Langley and Surrey condo owners and investors – changes to the strata property act that affect you!

Strata Property Act Changes that affect Langley and Surrey Condo owners

On November 2, 2022, the BC Government ended rental and age restrictions for strata properties. Currently, all strata-held properties with age restrictions and/or rental restrictions must remove those restrictions from the bylaws as they can no longer be enforced.

Age Restrictions

Communities are still allowed to have age restrictions of 55 years and up. This bylaw change is leaving adult-oriented communities with a difficult choice. Do they add a new age restriction, or do they allow the development to become family oriented? If they choose to enact a 55-plus age restriction, then all current owners of the property are exempted from the new age restriction. This allows communities with 45-plus age restrictions to implement a 55-plus age restriction without displacing the current owners. To implement the new age restrictions strata will need a majority vote at an annual or special general meeting.

Rental Restrictions

Strata developments are no longer permitted to restrict rentals anymore. Currently, strata developments built after 2010 were prohibited from restricting rentals if the developer filed a rental disclosure statement allowing rentals. Since it is the standard practice for developers to file this form in the Fraser Valley, almost all of the units built after 2010 allowed rentals. The units built before 2010 often enacted rental restrictions at some point restricting rentals to a handful of units, usually less than 10% of the development.

Benefits of Removing Rental Restrictions

Rental restrictions are problematic for owners in a falling market as they often force an owner to sell a property when relocating. If market conditions are unfavorable, or the development is undergoing repair, the units may sell for less than market value. This affects all of the property owners, not just the person relocating. Removing rental restrictions allows owners to hold the property until market conditions favor them while increasing the pool of rental property available for tenants.

Pitfalls of Removing Rental Restrictions

Many of the buildings that have rental restrictions in place are aging facilities that weren’t built with the same level of soundproofing or electrical capacity used today. These older buildings also tend to be more economical, attracting larger families and younger people known to use more power and make more noise. This is difficult for the residents of the building who were expecting a quiet existence.

In Conclusion

This legislation was implemented to address the housing affordability issue in BC. It seems like forcing those relocating to sell their property might’ve brought property prices down faster than these rules. But it will increase rental inventory so we should see some downward pressure on rents.

Want to know more about the changes? Check out the advisory issued by the BCFSA below:

https://www.bcfsa.ca/media/3095/download

Want to know more about the upcoming changes to real estate rules in BC? Check out:

Beware of Changes – BC to Introduce 7 Changes to the Real Estate Rules

Interested in reading about the changes to the rules of Cooperation in BC? Check out:

These affect you! 2 great changes to the Rules of Co-Operation for BC Real Estate for Sale

Curious about the foreign buyers’ ban? Check out: https://lizpenner.com/buying-in-the-fraser-valley/

ABOUT LIZ PENNER, YOUR LANGLEY AND SURREY REALTOR

Liz Penner has been a top-selling agent for nearly two decades specializing in property sales in the Langley and Surrey areas of the Fraser Valley. Liz utilizes her unique combination of education, training, and experience to help her clients make strategic moves that maximize their property investment. Liz’s commitment to excellence has earnt her 10-year Master Medallion standing with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the 2021 & 2022 Royal LePage’s Directors Platinum award. Liz Penner holds an Associate Broker’s real estate license, training in financial and market analysis of commercial real estate, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurial Leadership, focusing on strategic business analysis, digital marketing, and management of service-based organizations.