Strata & Condo OwnershipStrata Hub · Documents

How to read a Form B before you remove subjects

Jersey Li, PREC•7 min read•Updated: August 2026

Strata document folders and a clipboard on a meeting room table

The Form B Information Certificate is the most useful single page a strata buyer will read, and most buyers skim it. It is issued under section 59 of BC's Strata Property Act, and it certifies, as of the date it is signed, what this specific unit costs to own and what the strata corporation is currently dealing with. Nearly every unpleasant surprise I have seen in a Burnaby condo purchase was either on the Form B or in the minutes attached to it.

Two mechanics matter before you even read it. The strata has seven days from your request to produce one, and it can charge up to $35 plus up to 25 cents per page for copying, with a rush fee possible if you ask on shorter notice. That seven-day window is exactly why documents should be ordered the moment an offer is accepted, not halfway through your subject-removal period.

What Form B Must Disclose, and Why Each Line Matters

Disclosure

Why It Matters to You

Monthly strata fees for this lot

Confirms the number in the listing. Fees quoted from an old listing sheet are wrong surprisingly often.

Amounts the current owner owes the strata

Arrears attach to the lot. You want them cleared at completion, not inherited.

Special levies already approved

The single most expensive line. An approved levy with future instalments becomes your obligation.

Contingency reserve fund balance

A thin fund means the next major repair is far more likely to arrive as a levy.

Parking stalls and storage lockers

Establishes what actually comes with the unit, and whether it is owned, assigned, or rented.

Insurance coverage summary

Required since April 1, 2023. Shows the deductibles you could be exposed to.

Court proceedings the strata is involved in

Live litigation is a cost and a risk that does not appear anywhere in the listing.

Outstanding work orders and notices

A municipal order against the building is a repair bill that has not been priced yet.

Bylaw amendments passed but not yet filed

The bylaws you will actually live under may not be the ones on title yet.

Disclosure requirements per the Province of BC's Form B guidance and section 59 of the Strata Property Act. Form B covers sixteen main items; the table above highlights the ones that most often change a buying decision.

Read the special levy line first

Form B must disclose any special levy that has already been approved, including amounts payable in the future. Once you complete, remaining instalments generally become your obligation. If a levy is disclosed, it is a negotiating item before subject removal, not a discovery afterward. What to do when one lands is covered in the special levy guide.

What Comes Attached

A Form B is not delivered alone. The strata must attach the following, and the depreciation report is the one worth the most of your reading time:

→The rules of the strata corporation, if any
→The current budget
→The most recent depreciation report
→Applicable agreements, resolutions, and legal proceedings documentation

Since July 1, 2024, strata corporations of five or more lots can no longer waive or defer a depreciation report, and must obtain a new one at least every five years. For existing Metro Vancouver stratas, the compliance deadline was July 1, 2026, so a building that still cannot produce a current report in 2026 is itself a signal. The full picture is in the depreciation report guide.

The Insurance Summary Nobody Reads

Since April 1, 2023, section 59 has required the Form B to include a summary of the strata corporation's insurance coverage. This is the line that tells you what deductible the building carries, and therefore how large a bill could be passed to you if a loss originates in your unit. On older Burnaby buildings, water damage deductibles in particular have climbed to levels that a personal policy needs to be written around. That exposure is explained in strata insurance deductibles.

What a Form B Cannot Tell You

Form B is certified as of one date. It reports what has been approved and what is owed right now. It does not report what the council has been arguing about for two years, which is where most future levies are visible first. Read it alongside at least two years of council and annual general meeting minutes, the bylaws, and the depreciation report.

The pattern to watch for is a building that keeps deferring a known repair while the contingency reserve fund stays flat. That combination almost always resolves as a special levy, and the minutes will show it coming long before any form does. How reserve funding works, and what a healthy balance looks like, is covered in the contingency reserve fund guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Form B Information Certificate?

Form B is the standardised Information Certificate a strata corporation issues under section 59 of BC's Strata Property Act. It certifies, as of its issue date, the key financial, legal, and operational facts about one specific strata lot and about the strata corporation as a whole: strata fees, money owing, approved special levies, the contingency reserve fund balance, parking and storage, insurance coverage, litigation, and outstanding work orders. It is the single most useful document a condo or townhouse buyer reads.

How long does a strata have to provide a Form B in BC?

Seven days from the request. The strata can charge up to $35, plus up to 25 cents per page for copying, and a rush fee may apply if you ask for it on less than seven days' notice. In practice this timeline is why I recommend ordering strata documents the moment an offer is accepted rather than partway through the subject-removal period.

What documents must be attached to a Form B?

The strata corporation's rules if it has any, the current budget, the most recent depreciation report, and documentation of applicable agreements, resolutions, and legal proceedings. The depreciation report attachment matters most: it is the forward-looking picture of what the building will need and when.

Does the Form B show special levies?

Yes, and this is the line to read first. Form B discloses any special levy that has already been approved, including amounts the owner is obligated to pay in the future. An approved levy with instalments still to come generally becomes the new owner's obligation once you complete, so it needs to be negotiated before you remove subjects, not discovered afterward.

Is a Form B enough on its own to assess a strata?

No. Form B is a snapshot certified on one date. It tells you what has already been approved and what is currently owed, but it does not tell you what the council has been debating for the last two years. Read it alongside the depreciation report, at least two years of council and annual general meeting minutes, and the current bylaws. The minutes are where a future levy is usually visible long before it appears on a Form B.