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DEPRECIATION REPORTS

Painting and your depreciation report: how to plan the repaint

Art Vision team · October 2026 · 7 min read

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • A depreciation report lists each painted component, its remaining life and an estimated cost.
  • Since July 1, 2024, most BC stratas need a new report at least every 5 years, and the annual 3/4 vote to defer it is gone.
  • The report gives an estimate; a walk-through and a written scope give you the real price.
  • Work recommended in your most recent report can usually be approved from the CRF by majority vote.

A depreciation report is the council's long-range plan for the common property. Painting usually shows up in several lines, and how you read them decides when the repaint happens and how it is funded.

What the report says about paint

  • The component: for example exterior wood siding and trim, stucco, railings, doors or fences.
  • Remaining life: how many years the current coating is expected to last.
  • Estimated cost: usually in today's dollars, sometimes with inflation applied.
  • The year: when the work is expected, which feeds into the contingency reserve fund plan.

What changed in 2024

Under the current rules, a strata corporation must get a new depreciation report at least once every 5 years, and it can no longer defer the report each year with a 3/4 vote. Transitional deadlines apply to stratas that have not had a recent report, and stratas with fewer than five lots are exempt. Check the details on the BC government's depreciation report page.

Turn the estimate into a real price

  1. Book a walk-through of the elevations named in the report.
  2. Ask for a written scope that lists every surface, so you can match it line by line to the report.
  3. Ask how wood rot and hidden damage will be priced: an allowance, or a unit rate per board or per foot.
  4. Build a realistic contingency into the budget, rather than a hopeful one.

At Tudor Grove in Burnaby, the strata council wrote that the estimate helped them build a realistic contingency budget.

Why this matters for the vote

When the work is repair, maintenance or replacement of common property recommended in the most recent depreciation report, the spending from the contingency reserve fund can usually be approved by a majority vote instead of 3/4. See Approving a strata repaint in BC.

This guide is general information for strata councils and property managers in British Columbia, not legal advice. Check your registered bylaws and the current Strata Property Act, or ask your property manager or a lawyer, before relying on it for a decision.

More guides

All guides
PlanningHow often should a strata repaint in Metro Vancouver?Typical repaint cycles for siding, stucco, trim and railings on the coast, what shortens them, and the signs that say it is time. 6 min readRead guide → Strata rulesApproving a strata repaint in BC: majority vote, 3/4 vote and special leviesHow a repaint is usually funded and approved under the Strata Property Act, and what the council should have in hand before the meeting. 6 min readRead guide → ResidentsHow much notice do residents need before exterior painting?The difference between a schedule notice and a notice of entry, the 48-hour rule in the standard bylaws, and what a good notice says. 5 min readRead guide →

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