STRATA WATCH!
Mike Mangan
Check Election Dates in a
Phased Strata Development
n a phased strata
development, a developer
adds buildings to a project
over time. As each phase
proceeds, the developer deposits
a strata plan for that phase at
the Land Title Office. Why?
I
• Under Part 13 of the Strata Property
Act (which replaced the Condominium
Act on July 1, 2000), the developer of
a phased development must file a
strata plan in successive phases.1
• Part 2 of the Condominium Act
contained similar requirements.2
Note:
1. Anyone considering buying a strata
unit in a phased strata development
where the developer has not yet
proceeded with every phase—that is,
where a strata plan is not yet filed for
every phase—should know about a
document called the Phased Strata Plan
Declaration (for simplicity: Form P).3
2. If the developer commenced the
project under the Condominium Act,
the document is called the Declaration
of Intention to Create a Strata Plan by
Phased Development (for simplicity:
Form E).4
Form P and its predecessor Form E both
contain important information including:
• a schedule showing the number of
phases and the order in which they
will be deposited;
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• a schedule showing the estimated date
for the beginning and completion of
construction of each phase; and
The Strata Property Act and the former
Condominium Act contain similar schemes
governing election dates.
• the election date for each phase.
Here, briefly, is what happens under
the Strata Property Act when a developer
has begun a phased development by
depositing the appropriate form with Phase
One of a phased strata plan.
An election date is the date by which a
developer must decide whether or not to
proceed with a particular phase of the
project; before that specified date, a
developer may bail out of a future phase.
Where a developer elects not to
proceed with a phase, the legislation may
require the developer to compensate the
strata corporation for certain matters, e.g.,
to contribute to the expense of common
facilities that are already built or, in some
cases, to complete particular work on other
common facilities.
• If a developer wishes not to proceed
with a particular phase, the Strata
Property Act requires that the developer
notify in writing the strata corporation
and the approving officer of the
A developer must register the Form P
or Form E, as the case may be, with the
first phase of the strata plan at the Land
Title Office.5 In addition, under the Strata
Property Act, a developer who intends to
build a development in phases must first
obtain the approval of an approving officer,
using Form P.
In most phased developments, the
developer is required to give each
prospective buyer a prospectus or
disclosure statement. The buyer will find a
copy of Form P or Form E in that
document.
The election date is one of the most
important features of the forms. Form P or
Form E expresses a developer’s intention to
construct the development in phases. It is
not a promise. Until the election date for
each phase, the developer may elect not to
build that phase.
The Scrivener
Volume 13 Number 2 June 2004
developer’s election not to proceed. 6
The developer must also register a
similar notice against title to the
developer’s remainder parcel—the
land previously set aside for the future
phase.
• Alternatively, under the Strata Property
Act, a developer may amend an
election date in the Form P.7 To
extend the election date up to one
year, the developer must apply to the
approving officer, who may grant only
one extension. For all other
extensions, the developer must apply
to the Supreme Court of British
Columbia.
Mike Mangan is a Vancouver lawyer
who, among other things, advises strata
corporations and condominium owners
in his law practice. Mr. Mangan is an
Adjunct Professor of Law in the Faculty
of Law at the University of British
Columbia, where he teaches real estate
law. He also lectures in the Real Estate
Division of the Sauder School of
Business (formerly the Faculty of
Commerce and Business
Administration) at UBC.
Voice: 604 685-2282
1
2
Strata Property Act, S.B.C. 1998, c. 43
Condominium Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c.
64, Part 2
3 Strata Property Regulation, B.C. Reg.
43/2000, Form P, Phased Strata Plan
Declaration
4 Condominium Act, Forms
5 Strata Property Act, s. 221;
Condominium Act, s. 77
6 Strata Property Act, s. 235
7 Strata Property Act, s. 232
8 Strata Property Act, s. 231
9 Condominium Act, s. 79(1)
10 Condominium Act, s. 78(7)
• If a developer fails to give written
notice on time that he elects not to
proceed or to otherwise amend the
election date, the Strata Property Act
conclusively deems the developer to
have elected to proceed with that
phase as set out in Form P.8 In other
words, if the developer fails to elect to
quit the next phase by the required
date or fails to otherwise extend the
election date by amending Form P, the
developer is bound to proceed.
The former Condominium Act contains
substantially the same scheme.
• If the developer elects not to proceed
with a phase, the Condominium Act
requires the developer to inform the
strata corporation in writing and file a
notice to that effect on title.9
• If a developer fails to give notice
electing not to proceed, the
Condominium Act deems that the
developer has elected to continue with
the project.10
For more detailed information about
phased strata developments and answers to
many other condominium questions, see
The Condominium Manual: A
Comprehensive Guide to the Strata Property
Act, 2nd ed., by Mike Mangan, recently
published by the British Columbia Real
Estate Association.
Readers may obtain a copy by calling
the British Columbia Real Estate
Association at 604 683-7702, by fax at
604 683-8601, by ordering via the
BCREA Website at www.bcrea.bc.ca, or
through select bookstores in the Lower
Mainland. ▲
Volume 13 Number 2 June 2004
The Scrivener
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