Why Your Strata Fees Went Up: How to Read the Increase

Every year some BC stratas open the AGM package and find the fees going up by more than anyone expected. The reaction in the room is almost always the same: what are we paying for, and who decided this?

The increase is usually justified. It is also usually explained badly. Here is how to read yours, and how to tell an honest correction from a budget that has been quietly mismanaged for years.

The increase is set by the budget, and the budget is not set at the AGM

By the time owners see a number, most of the decisions are already made. The budget is drafted before the meeting, and the AGM approves or rejects it — it is not where the line items get debated. If you want influence over next year's fees, the budget meeting matters more than the AGM does.

Your individual share is not a flat split either. It is set by unit entitlement, which is fixed in the strata plan and has nothing to do with how much you use anything. If your neighbour's identical-looking unit pays less, unit entitlement is usually why.

The five things that actually drive an increase

Insurance. For several years running this has been the single biggest mover for BC stratas. Premiums and deductibles have risen sharply, particularly for buildings with claims history or water damage exposure, and a strata has very little room to refuse.

Contributions to the contingency reserve fund. If your depreciation report says the roof needs replacing in six years and the reserve will not cover it, the money has to come from somewhere. Raising fees now is the least painful of the options — the alternative is a special levy or a strata loan later, both of which cost owners more.

Deferred maintenance catching up. Buildings do not become cheaper by being ignored. A few years of holding fees flat is usually followed by a year that corrects for it.

Ordinary contract inflation. Landscaping, elevator servicing, janitorial, fire safety, utilities. These renew, and they renew upward.

A previous budget that was too low. This is the uncomfortable one, and it is more common than councils admit — particularly in newer buildings, where the developer's first-year budget was built to look attractive to buyers rather than to run the building.

How to read your own increase in ten minutes

Take the budget out of the AGM package and work through it in this order.

1. 1.Compare line by line against last year, not against the total. A 9% overall increase might be one line moving 60% and everything else flat. That single line is the conversation.
2. 2.Find the insurance line first. If most of the increase sits there, you have your answer, and there is limited room to argue with it.
3. 3.Check the CRF contribution against the depreciation report. The report gives a funding recommendation. If contributions are well below it, this year's increase is probably still not enough, and you should expect more.
4. 4.Look at the operating surplus or deficit from last year. A building that went over budget has to make that up.
5. 5.Ask what is not in there. The concerning budget is not the one that goes up. It is the one that stays flat while the building visibly ages.

When to push back

There are legitimate grounds to question an increase:

• Line items that jumped with no explanation offered and none available on request
• Management or administrative charges rising well ahead of everything else
• A contingency contribution that has been minimal for years and is still minimal
• Costs that appear to belong to a section or to specific owners being spread across everyone
• Any number that cannot be traced back to an actual quote or invoice

Ask for the supporting documents. You are entitled to inspect the corporation's financial records, and a manager who resists that request is telling you something.

When the increase is the right call

Fees that rise steadily and predictably are a sign of a building being run properly. A strata that holds fees flat for five years and then hits owners with a $12,000 special levy has not saved anyone money — it has moved the cost, added urgency, and taken away the ability to plan.

If the increase is funding the reserve toward what the depreciation report actually recommends, the correct response at the AGM is to vote for it.

Frequently asked questions

Why did our strata fees increase this year? Most commonly insurance, a correction to contingency reserve fund contributions, deferred maintenance coming due, or contract inflation across landscaping, elevators and utilities. Compare the budget line by line against last year — a single line usually explains most of the change.

Can owners refuse a strata fee increase in BC? Owners vote on the budget at the AGM, so in principle yes. In practice rejecting it does not remove the underlying costs, and the corporation still has to operate. Voting down a budget usually delays the problem into a special levy rather than avoiding it.

How much should strata fees go up each year? There is no rule, but an increase roughly in line with inflation plus whatever your depreciation report says the reserve needs is normal. Several consecutive years of no increase is a warning sign, not good management.

What is a normal strata fee in Metro Vancouver? It varies with building type, age and amenities more than location. See average strata fees in Metro Vancouver for current ranges, and what strata fees actually cover for what sits behind the number.

Related reading

• What Do Strata Fees Cover in BC? A Plain-English Breakdown
• How a BC Strata Budget Is Built (and Why the Budget Meeting Matters More Than the AGM)
• How Much Should a BC Strata's Contingency Fund Be?
• Strata Loan, Special Levy, or Higher Fees? How BC Stratas Fund Big Projects
• Unit Entitlement in BC: How Your Strata Fee and Your Vote Are Decided

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Your budget, bylaws and depreciation report govern your building — read them, and consult a strata lawyer or accountant where the stakes justify it.

Not getting a straight answer about your own increase? See our strata management services — Onehive builds budgets councils can actually explain to their owners. Request a proposal.