The contingency reserve fund, and what a healthy one looks like
Every strata fee you pay splits two ways. Part goes to the operating fund, which covers this year's ordinary costs. Part goes to the contingency reserve fund, which is savings for the things that happen once a decade or once a generation: a roof, an envelope, an elevator, the plumbing. Under section 92 of the Strata Property Act, both funds are mandatory. The contingency reserve fund is the one that decides whether the building's next big repair arrives as a planned expense or as a special levy addressed to you.
The 10% Rule, and Why It Changed
Effective November 1, 2023, BC strata corporations must contribute a minimum of 10% of the total amount budgeted for the annual operating fund to the contingency reserve fund each year. That is now a floor rather than a target.
The change matters because the older framework let many stratas stop contributing once the fund passed a fairly modest level, which is a large part of why so many Metro Vancouver buildings entered their expensive years underfunded. If you are looking at a building whose reserve barely grew through the 2010s, that history is the reason, and it is also why the levy risk on those buildings is real rather than theoretical.
What It Takes to Actually Spend the Money
A healthy balance is only useful if the corporation can spend it. The threshold depends on what the money is for:
Source: Province of BC guidance on the contingency reserve fund. The majority-vote categories were carved out specifically so that depreciation-report work and EV infrastructure would not stall behind a 3/4 threshold.
Reading the Balance by Building Age
The question buyers ask is "how much should be in there?" There is no single number, because the right balance depends on what the building is about to need. What you can do is read the balance against the building's stage of life:
Under 10 years
The building is still under some warranty coverage, but the reserve is starting from zero and the first major cycle has not arrived. A thin fund here is normal; a fund with no contribution plan is not.
10 to 25 years
First real spending cycle: roofing, common-area finishes, mechanical components, elevator work. This is where the depreciation report starts to bite and where deferred maintenance becomes visible.
25 to 40 years
Envelope, plumbing, and electrical systems reach end of life together. In Metro Vancouver this is the band where large levies most often land, particularly on buildings that under-contributed for two decades.
Over 40 years
Either the building has been reinvested in continuously, or the conversation has quietly shifted to redevelopment. Both are legitimate; you need to know which one you are buying into.
The pattern that actually predicts a levy
It is not a small balance on its own. It is a small balance next to a depreciation report that keeps flagging the same work, and minutes that keep postponing it. A building saving steadily and spending on schedule is in better shape than one sitting on a larger balance and a longer list of deferred repairs.
Always Read It Against the Depreciation Report
The reserve balance is a number without meaning until you put it beside the projected costs. That is exactly what the depreciation report provides: the major components, their remaining service life, and what replacing them is expected to cost. Since July 1, 2024, stratas of five or more lots can no longer waive or defer these reports and must renew them at least every five years, so a current report should be available for any Burnaby building you are considering.
Read the two together, then check the minutes to see whether the council is acting on what the report says. The mechanics of the report itself are in the depreciation report guide, and the Form B that discloses the current balance is walked through in how to read a Form B.