Strata management
Speeding Up Form B Information Certificate Requests in BC
The legal deadline and fee cap for a BC Form B, and a workflow to assemble it without losing margin on rush requests.
The conclusion
BC law gives a strata corporation one week to produce a Form B Information Certificate and caps the fee at $35 plus $0.25 a page, so a manual, ad hoc process turns every request into a margin loss; a defined intake-to-send workflow is what keeps the fixed fee viable.
Under section 59(1) of the Strata Property Act, a strata corporation must give the requester an Information Certificate (Form B) within one week of the request. Section 59(4) requires the strata's rules, current budget, and most recent depreciation report (if one has been obtained) to be attached. The Strata Property Regulation caps what can be charged: section 4.4 sets the maximum Form B fee at $35 plus up to $0.25 per page for copies, and section 6.10 sets the maximum fee for a Form F Certificate of Payment at $15. Those numbers have not moved with the actual cost of a manager's time to pull rules, minutes, budget, and depreciation report from several systems and assemble a correct package.
A fixed fee and a seven-day deadline mean the only lever a brokerage has is the time spent per request, and requests arrive unevenly — often clustered around subject property sales in a hot season. A defined workflow (log the request and its deadline, confirm the fee is paid, pull the standard document set, assemble a draft, have a licensed person review it against the specific building's current bylaws and budget, send, and confirm on time) turns a reactive scramble into a repeatable process with a visible deadline tracker, which matters most when several requests for different buildings land in the same week.
The Form B is a legal disclosure document buyers and lenders rely on, so the review step is not optional — an incomplete or outdated Form B is both a transaction problem for the buyer and a compliance exposure for the manager and brokerage. Automation here should prepare the draft and flag the deadline, not remove the licensed reviewer from the final check.
| Item | Rule | Legal reference |
|---|---|---|
| Form B deadline | Within one week of the request | Strata Property Act, s. 59(1) |
| Form B required attachments | Rules, current budget, and most recent depreciation report (if obtained) | Strata Property Act, s. 59(4) |
| Form B maximum fee | $35 plus up to $0.25 per page for copies | Strata Property Regulation, s. 4.4 |
| Form F maximum fee | $15 | Strata Property Regulation, s. 6.10 |
Implementation steps
- 01
Log the request and deadline
Record the requester, the building, the date received, and the seven-day due date the moment a request comes in.
- 02
Confirm the fee
Check that the capped fee has been paid or invoiced before work on the package starts.
- 03
Pull the document set
Gather the current bylaws and rules, budget, minutes, depreciation report, and other items the form calls for from the building's records.
- 04
Assemble a draft package
Prepare the Form B draft with the pulled documents attached, flagging anything missing or out of date.
- 05
Review, send, and track
A licensed manager checks the draft against the building's current bylaws and financials, sends it, and the deadline tracker confirms it went out on time.
Scope and safeguards
- The figures in a Form B — fees owed, special levies, contingency reserve balance, insurance summary — are a licensed manager's responsibility to confirm before the certificate is sent, never an automated pass-through.
- Bylaw and rule text attached to the certificate must be the version currently filed and in force; confirming that is a manual check, not an assumption.
- A Form F certificate of payment carries its own legal weight for a strata lot sale closing and gets the same review before it goes out.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a strata corporation have to provide a Form B in BC?
One week from the request, under section 59(1) of the Strata Property Act.
What is the maximum fee for a Form B in BC?
$35 plus up to $0.25 per page for copies, under section 4.4 of the Strata Property Regulation.
What is the maximum fee for a Form F in BC?
$15, under section 6.10 of the Strata Property Regulation.
Can the Form B package be assembled automatically?
A draft with the pulled documents can be assembled automatically, but a licensed manager reviews and confirms the figures and current bylaws before it is sent.
What does GT charge to set up a Form B workflow?
A defined intake-to-send workflow like this typically runs C$2,000–C$8,000 as a fixed-scope setup, with C$200–C$800 monthly support after launch.
Official and trusted sources
Summary
BC law gives a strata corporation one week to produce a Form B Information Certificate and caps the fee at $35 plus $0.25 a page, so a manual, ad hoc process turns every request into a margin loss; a defined intake-to-send workflow is what keeps the fixed fee viable.