/4 vote. As they stood in June 2026:

• Who needs one. Every strata corporation with five or more lots, bare land stratas included. Stratas with fewer than five lots are exempt.
• How often. A new report at least once every five years, and owners can no longer defer it by vote.
• Catching up. A strata established before July 1, 2024 in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley or the Capital Regional District, apart from islands reached only by boat or air, with no report since December 31, 2020 must get one before July 1, 2026. Elsewhere in BC, the deadline is July 1, 2027.
• New buildings. A strata established on or after July 1, 2024 has two years from its first annual general meeting to get its first report. Stratas established on or after July 1, 2027 will have 18 months.
• Who may prepare it. A qualified person with the knowledge and expertise to understand the property. For reports obtained since July 1, 2025, that person must also belong to one of six designated professional groups. In June 2026, that meant a registered professional engineer or engineering licensee, an architect or architectural technologist, an applied science technologist or certified technician, an Accredited Appraiser Canadian Institute, a certified reserve planner or a Professional Quantity Surveyor.
• Where buyers see it. The most recent report, if any, is attached to the Form B Information Certificate, and the strata must keep its reports.

Reading the component inventory

The inventory shows what the building has and how much life is left in it. For each major item, look at:

• Age against service life. Compare its age with its estimated service life to see what falls due in the next five to ten years. Roofs, windows, exterior walls, elevators, boilers, piping and parkade membranes deserve the closest look.
• The cost estimates. Note whether costs are in today's dollars or inflated to the year of the work, and at what rate.
• What owners maintain. The report must identify common property and limited common property that owners, not the strata, must maintain and repair, such as balconies or patios in some stratas. Those costs fall on you.
• The limits of a visual inspection. The inventory may not show what is hidden inside walls. If the report recommends further investigation, such as a building envelope assessment, ask whether it was done. I cover walls and windows in Leaky Condos in BC.

Reading the cash-flow tables

The financial forecast projects costs over 30 years, beginning with the current or previous fiscal year. It must state the reserve fund's current balance, minus spending approved but not yet paid, describe how the fund is currently paid for, and set out at least three cash-flow funding models, which can draw on the fund's balance and contributions, special levies or borrowing. Here is how I read them:

• Find the big years. Scan the expenditure column for years with large projects, and see what each model does in those years: draw down the fund, add a special levy or take out a loan.
• Check the assumptions. A higher inflation rate or a lower interest rate means more money is needed.
• Compare with the budget. Find the current year's reserve contribution in each model and compare it with the contribution in the strata's current budget.

An example with made-up figures: a 60-unit building has $500,000 in its reserve, adds $90,000 a year and earns an example 2% interest, so the fund would hold about $1,020,000 after five years. A roof and window project due in year five would cost $1,000,000 today, or about $1,159,000 at an example inflation rate of 3%. The gap is about $139,000, or about $2,300 a unit if all 60 units had the same unit entitlement. At 4% inflation, it grows to about $196,000.

How the report connects to your fees and levies

The funding models are only for the strata's consideration, and it doesn't have to adopt any of them. The report still shapes what you pay:

• Your strata fees. The reserve contribution has a legal minimum, which I explain in Strata Fees in BC, and the strata must set it after considering its most recent depreciation report. If it sits well below every model, the shortfall usually returns as higher fees, a special levy, a loan or deferred work.
• Recommended work. Reserve spending on repairs or replacements recommended in the most current report needs only a majority vote at a general meeting. Most other reserve spending needs 3/4.
• Special levies. A special levy generally needs a 3/4 vote, and each unit's share is usually based on unit entitlement. I explain who pays when a unit sells in Special Levies: Who Pays.
• Borrowing. A strata can borrow money only after a 3/4 vote.

Red flags I look for

None of these rules a building out on its own, but each one calls for questions:

• No report, or an old one. None at all, or one more than five years old, unless a deadline above still applies.
• Big costs soon, a small fund. Major projects due within five years and a reserve well short of them.
• A contribution below every model. The budget puts less into the reserve than even the lowest model.
• Levies built in. Every model relies on special levies or loans in the next few years.
• Work that keeps moving. Items past their service life, or projects the last report scheduled that have slipped again. Ask for the previous report to compare.
• Open questions. Recommended investigations that haven't been done, or minutes describing leaks and repairs the report doesn't mention.

What to do before you remove subjects

Ask for the full report, not just the executive summary, along with the Form B, at least two years of minutes, the budget, the financial statements and any engineering reports. Then:

• Line them up. Put the report's upcoming projects beside the reserve balance on the Form B, the contribution in the budget and what the minutes say about each project.
• Ask about the plan. Has the strata chosen a funding approach, scheduled the work or discussed a levy?
• Get the right help. Your lawyer or notary can explain the legal side, and an inspector or engineer can speak to the building's condition.

I go through the rest of the package in the strata documents to read first.

Questions buyers often ask me

Does every strata in BC need a depreciation report?

No. Stratas with five or more lots, bare land stratas included, must get a new report at least every five years, and stratas with fewer than five lots are exempt.

Can strata owners vote to skip a depreciation report?

Not anymore. Since July 1, 2024, a strata can't defer its depreciation report with a 3/4 vote, as it could under the earlier rules.

Who can prepare a depreciation report in BC?

A qualified person with the knowledge and expertise to understand the building. For reports obtained since July 1, 2025, that person must also belong to one of six designated groups, such as engineers, architects and certified reserve planners.

Does the strata have to follow its depreciation report?

No. The funding models are for the strata's consideration, but it must consider its most recent report when it sets the yearly reserve contribution, and recommended work can be paid from the reserve with a majority vote.

How do I see a strata's depreciation report when I buy?

The most recent report, if any, comes attached to the Form B. Ask for the full report, and the previous one if you can, and read them with the minutes and budget before you remove subjects.

Comparing buildings? Read the strata documents to read first, see what strata fees cover and why they rise and find out who pays a special levy when a strata home sells.

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. The rules come from the Strata Property Act, the Strata Property Regulation and the Province's strata housing pages, current at the time of writing, and the reserve fund example uses made-up figures. For the Province's guide, see depreciation report requirements.