BC votes. Alberta's board decides.
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The same broken boiler gets paid for differently on each side of the Rockies, and the difference shows up everywhere in the numbers: reserve balances, insurance lines, even who is allowed to Airbnb.
Start with the mechanism. In British Columbia a special levy needs a three-quarter vote of owners at a general meeting. [1] In Alberta, a condominium board can impose a special assessment on its own authority; owners are entitled to information and to attend board meetings, but there is no owner vote to win. [2] That one difference explains the first row of the table below: in BC about one levy vote in four fails, and in Alberta the failure rate is zero, because there is nothing to fail. Every assessment we found in Alberta minutes was simply imposed.
What we looked at | BC | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
Who approves a one-time charge | Owners, ¾ vote | The board |
Share of recorded charges that fail | ~25% | 0% |
Reserve fund per unit, median | ~$4,000 | ~$6,000 |
Insurance in the operating budget, per unit per year | ~$1,100 | ~$880 |
Corporations restricting short-term rentals | ~86% | ~38% |
Corporations allowing both dogs and cats | ~90% | ~95% |
Most common heating | Electric baseboard | Hot-water radiators |
Wood-frame share of building sections | ~64% | ~82% |
Reserves: Alberta holds more per door
Alberta has required condominium corporations to commission a reserve fund study at least every five years for two decades, and to fund the plan the study produces. [3] BC only recently put depreciation reports on a mandatory schedule. In our sample the median Alberta corporation holds about $6,000 per unit in its reserve fund; the median BC corporation holds about $4,000 per unit in its contingency reserve fund. We would not read that as one province being better run. The building stock is different (more wood-frame low-rise in Alberta, more concrete towers in BC), the funding rules are different, and a fund that is topped up by board-imposed assessments will look different from one that has to survive a vote.
| Category | BC | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve fund / unit | $4,000 | $6,000 |
| Insurance / unit / yr | $1,100 | $880 |
Insurance: $1,100 a door in BC, $880 in Alberta
BC's strata insurance line has earthquake cover and a long water-damage history baked into it; Alberta's headline peril is hail. In approved operating budgets the median BC corporation spends about $1,100 per unit per year on insurance and the median Alberta corporation about $880. Both are the budget line, which includes deductible reserves and broker fees where the strata budgets them.
Heat, rentals and pets
BC strata buildings overwhelmingly heat with electric baseboards, which means the heating bill sits on the owner's BC Hydro account and not in the strata budget. Alberta condos run on hot-water radiators, central boilers and gas furnaces, so gas is a line item the whole building shares, and a boiler replacement is one of the most common board decisions in the minutes we read.
On rentals, the provinces have gone opposite ways. About 86% of BC corporations in our sample restrict short-term rentals, helped along by a provincial act; in Alberta, where the rules are municipal, only about 38% do. Pets are the friendlier story in both: 90% of BC corporations allow both dogs and cats, and 95% of Alberta ones do.
If you are moving between provinces. Read a different document first. In BC, the levy history and the meeting minutes tell you what owners have refused to pay for. In Alberta, the reserve fund study and the board's assessment history tell you what the board has decided you will.
How we counted. Based on 2,000+ samples drawn from our pool of BC strata reviews and 150+ from our pool of Alberta condo reviews, Calgary and Edmonton mostly. Figures come from the meeting minutes, financial statements, approved operating budgets, bylaws and building records in those samples, mostly 2023 to 2026. Bylaw shares are of corporations whose bylaws address the topic. Medians, rounded to two significant figures. Insurance figures are operating-budget lines for both provinces so they compare like with like. No building is identified. If you use these figures, a link back to this post is appreciated.
Further reading
What happened in a building, and whether it is normal
StrataReports reads the full document package of one strata or condo building and reports what happened in it. It then compares the whole building with similar buildings nearby, from finances and insurance to repairs, the condition of its components and disputes, and shows what is normal and what is not. Every finding links to its source page.