Squamish Strata Management: A Council's Guide

Squamish has built a lot of strata in a short time, and that's left a town full of councils in two camps: brand-new buildings still figuring out how a strata works, and buildings from the last boom now facing their first serious renewals. Either way, the question is the same: what does a strata manager actually do, what does it cost, and do we need one? This guide answers that for Squamish strata councils and owners. It covers the strata manager's job, the fees, the Strata Property Act framework, AGMs and the contingency reserve fund, what's specific to Squamish stock, and how to hire one. It's written by a team that manages strata files across the Sea to Sky.

This is general information for strata councils, not legal advice. For the authoritative rules, see the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation, and for disputes see the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Strata managers in BC are licensed under the Real Estate Services Act and overseen by the BC Financial Services Authority.

What a Squamish strata manager actually does

A strata manager is engaged by the strata corporation, through council, to run the corporation's business day to day. The decisions stay with council and the owners; the manager executes them and keeps everything documented and compliant. The usual scope:

• Finances. Collecting strata fees, paying invoices, monthly financial statements, the draft annual budget, year-end records, and holding the strata's funds (operating account and contingency reserve fund) in a designated trust account.
• Meetings. Calling and running the AGM, preparing and circulating the notice package and proposed resolutions on the timeline the Act requires, supporting SGMs, recording minutes, tracking votes.
• Bylaws and rules. Helping council apply the bylaws consistently (complaint handling, written warnings, fines where the bylaws allow) and following the procedural steps the Act requires before the strata enforces anything.
• Maintenance and projects. Coordinating common-property repairs and renewals, getting quotes, scheduling trades, and managing larger special projects (re-roofing, exterior coatings, mechanical replacement).
• Information and forms. Producing Form B information certificates, Form F payment certificates, and the other documents owners and their lawyers request on a sale or refinance.
• Insurance and risk. Helping council place and renew the strata's insurance, track coverage, and handle common-property claims.

The point isn't only the labour, it's the risk. Expensive strata mistakes are usually procedural: a missed AGM deadline, books that don't reconcile, a bylaw fine that gets reversed at the CRT because the warning steps weren't followed. A competent manager's job is to keep those from happening.

What strata management costs in Squamish

Strata management is generally billed as a base management fee per unit per month, plus a set of itemised extras. The base fee covers routine accounting, regular council support, and standard correspondence. The extras commonly include AGM (and SGM) attendance, after-hours emergency response, oversight of large special projects, and per-document fees for Form B, Form F and similar.

What moves the number for a Squamish strata:

• Size. More units usually means a higher total fee, though the per-unit rate often eases as the strata gets bigger. Many Squamish stratas are small enough that there's a practical floor on what the work costs.
• Age and condition. A newer, well-funded building is less management work than one part-way through coatings or roofing renewals, or still chasing developer deficiencies.
• Self-managed history. Picking up a strata whose books and records need cleanup takes more onboarding effort than a tidy handover.
• Service level. More frequent reporting, an online owner portal, and faster response standards cost more than a bare-bones package.

For the line-by-line version, base fee models, what's bundled versus billed, how building size changes it, and how to read a proposal, see our Squamish strata management costs guide.

The Strata Property Act framework

Every BC strata runs on the Strata Property Act, the Strata Property Regulation, and the strata's own bylaws and rules. The parts a Squamish council touches most:

• Votes. Routine business is a majority vote. Bigger decisions (many bylaw amendments, significant changes to common property, certain expenditures) need a ¾ vote. A few things (winding up the strata, some unit-entitlement changes) need a unanimous vote.
• Council's authority. Council manages the strata's affairs between general meetings, within the limits the Act and bylaws set; it can't override an owners' vote or skip required procedures.
• The contingency reserve fund (CRF). A statutory fund for major or non-recurring expenses. Section 3.4 of the Regulation sets the minimum annual contribution (tied to the operating budget); the depreciation report should inform whether more than the minimum is wise.
• Disputes. Most strata disputes go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal, which is built to be used without a lawyer.

A good manager keeps council on the right side of all of this without turning every meeting into a seminar. For a plain-English walk-through, see Strata Property Act basics for BC council members.

AGMs, the budget, and the contingency reserve fund

The yearly cycle is the backbone. Once a year the strata holds an AGM: the manager assembles the notice package (financial statements, proposed budget, any resolutions), circulates it within the Act's timeline, owners vote on the budget and resolutions, and council positions are filled. Between AGMs, an SGM handles time-sensitive decisions, like approving a special levy for an unexpected repair.

The budget feeds the operating fund (routine recurring costs, landscaping, utilities, routine maintenance, insurance, management fees) and the contingency reserve fund (the big occasional ones, roofs, exterior, mechanical). When the CRF can't cover a major job, the strata raises a special levy by the required vote.

Holding it together is the depreciation report (reserve fund study): most strata corporations of five or more lots must obtain one on a set cycle unless owners vote to defer by the required vote. It projects the cost and timing of major renewals over coming decades so council can fund the CRF on purpose rather than by emergency. More on this in strata reserve fund studies in BC, and on meeting mechanics in AGMs and SGMs: a guide for Sea to Sky strata councils.

What's different about a Squamish strata

Squamish stratas don't look like the downtown-Vancouver high-rise the textbooks assume:

• Townhomes and smaller buildings. A lot of Squamish strata is townhome complexes and modest low-rises, not towers. That means more exterior envelope per unit (more roof, more siding, more decks), often no concierge or large amenity costs, and councils where everybody knows everybody, which makes formal bylaw enforcement awkward but no less necessary.
• New stock finding its feet. The town is growing fast, so there's a steady stream of brand-new stratas working through warranty and deficiency issues, learning how meetings and budgets work, and choosing whether to self-manage.
• Aging stock hitting renewals. At the same time, buildings from the last boom are reaching their first serious renewals, where a thin reserve fund stops being theoretical.
• A small trades pool. Fewer local contractors, and demand from all that new construction. A manager with established relationships gets your renewal scheduled; cold-calling in shoulder season doesn't.

If you're a small strata wondering whether the hire is worth it, small strata management in Squamish goes through the math.

How to hire a Squamish strata manager, and what to expect

When a council decides to bring in (or change) a manager:

1. Write a short scope. Number of units, what you want managed, your meeting and reporting expectations, and any live projects or warranty issues.
2. Get a few proposals. Ask each for a fee schedule that separates the base fee from the extras (AGM attendance, after-hours, special projects, document fees), references from comparable Squamish stratas, and the name of the person who'd actually handle your file.
3. Check the basics. Confirm the firm is licensed for strata management under the Real Estate Services Act (overseen by the BCFSA), holds funds in trust, and carries appropriate insurance.
4. Look for local depth. Does the firm attend Squamish meetings in person, know the local trades and insurers, and understand townhome stratas, or is it a regional office running you remotely?
5. Read the management agreement. Term, notice to terminate, what transfers on exit (records, funds, the CRF, insurance), and what's in scope versus billed.

Year one usually looks like: a records and accounting handover, a fresh look at the budget and CRF against the depreciation report, cleanup of any stale bylaw or insurance items, and the first AGM under the new manager. The full hiring playbook is in Sea to Sky strata management hiring; the stay-or-hire trade-offs are in self-managed vs professionally-managed strata; and if you also rent out a unit, strata manager vs property manager explains how the two roles differ.

We're a 22-unit townhome strata and our treasurer was drowning. Bringing in a manager fixed the books, sorted the AGM, and got us a real handle on what the reserve fund needs for the roofs in a few years.

Talk to us about your Squamish strata

If your council is weighing professional strata management, or isn't happy with the manager it has, the useful next step is a conversation: we'll look at the building, the budget, the depreciation report and the bylaws, walk you through exactly what we'd do and what it would cost, and you decide. Start on our owners page or reach us through contact. If you rent out a unit in the complex, our Squamish property management owner's guide covers how that side works alongside the strata.