Strata Repairs in BC: What the Strata Pays and What You Pay

When something breaks in a condo or townhouse, the first questions are who fixes it and who pays. Here is how BC's Strata Property Act and the Standard Bylaws divide repairs, what happens when a leak starts in one unit, and why approval comes before you fix anything yourself.

The short version

Who repairs what by default

The Act makes the strata corporation repair and maintain the common property and common assets. The Standard Bylaws, which apply except where a strata has filed different bylaws at the Land Title Office, divide the rest:

• Common property. Everything on the strata plan that isn't part of a strata lot. The strata looks after it, and owners share the cost through strata fees, the reserve fund or special levies.
• Limited common property. Common property set aside for the exclusive use of one or more units, often a balcony, patio or yard. The owner who uses it does the routine upkeep; the strata does work that usually comes up less often than once a year, plus the structural and exterior items below.
• Your strata lot. You repair and maintain your unit, except what the bylaws give the strata. In a building strata, the Standard Bylaws give it the structure and exterior, balconies and other things attached to the exterior, doors and windows on the exterior or that front on common property (such as your entry door), and fences and railings around patios, balconies and yards.

So a leaking exterior window or a damaged balcony is usually the strata's job, while your cabinets, flooring, appliances and the plumbing that serves only your unit are usually yours to maintain. In a bare land strata, the Standard Bylaws don't make the strata responsible for the homes' structure or exterior, as I explain in Bare Land Stratas.

Where your unit ends: walls, floors and pipes

Unless the strata plan shows otherwise, the boundary of your strata lot runs midway through the walls, floors and ceilings that separate it from another unit or from common property. Under the Act, pipes, wires, cables, ducts and similar facilities for water, drainage, gas, electricity, heating and other services are common property if they are:

• Inside a boundary. Within a floor, wall or ceiling between your unit and another unit or the common property.
• Serving someone else. Wholly or partly inside your unit, but capable of being and intended to be used for another unit or the common property, such as a drain line that also serves the units above.

The strata repairs those. A supply line, drain or fixture inside your unit that serves only your unit is part of your strata lot, so it is generally yours to maintain. When a wall is opened up, ask the plumber or restoration company to record in writing where the leak started, because the source often decides who pays.

Balconies, patios and the upkeep that is yours

• Routine upkeep. On a limited common property balcony or patio, the upkeep that comes around once a year or more often is yours, except the structural and exterior items listed above. The Province gives cleaning patios and balconies as an example.
• Damage you cause. The Standard Bylaws bar owners, tenants, occupants and visitors from damaging common property, or the parts of a strata lot the strata must repair or insure, beyond reasonable wear and tear.

How your strata's bylaws can change the split

The Standard Bylaws are only the default. By bylaw, a strata can take on the repair and maintenance of specified parts of the strata lots, or make an owner responsible for repairing and maintaining limited common property they have the right to use. A bylaw isn't enforceable to the extent it contravenes the Act, the regulations, the Human Rights Code or any other law.

In a residential strata, a bylaw amendment needs a 3/4 vote at a general meeting and has no effect until it is filed at the Land Title Office, so read the bylaws as filed, not a summary. Limited common property is designated on the strata plan or by a 3/4 vote resolution filed at the Land Title Office with a sketch plan, so check both.

When damage starts in one unit

Say a dishwasher hose fails and water runs into the unit below:

• The strata's insurance. The strata must insure the common property, common assets, the buildings on the strata plan and the fixtures the developer installed as part of the original construction, which include floor and wall coverings and plumbing fixtures. Damage to those is generally a claim on the strata's policy, subject to its deductible.
• The deductible. Paying it is a common expense, but the Act lets the strata sue an owner for it if the owner is responsible for the loss or damage. The Province notes that an owner doesn't have to be found negligent to be held responsible.
• Bills below the deductible. The Civil Resolution Tribunal has said an owner has to pay repair costs only if they agreed to, a valid bylaw or the Act makes them responsible, or they were negligent. Some bylaws make the owner of the unit where a leak starts liable regardless of fault, and in 2023 and 2025 decisions the tribunal upheld chargebacks of about $2,800 and $3,450 for water damage that began in the owners' units.
• Without a bylaw. In another 2025 decision, the tribunal reversed a chargeback of about $11,350 for repairing a unit after a common property pipe leaked, because no bylaw authorized it.
• Everyone's own policy. Your neighbour's belongings and upgrades are for their own insurer, and your policy can include coverage for the strata's deductible if you are found responsible. I explain how the pieces fit together in Condo Insurance in BC.

Get approval before you fix it yourself

If the strata is slow to act, calling your own trades and sending it the bill can backfire:

• You may not be repaid. In a 2023 decision, the tribunal said an owner can't unilaterally spend money to repair or maintain common property, and dismissed an owner's claim for about $2,065 for landscaping work he said would improve drainage, which the strata hadn't authorized and no emergency required.
• Alterations need approval. Under the Standard Bylaws, changing the structure, the exterior, exterior windows and doors, common property or the parts of your unit the strata insures needs its written approval first, and the strata can ask you to agree in writing to take responsibility for the related expenses. I explain the process in Renovating a Condo.
• Access. You must let the strata's authorized people in to inspect, repair or maintain what it looks after: at a reasonable time on 48 hours' written notice, or without notice in an emergency.
• Repairs you put off. If you breach a bylaw by neglecting repairs that are yours, the Act lets the strata do what is reasonably necessary to remedy it, including work on your unit, and charge you the reasonable cost, after giving you the complaint in writing and a reasonable chance to answer.

Instead, report the problem in writing to council or the property manager, with photos, and ask what the strata will do and when. The tribunal measures the strata's repair duty by what is reasonable in all the circumstances, not by perfection. If the strata still won't act, I explain the next steps in Strata Disputes in BC.

Questions owners often ask me

Who pays to fix a leaking pipe inside my wall?

A pipe inside a wall, floor or ceiling on your unit's boundary, or one that serves another unit or the common property, is common property for the strata to repair; one inside your unit that serves only your unit is generally yours.

Is the strata responsible for my windows and balcony?

In a building strata, under the Standard Bylaws, yes: the strata repairs exterior windows and doors, balconies and railings, even when they are part of your strata lot. You handle the routine upkeep of a limited common property balcony, though your strata's bylaws may differ.

Can the strata charge me for water damage that started in my unit?

If you are responsible for the loss, the strata can recover its insurance deductible from you, even if you weren't negligent. For a repair that costs less than the deductible, it generally needs a valid bylaw that allows the chargeback, your agreement or proof that you were negligent.

Can I hire my own contractor and send the strata the bill?

Generally not. The tribunal has said an owner can't unilaterally spend money on common property repairs, and alterations need written approval first, so report the problem in writing and wait for the strata's decision.

How do I know which repair rules apply in my building?

Read the bylaws filed at the Land Title Office: the Standard Bylaws apply except where your strata has filed different ones, and an amendment has no effect until it is filed. The strata plan shows the boundaries, and the plan or a filed resolution designates any limited common property.

Looking at a condo or townhouse? Read the repair and chargeback bylaws, the strata plan and the minutes before you remove subjects, along with the strata documents to read first, and see how strata fees pay for repairs.

This article is general information, not legal advice. The rules come from the Strata Property Act, the Standard Bylaws, the Province's strata pages and Civil Resolution Tribunal decisions, current at the time of writing; your strata's bylaws may differ, so read them and talk to a lawyer about a specific dispute. For the Province's guide, see division of repair duties.