Strata Repair Bills Are Due Before the Reserve Investments Mature
A strata can have enough money on its financial statements to cover a repair and still lack the cash to pay the contractor on the agreed date. The missing piece may be timing: part of the contingency reserve fund is invested until after an invoice falls due. Before treating a healthy reserve balance as proof that a project is financially settled, put the payment dates beside the dates money actually becomes available.
This is a different question from estimating the total cost of a roof or each owner's possible special levy. Here, assume the project and its funding have already been approved. You want to know whether the approved money will reach the payment account in time, what remains unresolved, and whether the response creates another cost or obligation for owners.
Four amounts that should not be interchangeable
The gross accounting balance of the CRF can include cash, investments and income accounted for in the fund. The balance of a particular bank account is narrower. Even that account balance needs reconciliation for payments already issued, restrictions and other commitments before someone calls it available for the next contractor.
A redeemable investment is another category. Its label does not establish how much can be withdrawn today, what notice is needed, whether partial redemption is allowed or what proceeds will arrive. An investment maturing next month belongs on next month's timeline unless an earlier release has been confirmed under its actual terms.
Form B introduces a further distinction. Its CRF disclosure subtracts expenditures already approved but not yet paid from the fund. It is therefore not a statement of gross cash in the bank. Section 59 of the Strata Property Act describes that net disclosure. Ask for the dated reconciliation supporting it, not a second subtraction of every approved project from an amount that is already net.
For example, a $500,000 gross fund with $430,000 approved but unpaid would leave $70,000 under that disclosure calculation, assuming there are no other relevant adjustments. Neither $500,000 nor $70,000 tells you how much cash will be ready for a $180,000 invoice this month. That requires the bank and investment schedule.
An investment can be permitted without being immediately spendable
BC requires CRF money to be accounted for separately and held in the accounts or investments the legislation permits; investment income becomes part of the fund. Spending authority is a separate requirement. A fund's existence does not by itself authorize a particular withdrawal for repairs. See sections 95 and 96 of the Act.
Regulation 6.11 permits certain term deposits and GICs subject to specified insurance-eligibility and predetermined-interest conditions. That is not a finding that every product called a GIC is suitable or compliant, or that an entire balance is necessarily insured. Most importantly for this task, permission to hold an investment does not promise early access to it.
Product terms differ. As one concrete illustration, RBC's business GIC comparison distinguishes non-redeemable products with no access to funds from redeemable products offering access at a reduced rate. That illustrates why the actual certificate matters; it is not a recommendation to purchase that product or a rule for every institution. RBC's product comparison should be read alongside the strata's own agreement.
A fund that covers the project but misses two payment dates
Consider this entirely hypothetical schedule. On November 2, 2026, the strata has $100,000 of reconciled CRF cash, a $250,000 investment scheduled to pay into the account on January 15, 2027, and a $150,000 investment scheduled to pay in on April 15. The gross principal total is $500,000.
The project has three assumed, approved payments: $180,000 on November 30, $150,000 on January 29 and $100,000 on March 30. These total $430,000. Assume no other receipts, commitments or withdrawals. Interest, transaction costs and timing remedies are excluded so the mismatch is visible on its own. The dates are invented, not reported experience from a JQ client building.
| Event | Cash movement | Running amount before any timing remedy |
|---|---|---|
| November 2: opening cash | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| November 30: first payment | −$180,000 | −$80,000 |
| January 15: investment proceeds arrive | +$250,000 | $170,000 |
| January 29: second payment | −$150,000 | $20,000 |
| March 30: third payment | −$100,000 | −$80,000 |
| April 15: investment proceeds arrive | +$150,000 | $70,000 |
The negative amounts are unmet payment requirements in a planning model, not an account that can actually overdraw. Without a remedy, the first payment cannot be completed from the assumed available cash. Later rows carry the mathematical obligation forward to reveal the whole schedule; they do not pretend an unpaid November invoice disappears.
The peak timing deficit is $80,000. It occurs twice, but adding the two negative balances to announce a $160,000 project shortfall would double-count a recurring need. The principal still exceeds the total project payments by $70,000. Conversely, pointing to that final $70,000 and saying there is no problem ignores the contractor's earlier due dates.
This is not a recommendation to arrange an $80,000 loan. Any financing would need its own authority, availability, costs, draw and repayment dates. Other bills or delayed proceeds could change the peak requirement. The table answers only the stated cash-timing question.
Confirm arrival, not just the date printed on a certificate
For each investment, locate the principal, maturity date, payment destination and renewal instructions. Identify whether interest is paid separately or included at maturity, so it is not counted twice. Record the date the institution confirms proceeds will be available to make a payment, including any transfer step between accounts.
If a certificate says “January 15” but nobody has confirmed whether it renews automatically or where proceeds go, the January 15 receipt is still an assumption. Do not quietly substitute an extra business day as a universal banking rule either. The relevant account process and actual calendar need checking.
On the payment side, use the contract's current billing milestones and the actual invoice status. A target construction-completion month is not necessarily the contractor's due date. Deposits, progress payments and final amounts may occur on different schedules. List applicable taxes, agreed holdbacks and consultant payments on their own correct dates, without treating every quoted total as immediately payable.
The reserve-payment timing sheet (PDF) includes the worked schedule and a blank event log. Start with reconciled opening cash, enter each confirmed receipt and required payment in date order, and carry the balance forward. An unknown date should remain visibly unresolved. It must not become a receipt on the day that makes the table look comfortable.
Compare a proposed remedy with the original schedule
An early redemption is only a possible route where the investment terms and institution actually permit it. Confirm net proceeds, timing, interest consequences and the authority to act. Moving principal from an investment into cash is not new funding: remove the corresponding future maturity receipt or the model will count the same money twice.
A revised contractor payment schedule is another possibility only if the relevant parties agree. Record any additional price, changed work sequence or other consequence. Moving a date in your own worksheet does not amend the contract. Nor should a financial timing convenience be treated as evidence that delaying safety-related work is acceptable.
If additional owner funding or borrowing is proposed, give it its own approval status and receipt date. Do not borrow money from the operating account in the model merely because another account appears to have cash. The strata's different funds and statutory rules are not interchangeable. Until a lawful, available response is documented, preserve the original deficit in the assessment.
Then rerun the entire schedule. A remedy that fixes November may still leave March exposed. A changed project milestone can also move the problem earlier, even where the overall contract price stays the same.
What a buyer should take from the answer
For a buyer, the useful conclusion is specific: the project is approved, the gross funds cover the stated principal cost, but the November and March payment gaps remain unresolved—or a documented arrangement now covers them at a stated cost. That is more informative than either “the reserves are strong” or “the building needs another levy.”
Ask for the latest schedule after any new invoice, maturity instruction or funding decision. Keep the unresolved amount and date separate from your own closing cash and from any owner payment obligation. A strata timing deficit does not itself determine what a particular purchaser legally owes.
For the wider sale context, see selling a condo with upcoming levies or building issues. If a property's repair package leaves you unsure whether the issue is total cost or payment timing, contact JQ Properties with the non-sensitive project summary. The first useful question is when the money must move, not which impressive balance appears on the front page.
By Justin Qiao, Personal Real Estate Corporation, Justin Qiao Group | RE/MAX Crest Realty.
Sources checked September 10, 2026.
