How to Read a Strata Depreciation Report Before You Buy a Condo

A strata depreciation report helps organise questions about the future maintenance, repair, and replacement of common components. The province describes a planning horizon of 30 years. A projection is not a promise that the work will occur on an exact date or cost the amount shown. Start by identifying the report's date and assumptions, then connect it to the records available for the particular building.

Check the requirement and the document you received

As checked September 9, 2026, BC requires strata corporations with five or more strata lots to obtain depreciation reports on the applicable schedule. The former option to waive the requirement by annual vote has been removed. Check the provincial requirements and transition dates for the particular strata.

The province now describes a five-year reporting cycle, with transition arrangements that need to be checked for the corporation. Use the current provincial requirements rather than a statement in an older article that the strata can simply vote to defer the report. Ask why a requested document is absent and what information is available to address the gap.

Read the projections alongside current decisions

Make an index of the components relevant to your questions. Record the report page, the assumption, and the follow-up needed. If work appears to be approaching, ask what later records say about its assessment, planning, or completion. Do not assume a matter was resolved merely because it stops appearing in the material you received.

Keep projected figures separate from approved amounts and current quotations. If two figures appear inconsistent, preserve both sources and ask what each one covers. Comparing numbers without their scope can make the review look more precise while leaving the underlying question unanswered.

Ask how funding and work connect

Read the report with the current budget and available meeting records. Identify questions about which approach is being followed and what has changed since the report was prepared. A reserve balance on its own does not explain all the obligations attached to a property. Nor does the gap between two figures reliably predict a particular future levy.

Ask an appropriate professional to explain technical matters outside your expertise. Describe the concern and its source rather than diagnosing the building from a sentence in a report. Record any recommended specialist follow-up as unresolved until you understand the answer and the scope of the assessment.

Keep a usable decision record

For each important issue, retain the source, the question, and the response. Mark missing information explicitly. Your next step may be requesting another record, arranging an assessment, or deciding that the home no longer fits your requirements. A document checklist helps organise that work; it does not approve the purchase.

Plan your next step

Use the strata review chapter to organise the documents, the home-buying guide to coordinate the search, and comparing homes to keep evidence separate from personal preferences.