What a Strata Management Proposal Should Include (and the Red Flags)

If your council is collecting management proposals, you are about to compare documents that are deliberately hard to compare. Different fee structures, different inclusions, different definitions of the same word. The firm that looks cheapest on page one often is not, and the difference usually shows up in the exclusions nobody read.

Here is what a complete proposal contains, and what its absence tells you.

What has to be in there

The fee, and exactly what it includes. A base management fee expressed per unit per month or as a monthly total. Then, critically, the list of what that covers: how many council meetings, whether the AGM is included, how many site visits, what reporting you receive and when.

The full schedule of extras. This is where cheap proposals become expensive ones. Every proposal should price: additional meetings beyond the included count, after-hours and emergency attendance, Form B and Form F preparation, bylaw enforcement and fine administration, insurance claim handling, large project or capital works supervision, printing and mailouts, and record retrieval on termination. If any of these are missing, ask — they exist whether or not they were disclosed.

Financial reporting, specified. What statements you get, on what day of the month, and in what format. "Monthly financial reporting" is not a commitment. "Statements, bank reconciliation and budget-to-actual by the 15th" is.

Trust accounting arrangements. Where your money sits, how it is segregated, who has signing authority, and how you can verify a balance without asking.

Response time commitments, with hours. Not "we pride ourselves on responsiveness" — an actual undertaking. What is the target for an owner email, a council email, and an after-hours emergency? Who covers when your manager is on vacation?

The transition plan. How they take over records, banking, vendors and owner payment arrangements, and on what timeline. A firm that has not thought about the first ninety days has not thought about the part that goes wrong.

Contract term and exit. The initial term, renewal mechanics, and the notice required. Note that in BC a strata corporation can generally cancel a management contract on two months' written notice with a 3/4 vote regardless of what the contract says — so a proposal leaning on a long lock-in is telling you how it expects to retain clients.

Technology, described concretely. Can owners see their balance and their documents without emailing someone? Can council see the budget position between meetings? Ask for a demonstration rather than a screenshot.

References from buildings like yours. Similar size, similar age, similar complexity — and call them. Ask what went wrong at some point and how it was handled, because something always did.

How to compare them fairly

Build one table. Down the side: base fee, included meetings, included site visits, each extra charge, reporting date, response commitments, term, notice. Across the top: the firms. Fill it from the proposals, and phone each firm about anything you cannot fill in.

Then do one calculation the proposals will not do for you. Take a realistic year for your building — the actual number of council meetings you hold, the AGM, one insurance claim, a handful of Form Bs, a mailout or two — and price that year under each proposal. The ranking usually changes. That total, not the base fee, is what you are choosing between.

Frequently asked questions

What should be included in a strata management proposal? A named manager and their portfolio size, the base fee with a precise inclusion list, a complete schedule of extra charges, specified financial reporting dates, trust accounting arrangements, response time commitments, a transition plan, contract term and notice, and references from comparable buildings.

How many proposals should a strata council get? Three is the usual number and it is about right — enough to see the range without a comparison exercise the council abandons halfway. Make sure all three are pricing the same scope, or the comparison is meaningless.

What is a reasonable strata management fee in BC? Typically $30–$60 per unit per month against a monthly minimum of roughly $1,500–$2,500, which means small buildings pay considerably more per door. See what strata management actually costs in BC.

Can we negotiate a management proposal? Yes, and the inclusions are usually more negotiable than the base fee. Getting the AGM, an extra council meeting, or a fixed number of site visits folded into the base is often worth more over a year than a couple of dollars off the per-door rate.

Related reading

• How to Choose a Strata Management Company in BC (Beyond Price)
• Why the Cheapest Strata Management Quote Often Costs More
• How Much Does Strata Management Cost in BC? Real Per-Unit Ranges
• What Actually Happens in Your First 90 Days With a New Strata Manager
• How to Measure the Value of Your Strata Management Company

This article is general information, not legal advice. Contract terms, notice periods and voting thresholds depend on the Strata Property Act, your bylaws and the agreement in front of you — have a strata lawyer review anything you are about to sign.

Collecting proposals right now? Ask us for one. Onehive prices small and mid-sized communities across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, with the extras schedule in the document rather than in a footnote. Request a proposal.