How to Read a BC Strata Plan (and Why It Settles Most Repair Arguments)
The strata plan is the document that decides who pays for what. Here's how to find it, what the hatching and the LCP labels mean, and how to read a boundary.
Almost every expensive argument in a strata comes down to a boundary. Whose window is it? Who pays for the balcony membrane? Is the pipe behind that wall ours or the building's? Councils debate these for months, and the answer is usually sitting in a document nobody has opened: the strata plan.
What the strata plan is
The strata plan is the survey document registered in the Land Title Office that brought your strata corporation into existence. It shows every strata lot, its dimensions, its unit entitlement, and — critically — where each lot ends and common property begins. It is the legal description of the building, and it outranks custom, precedent, and whatever the last council decided.
You can obtain a copy from your strata manager, from the Land Title Office through a registry agent, or from the document package provided in a sale. It usually runs to several sheets: a cover with the schedule of unit entitlement, one or more sheets per floor, and often a site plan.
Reading a lot boundary
This is the part that decides money. In most conventional residential stratas, the boundary of a strata lot is the mid-point of the structural portion of the walls, floors and ceilings that separate it from another lot or from common property — unless the plan says otherwise, which it sometimes does.
Read that literally and a lot follows. The drywall on your side is generally yours. The stud wall's centre is the line. What sits beyond it — the structure, the exterior cladding, the roof, the slab — is common property maintained and insured by the corporation. Pipes and wiring are treated by what they serve rather than only where they run: something serving your lot alone is usually yours, something serving more than one lot is usually the corporation's.
In a bare-land strata the logic is completely different. The lot is a parcel of ground with a surveyed boundary, and the building on it is generally the owner's entirely, roof included. If you're in a townhouse complex and unsure which model you're in, that single question changes your budget — what is a bare-land strata walks through it.
Common property vs limited common property
On the plan, common property is everything that isn't a strata lot. Hallways, lobbies, the roof, the structure, the grounds, the parkade drive aisle.
Limited common property (LCP) is common property designated for the exclusive use of one or more lots. Balconies, patios, some parking stalls, storage lockers and yard areas are commonly LCP. On the plan it is typically shown with hatching or shading and labelled with the lot number it serves — "LCP SL14" and so on.
The distinction matters because LCP splits responsibility in a way that catches people out. It remains common property — the corporation generally maintains and repairs the structural parts, and the corporation's insurance covers it — but bylaws frequently assign day-to-day upkeep to the benefiting owner, and only that owner may use it. A balcony is the classic case: you keep it clean and clear, the corporation repairs the membrane underneath.
There's a fuller treatment in common property vs limited common property in BC.
What the plan doesn't tell you
The plan sets boundaries. It doesn't set responsibility on its own — the Strata Property Act and your registered bylaws do that, and bylaws can shift maintenance obligations for LCP and for some parts of a strata lot. So the real answer to "who pays?" comes from reading three documents together: the strata plan (where is it?), the Act (what's the default?), and the registered bylaws (has the default been changed?).
This is exactly why we read all three on taking over a building, and write the answer down in plain language for the council. See strata vs owner maintenance responsibility for how that usually lands.
Practical uses for the plan
Before a renovation. If you're moving a wall or adding a bathroom, the plan tells you what you're allowed to touch and what needs the corporation's written approval.
During a repair dispute. Bring the plan to the meeting. It converts a debate about fairness into a question of fact.
Before you buy. Confirm what's actually included: which parking stall, which locker, whether that patio is yours or merely LCP you may use. Listings are frequently optimistic about this, and the plan is not.
When a claim happens. The boundary determines whether damage is the corporation's insurance problem or your own condo policy's. See what strata insurance covers in BC.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get a copy of my strata plan? From your strata manager or council, from a Land Title Office search through a registry agent, or in the document package provided during a purchase.
Is my balcony mine or the strata's? Usually it is limited common property — common property designated for your exclusive use. The corporation typically repairs the structure and membrane; bylaws often make you responsible for cleaning and day-to-day upkeep.
Does the strata plan decide who pays for a repair? It decides where the boundary is, which is most of the answer. The Strata Property Act and your registered bylaws decide who maintains and repairs what sits on either side of it.
This article is general information for BC strata owners and councils — not legal advice. Boundary and responsibility questions turn on your specific plan and bylaws; consult a strata lawyer where the answer matters financially.
Written by
Onehive Property Management manages strata corporations and rental properties across British Columbia. Our guides are written by the people who do the work — council meetings, budgets, insurance renewals and all — and reviewed against the Strata Property Act before publishing.