Improving Building Security in a BC Strata Without Overspending

After a run of parkade break-ins, an owner stands up at the AGM and proposes $60,000 of cameras. It feels decisive, it is the most visible thing a council can do, and it will not stop the next break-in — because the parkade gate stays open for twenty-two seconds and anyone can walk in behind a car.

Most strata security problems are solved by access control, lighting and sightlines, not by cameras. Cameras record what happened. The cheap measures stop it happening. Here is the order to spend in.

Find out what is actually happening first

Councils routinely spend against a rumour. Before anything else, establish the pattern.

Ask the manager to compile every reported incident over 24 months: date, time, location, what was taken or damaged, whether police were called. Ask residents to report incidents they never bothered to report — bike theft and mail theft are chronically under-reported, so the file understates both. Get the police file numbers, and ask your local detachment or department whether they will do a walkthrough; many will, at no cost, and their read on your building is worth more than a vendor's.

Then look at where the incidents cluster. Parkade, mail room, bike storage, lobby, storage lockers and ground-floor patios each have different fixes, and a building with a mail-theft problem gains nothing from parkade cameras.

The parkade gate is usually the whole problem

In Metro Vancouver the underground parkade is the single most common entry point, and the failure mode is almost always the same: the gate is open long enough for a person to follow a car in.

The fixes are unglamorous and cheap relative to everything else:

• Shorten the open interval and, where the hardware allows, close on vehicle detection rather than on a timer
• Fix the gate. A gate that has been sticking for a year gets propped, and a propped gate is an open door
• Light the ramp and the first bay properly. Following someone in is much less attractive under bright light
• Signage that names the behaviour — asking residents not to allow a second vehicle or a pedestrian to follow them in — works better than generic warnings
• Separate pedestrian access so residents on foot are not using the vehicle gate at all
• Man-door hardware. Self-closing, self-latching, with a door position alarm on the ones that get propped

If the parkade also holds bikes, treat the bike room as a second layer rather than assuming the gate protects it.

Fobs: the cheapest and most neglected control

Ask your council how many active fobs exist for your building. In most buildings nobody knows, and the honest number is considerably higher than the number of residents.

Fobs accumulate: former owners, former tenants, contractors, cleaners, realtors, the property manager three companies ago. Every one of them is a credential you did not intend to issue.

Audit the system. Most access control platforms will export a list. Reconcile it against the current owner and resident register, and deactivate everything you cannot account for.

Make deactivation part of turnover. When a unit sells or a tenancy ends, the fobs are deactivated. Build it into the process rather than relying on someone remembering — the sale is already generating paperwork through the Form B information certificate, so attach it there.

Charge for replacements at a level that discourages casual duplication, and log every issue by unit.

Restrict amenity and storage areas separately from the front door, so a lost fob is a smaller problem.

Consider a re-key or system reset if the register has never been reconciled. It costs a few thousand dollars and it resets the whole problem to zero.

Lighting and sightlines: the cheapest deterrent there is

Crime prevention through environmental design is unfashionable and extremely effective. Three principles, all of them cheap:

Natural surveillance. People avoid doing things where they can be seen. Trim shrubs so they are low, lift tree canopies so the space beneath is visible, and remove the hedge that screens the mail room from the street. A landscaping instruction costs nothing at the next scheduled visit.

Light the right places. Entrances, the parkade ramp, walkways, the bike room, garbage enclosures and mail areas. Even, consistent lighting beats bright pools with dark gaps between them, and an LED upgrade usually pays for itself in energy and lamp replacement while doubling as a security measure.

Territorial definition. Clear boundaries, defined paths, gates and signage that make it obvious where the public ends and the building begins. Ambiguity is what lets someone wander in and later claim they were lost.

Add ordinary maintenance to that list. Graffiti removed promptly, broken lights replaced within days and damaged doors fixed immediately all signal a building that is being watched. Buildings that look neglected get selected.

Harden the specific targets

Mail and parcels. Mail theft is a persistent problem across the Lower Mainland. Reinforce the mailbox bank, ensure the room is behind a controlled door, light it, and consider a parcel locker or a secure delivery room — the pile of boxes in an unlocked lobby is an advertisement.

Bikes. A separate room with its own credential, secured racks that support a frame lock, and a registration list. Bike theft is often an inside-the-building problem, which is why a separate credential matters.

Storage lockers. Common wire mesh cages are easy to defeat. Better hasps and locks, lighting, and a rule against storing anything of real value.

Vehicles. Catalytic converter theft is opportunistic and quick. Lighting and gate discipline are the answer; nothing else at the strata level is.

Ground-floor patios and windows. Secondary locks, laminated glazing where there is a repeated problem, and defensible planting.

Cameras, done properly and last

Cameras have a role: evidence after the fact, insurance and police support, and some deterrent effect at entry points. They are not a substitute for a gate that closes.

If you install them, do it defensibly, because a BC strata is an organization under the Personal Information Protection Act and the Privacy Commissioner has published clear guidance. In short: justify the system against a demonstrated problem and minute that reasoning, limit coverage to common areas rather than unit doors and windows, post signage at every entrance, restrict and log access to footage, retain briefly on automatic overwrite, and adopt a written policy by council resolution before installation. PIPA and your strata covers the requirements in detail, including why covert cameras are effectively never acceptable.

Two practical notes. Coverage of entry and exit points is worth more than blanket coverage. And a system nobody maintains — dead cameras, unretrievable footage, a recorder that filled up in 2023 — is worse than none, because it creates false confidence.

Residents are the security system

The best-hardened building in Metro Vancouver is defeated by one person holding the door.

Say so, repeatedly and without embarrassment, in the AGM package and on the noticeboard. Ask residents not to admit anyone they do not recognise, not to buzz in unexpected deliveries, to report rather than confront, to report incidents even when nothing was taken, and not to prop doors. Where an incident may be criminal, it belongs with the police rather than with council — strata issue or police matter? draws that line clearly.

Paying for it, and being honest about limits

Small measures — gate timing, fob audit, landscaping, signage, lamp replacement — are ordinary operating expenses this year. Larger work such as an access control replacement, a lighting retrofit or a camera system is capital, and normally comes from the contingency reserve fund with an owner vote, or from a special levy. Strata loan, special levy, or higher fees covers the funding routes, and it is worth asking your broker whether documented improvements affect your premium — see how to lower your strata's insurance premium.

Be straight with owners about what a strata can and cannot fix. A council can control access to its own property, light it, and maintain it. It cannot solve street-level problems in the surrounding blocks, and promising otherwise at an AGM guarantees disappointment. Those belong with the city and the police, and a strata that documents incidents carefully makes that case far better than one that does not.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most effective security improvement for a BC strata building? Access control discipline, usually starting with the parkade gate and the fob register. Shortening the gate's open interval and deactivating unaccounted-for fobs costs very little and closes the entry points most break-ins actually use.

Can a strata install security cameras in BC? Yes, in common areas, where it is a proportionate response to a demonstrated problem. BC's Personal Information Protection Act applies, so signage, limited coverage, restricted and logged access, short retention and a written policy adopted before installation are all required.

Who pays for strata security upgrades? Small measures such as gate timing, lighting repairs, landscaping and a fob audit are operating expenses. Larger capital work such as a new access control or camera system generally comes from the contingency reserve fund with an owner vote, or from a special levy.

How often should a strata audit its fobs? At least annually, and at every change of ownership or tenancy. Most buildings have significantly more active credentials than residents because fobs are rarely deactivated on turnover.

Is a strata legally responsible for resident security? A strata must repair and maintain common property, which includes locks, doors, gates and lighting, and a council is held to the standard of a reasonably prudent person. That is not a guarantee of safety, but ignoring a known and reported defect is a different matter from being unable to prevent crime generally.

Related reading

• PIPA and Your Strata: The Privacy Officer, Records and Security Cameras
• Strata Issue or Police Matter? Handling Disputes and Nuisance in BC
• Emergency Preparedness for BC Stratas: Earthquake, Fire and Flood
• How to Lower Your Strata's Insurance Premium in BC
• What Do Strata Fees Cover in BC? A Plain-English Breakdown

The Privacy Commissioner's surveillance guidance is at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC, and the repair and maintenance duties sit in the Strata Property Act.

An afternoon on gate timing and the fob register beats a year of camera quotes. Onehive provides strata management across Metro Vancouver — request a proposal.