Renovating a Unit in a Strata-Titled Multiplex in Burnaby or Abbotsford

A call came in about a strata-titled fourplex near Metrotown from an owner who wanted her unit's exterior siding replaced to match a renovation she liked two streets over. Her unit, her budget, and she assumed her contractor. The exterior wall turned out to be common property, the same as it would be in a much larger condo building, and changing its appearance needed a vote of every owner in the building, not a decision made by the person paying for it.

That mix-up is the most common one we see on a strata multiplex renovation in Burnaby or Abbotsford, and it has nothing to do with construction. It's about which parts of the building the renovating owner actually controls.

What "strata multiplex" means, and what it doesn't

A strata-titled multiplex is a duplex, triplex, fourplex, or larger multi-unit building where each unit sits on its own legal title, created by filing a strata plan at the Land Title Office. This is different from a multiplex built under BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules that stays on a single title with one owner, and it's different again from a house with a secondary suite, which the BC Building Code treats as one real estate entity no matter how the suite is configured.

Under the Strata Property Act, the province's legislative framework for shared-title buildings applies the same way to a two-unit duplex as it does to a two-hundred-unit tower. A strata-titled duplex in Burnaby Heights and a strata-titled duplex in downtown Vancouver are governed by the identical Act. What changes with size is the practical experience of it: in a strata with fewer than five lots, every owner sits on the strata council automatically, with no elections and no nominations. A renovation approval in a small multiplex is a conversation between neighbours, not a request routed through a professional property manager.

We build new multiplexes under the province's small-scale multi-unit housing rules regularly, and that work is covered on our multiplex construction page. A strata renovation is a different project shape entirely. New construction starts with zoning and ends with a strata plan getting filed once the building exists. A strata renovation starts with a strata plan that's already on file, and the first job is reading it, along with the bylaws and any alteration agreements already registered against the property, before anyone talks about materials.

Your unit versus common property

Every strata-titled multiplex draws a line between two categories of space: the interior of each strata lot, and everything else, called common property.

Inside your own strata lot, renovation approval runs through the building's bylaws. The Province's own explanation of strata bylaws confirms that bylaws may require an owner to get the strata council's prior written approval before making changes to their strata lot, moving a wall, changing flooring, altering plumbing or electrical, often formalized as an alteration agreement. Whether your building's bylaws actually require this, and how strict the approval process is, depends entirely on the specific bylaws that strata has adopted. New strata corporations start with the Act's Standard Bylaws, but any strata can amend or replace them by a three-quarter vote, so the bylaws on file for a ten-year-old Burnaby duplex conversion may look nothing like the defaults.

Common property is a different conversation. Section 71 of the Strata Property Act requires a resolution passed by a three-quarter vote at an annual or special general meeting before the strata corporation can make a significant change in the use or appearance of common property, exterior walls, the roof, shared driveways or yards, unless immediate change is needed for safety or to prevent damage. That's not a decision the council can make on a member's behalf, and it's not something one owner in a triplex can authorize for their own portion of a shared wall or roofline. If your renovation touches the building's exterior in a multiplex where the walls are common property rather than part of your strata lot, budget time for a general meeting into the schedule, not just permit review.

The wall between two units gets its own rule. Section 70 allows an owner to remove all or part of a wall forming a common boundary between adjoining strata lots, but only with the strata corporation's prior written approval, and the corporation has to approve unless the removal would fail to meet building regulations or municipal bylaws, or would interfere with utilities or services running through that wall.

Bare land strata versus building strata

The exterior-wall question above has one more layer: whether your multiplex is a bare land strata or a building strata. In a bare land strata, each strata lot includes the land the structure sits on, which typically extends to the exterior walls, so more of the building falls under the individual owner's control rather than shared common property. In a building strata, the more common form for a converted or purpose-built multiplex, the strata corporation owns the structure, exterior walls and roof as common property, and Sections 70 and 71 govern changes to them the way described above.

The strata plan filed at the Land Title Office states which type applies to your building. It's worth pulling before any renovation conversation starts, because assuming one type when the building is actually the other changes who has to approve what.

The depreciation report exemption that actually helps small multiplexes

There's a piece of the Act that works in favour of a small strata renovation rather than adding to it. Section 94 requires a strata corporation to obtain a depreciation report estimating the repair and replacement cost of major building components, and the current requirements set a five-year renewal cycle for stratas that need one. Strata corporations with four or fewer lots are exempt from this requirement entirely.

Most multiplexes built under BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules run three to six units on a single lot, so a strata-titled triplex or fourplex sits directly under that exemption, while a five- or six-unit strata does not. That matters for renovation planning because a depreciation report is normally what tells a strata corporation how much of its contingency reserve is earmarked for the roof, the envelope, or the mechanical systems a common-property renovation would touch. Without that report, a small multiplex strata is working from whatever the owners have tracked informally, which is worth confirming directly with the council before a renovation budget gets set against an assumed reserve balance.

Insurance doesn't follow the renovation automatically

One gap catches owners partway through a strata multiplex renovation: the building's own insurance policy doesn't cover what you're about to build.

Sections 149 to 162 of the Strata Property Act require every strata corporation to carry property and liability insurance, and that master policy covers common property, common assets, and the fixtures the original owner-developer installed during initial construction. It does not extend to renovations or upgrades an owner makes afterward. A kitchen you're about to renovate in a strata-titled duplex unit is covered under the master policy only up to what was there when the building was first built. Everything beyond that, the new cabinetry, the upgraded flooring, a bathroom you're adding, needs to be added to your own personal strata owner's policy once the work is done, or it sits uninsured against the same risks, fire, water damage, that the master policy handles for the original fixtures.

This matters most for the deductible. If damage originates in your unit, the strata corporation can pursue you for its insurance deductible on that claim even without a finding that you were negligent, and those deductibles on a strata's master policy often run well into five figures. An updated personal policy that reflects the current, renovated value of your unit is the difference between that deductible being a manageable expense and a bill nobody budgeted for.

Sequencing permits and strata approval together

A renovation permit from the City of Burnaby or the City of Abbotsford and a strata approval are two separate processes running on two different clocks, and treating them as sequential rather than parallel is the most common way a strata multiplex renovation loses months.

A building permit application doesn't require proof of strata approval to be submitted, so it's possible to have permit drawings ready before the strata has voted on anything, or to have strata approval in hand with no permit application even started. We run both tracks from the same starting point: the scope gets defined once, then split into a permit package for the municipality and a plain-language description for the strata council or general meeting, submitted the same week. On a renovation confined entirely to the interior of one strata lot, this rarely creates friction, the bylaw approval and the permit application move independently and both are usually resolved inside a normal renovation timeline. On a renovation touching common property, siding, a shared roof section, an exterior door or window that isn't solely within one strata lot, the three-quarter vote becomes the long pole, since it can only happen at a scheduled annual or special general meeting, not on demand. Confirm the strata's meeting calendar before setting any renovation start date that depends on a common-property vote landing in time.

Where this connects to whole-home renovation work

The building-science side of a strata multiplex renovation, envelope condition, moisture history, what's original and what's already been replaced, doesn't change because a title is strata rather than single ownership. We approach that assessment the same way we do on our whole-home renovation projects: a structural and envelope read of the existing building before any scope gets fixed, since a thirty-year-old Abbotsford duplex conversion and a Burnaby fourplex converted more recently carry different original construction standards, and the renovation plan has to respond to what's actually there rather than what the age of the building implies.

What's different in a strata is that the renovation plan has to be written twice, once as a scope of work for the trades, and once as a plain description of what's changing for the approval process, whether that's a council sign-off on an interior alteration or a resolution for the general meeting. We draft that second version alongside the first, because a renovation held up for three months waiting on a general meeting that was never scheduled costs more than the extra planning time up front.

If you're renovating a unit in a strata-titled multiplex in Burnaby or Abbotsford, start with the strata plan and the current bylaws, not the finish selections. The title structure decides what's yours to renovate and what needs your neighbours' sign-off, and that answer should be settled before a single wall gets opened.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need strata council approval to renovate the inside of my unit in a strata-titled multiplex?

Usually yes. Under the Strata Property Act, a strata corporation's bylaws can require an owner to get the strata council's prior written approval, sometimes called an alteration agreement, before making changes inside a strata lot, such as moving a wall, changing flooring, or altering plumbing or electrical. Whether this applies depends on the specific bylaws your strata has adopted, so check them, or ask the council directly, before drawings are finalized.

What counts as common property in a strata-titled duplex or fourplex, and who decides changes to it?

Common property is everything outside the boundaries of the individual strata lots, typically the exterior walls, roof, foundation, and shared yard or driveway in a multiplex conversion. Section 71 of the Strata Property Act requires a resolution passed by a three-quarter vote at an annual or special general meeting before the strata corporation can make a significant change to the use or appearance of common property, except in an emergency where immediate change is needed for safety or to prevent damage.

Can I remove a wall between two units in a strata multiplex?

Only with the strata corporation's prior written approval. Section 70 of the Strata Property Act allows owners to remove all or part of a wall that forms a common boundary between adjoining strata lots, but only with the strata corporation's approval, and the corporation must approve unless the removal would fail to meet building regulations or municipal bylaws, or would interfere with utilities or services running through the wall.

Does a small strata-titled multiplex need a depreciation report before a renovation?

No, if it has four lots or fewer. The Province's depreciation report requirements state that strata corporations with four or fewer lots remain exempt and are not required to obtain one. Since most multiplexes built under BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules run three to six units, a triplex or fourplex strata sits under that exemption, while a five- or six-unit strata does not and needs a report renewed at least every five years.

Is renovating a unit in a strata multiplex different from Icon Projects' new-construction multiplex work?

Yes, and the two use a different part of our process. New-construction multiplex work, our SSMUH-driven duplex, triplex, and fourplex builds, starts before any title exists: we run the zoning and design the building, and the strata plan gets filed at the Land Title Office once construction is complete. A strata renovation starts after that title structure is already in place, so the first step is reading the existing strata plan, the bylaws, and any alteration agreements already on file, not drawing a new building from a blank lot.

What's the difference between a bare land strata and a building strata for a multiplex?

In a bare land strata, each owner's strata lot includes the land the structure sits on, including the exterior walls, so more of a renovation falls under the individual owner's control. In a building strata, the more common structure for a converted or purpose-built multiplex, the strata corporation owns the exterior walls, roof, and structure as common property, and changes to those elements go through the approval process in Sections 70 and 71 rather than being the owner's call alone. Check your strata plan at the Land Title Office to confirm which type applies before assuming either way.

Do strata bylaws in Burnaby or Abbotsford multiplexes follow the province's standard bylaws automatically?

Only until the strata corporation adopts its own. The Strata Property Act sets out Standard Bylaws that apply automatically to a new strata corporation unless the owners amend or replace them, and changing bylaws itself requires a resolution passed by a three-quarter vote. A small multiplex strata, sometimes with as few as three or four owners total, can amend its bylaws faster than a larger building simply because there are fewer votes to gather, so check the current bylaws on file rather than assuming the province's defaults still apply.

Who is on the strata council in a small multiplex strata?

In a strata with fewer than five lots, and most triplex and fourplex conversions fall in that range, every owner is automatically a member of the strata council, with no election or nomination process. That means a renovation decision requiring council approval is usually a conversation with your neighbours directly, not a request submitted to a property-management-run board, which can move faster but also means disagreements have nowhere else to go.