Strata Approval vs City Permit: Why a Condo Renovation May Need Both

A seller produces a council email approving a kitchen renovation. The kitchen now opens into the living room, the sink has moved to an island, and hardwood runs through the suite. Has the renovation been approved?

Not enough information. The email may cover the flooring but exclude the wall. A building permit may cover the wall but show the sink in its old location. Both documents can be genuine while neither describes the finished apartment accurately.

For a condo buyer, the useful question is not simply whether there is strata approval and a permit. It is whether every material part of the work has the appropriate permission, whether the conditions were fulfilled, and whether the physical result matches the documents. That is a scope-matching exercise, not a count of approval letters.

This guide uses British Columbia strata legislation and City of Vancouver permit guidance checked on September 8, 2026. Other municipalities have their own permit processes. It is a way to organize purchase due diligence, not a legal opinion on a particular alteration agreement.

Two permissions, different questions

Strata approval concerns the building's ownership and governance arrangements. The starting point is the particular strata's filed bylaws, not a generic renovation checklist. Under section 120 of the Strata Property Act, the Standard Bylaws apply except where different bylaws are filed in the land title office. A building can therefore have requirements that differ from the familiar standard provisions. Strata Property Act, section 120

The Standard Bylaws require written approval for specified alterations within a strata lot, including work involving the structure, common property within the lot, and certain insured parts. They separately address alterations to common property, including limited common property. They also permit written expense-responsibility conditions. These are reasons to investigate an alteration; they are not a finding about the boundaries or bylaws of the apartment you are buying. Standard Bylaws 5 and 6

Municipal permission addresses the construction project through the applicable permitting process. Vancouver lists renovations involving moving interior walls or existing plumbing, electrical, or gas lines among projects generally requiring a permit. It lists replacement flooring among small projects that do not require one. A broader renovation should not be classified by its least demanding component. Vancouver: when you need a permit

That creates an important asymmetry. A straightforward flooring replacement may still need a strata review even when the City does not require a permit for that work. Conversely, a permit does not answer whether the strata accepted the selected flooring, an alteration to shared property, or the owner's continuing responsibilities.

Vancouver's published strata-permit bulletin, dated April 19, 2007, distinguishes circumstances in which the City requires written strata approval before issuing a building or trade permit. In particular, it identifies common or limited common property work. The bulletin describes the City's documentary requirements; it is not permission to disregard a strata's own bylaws. Confirm current application requirements for the actual project. City bulletin: permits for strata buildings

Put one scope in the middle of both files

Start with a marked floor plan showing what changed, not with the seller's label of “cosmetic update.” Give each change a location and description that a person unfamiliar with the apartment can understand: the wall between the kitchen and living room, the sink's old and new locations, or the flooring installed in the hallway and bedrooms.

Use the same dated plan revision when comparing strata and City records. “Kitchen renovation” on two different documents is a weak match if one refers to an earlier design.

This is a comparison sheet, not three automatic rulings. Do not infer whether a wall is structural or a pipe is common property from its appearance. Have the relevant professional and strata records establish the physical and ownership facts. The City should confirm the permit route for the described work.

The sheet also avoids an unnecessary assumption: two approvals do not always mean two identical pieces of paper. One strata decision may attach a complete drawing set, while City records may include a building file and separate trade files. The point is coverage, not matching document formats.

“Approved in principle” can leave the expensive decisions open

A council may be receptive to an idea while still waiting for drawings, an engineer's report, an agreement, or proof that specified conditions have been met. Read the complete decision and its attachments. An email saying that council has “no objection in principle” is not a substitute for finding out what remains before work may begin.

Similarly, a signed alteration agreement may authorize only the work described in an attached schedule. A public blank agreement posted by España Condos illustrates why the attachment matters: it provides space to identify permitted alterations, then connects the work to dated plans or specified documents and possible professional-report conditions. It is a sample document, not the agreement for another building or a recommended form to sign. Public alteration agreement, pages 2–3

For the apartment in front of you, ask for the signed version, every schedule, and the decision that approved it. If the description depends on drawings that cannot be found, the missing drawings are material. A signature does not supply their contents.

A useful request is: “Please identify which conditions attached to the approval have been satisfied, which remain open, and the documents showing that result.” This produces a more actionable answer than asking whether the renovation was “all approved.”

Issued is not the same as finished

A permit authorizes its described work; it is not a photograph of what was ultimately built. Vancouver's building-permit process calls for inspections at stages and a final inspection. Its guidance identifies passed final inspection as completion of the work and notes that an occupancy permit may also be required. The appropriate closing evidence depends on the project. Vancouver building-permit process

Keep that distinction on the strata side as well. A pre-construction consent and a post-construction confirmation serve different purposes. If the approval required completion documents or an as-built plan, locate them. Ask whether any outstanding correspondence identifies departures from the agreed scope.

Imagine that strata approved a wall opening measuring two metres, while the permit plans allowed a wider opening subject to a particular design. The finished wall matches the City plan. The municipal file cannot tell you that strata also accepted the wider opening. Reverse the facts and the strata file cannot establish City acceptance. Resolving one discrepancy does not erase the other.

This hypothetical is not a measurement tolerance rule. It shows why a reviewer needs the same version of the project in both files.

Buying when one side of the file is missing

First identify the missing answer. There is a difference between a document not yet delivered, a document that appears never to have existed, and a written record identifying non-compliant work. Those situations should not be priced as if they were interchangeable.

If only the strata approval is missing, ask the seller to obtain the complete strata file and a written explanation of the current position. A purchaser should not assume that council will approve finished work retrospectively, or that a future owner can satisfy the conditions without opening finished surfaces.

If only municipal evidence is missing, ask the City what records exist for the exact work. A strata manager cannot provide municipal final acceptance. Your inspection professional can assess visible conditions and identify the limits of that assessment, but the inspection report does not replace the authority's records either.

If the work differs from both sets of documents, the next useful expenditure may be a measured scope review rather than another general inspection. Define which professional will compare the actual work to the drawings, what access is available, and what cannot be confirmed without further investigation. Do not authorize destructive investigation without the owner's permission and an agreed plan for reinstatement.

Then connect the unresolved items to the purchase contract with your real estate and legal advisers. Decide what information you need before committing, who is expected to obtain it, and what happens if the answer is unsatisfactory. A seller's proposed credit may fund some work; it cannot compel the strata or the City to approve a design.

Keep responsibility separate from permission

Even a well-documented renovation can carry continuing obligations. Read any alteration agreement for maintenance, damage, insurance, access, and sale-related provisions. Ask your lawyer what obligations would apply to you and whether any assignment or new agreement is proposed. Do not assume that every clause mentioning future owners automatically has the legal effect its author intended.

That review complements, rather than duplicates, the scope comparison. One question is “Was this work permitted and completed as required?” Another is “What would owning this alteration require from me?” A yes to the first does not make the second disappear.

For the wider building review, use our guide to condo renovation rules, flooring, plumbing and alteration agreements. When comparing renovated condos with JQ, bring the marked plan and both approval files to the discussion. They help distinguish a documented improvement from a project whose remaining decisions would become yours.

By Justin Qiao, Personal Real Estate Corporation, Justin Qiao Group | RE/MAX Crest Realty.