New Regulations for BC Strata Property Act

By: Ted Denniston and Sally Thompson

Depreciation Reports will facilitate building upkeep

The new regulations for the BC Strata Property Act have been introduced. The summary of the changes was published by the Office of Housing and Construction Standards. These changes include new requirements for Depreciation Reports, which are the reports used to determine the appropriate amount for the annual contribution to the contingency reserve fund. Depreciation reports are important to the long-term stability of a Strata, allowing them to save the money that will be needed to maintain and renew the common property

Highlights include:

• Depreciation reports are now mandatory for complexes with 5 or more strata lots unless the strata corporation exempts themselves by an annual ¾ vote. Strata corporations have until December 13, 2013 to obtain a depreciation report or hold a ¾ vote to exempt.
• Depreciation reports are to be carried out by a qualified person, who has knowledge and expertise to understand the individual components, scope and complexity of the strata’s common property.
• The Regulation requires that the Strata identify their depreciation report provider’s qualifications, error and omission insurance (if any), and the relationship between the person and the Strata. 
• Depreciation reports are required to be based on an on-site visual inspection of the site and all common (and limited common) property components, e.g., the building structure, exterior walls, roofs, windows, doors, balconies parking facilities, mechanical and electrical systems, landscaping, etc.
• The Depreciation Report must include a component inventory and evaluation of the property components.
• For each component, the report must provide an estimated service life related to any repairs or maintenance work (which usually occurs less often than once per year or that do not usually occur) over a 30 year period.
• The report must provide a financial forecasting section, including forecasting projects over 30 years, interest and inflation rates, and must provide three cash-flow funding models.  
• Updates must be completed, including a site review, every three years.

The regulations also define minimum and maximum contribution limits based on percentages of the annual operating budget.

• If the balance in the fund is less than 25% of the budgeted operating expenses, then a minimum of 10% of the operating budget must be contributed. 
• If the fund balance is higher than 25% of the operating budget, then additional contributions can be made if approved as part of the annual budget approval process  (which requires a simple majority rather than 75% as it used to).

Halsall has been providing Contingency Reserve Fund Studies in BC for ten years. The existing reports are compliant with the new regulations in all material respects. 

Should I use injection sealing to repair my slab?

Injection sealing is a technology where a grout material is injected into a leaking crack to prevent leakage. While there are many circumstances where this is an excellent repair method, there are some circumstances where it is simply not appropriate. It is important for building owners to understand these circumstances so they can be sure that injection-sealing is properly deployed.

If the leaking water is generally free from chlorides, then injection sealing is a cost-effective and appropriate repair. This would be the case for most foundation walls, on the underside of suspended slabs which are covered in plants (below a lawn for example) and generally in southern climates where de-icing salts are not used. The goal in these locations is to prevent the annoyance of water dripping into the facility below.

If the leaking water is chloride-contaminated, then injection sealing may cause more harm than good. Chloride-contaminated leakage would occur in northern climates below parking decks, parking lots and driveways.  This is because de-icing salts are applied in these areas, adding chlorides to the melt water.  The goal in these instances is two-fold: to prevent the annoyance of water dripping into the facility, and to protect the reinforced concrete structure from chlorides.

Why do chlorides matter?  When chlorides penetrate concrete, they depassivate the embedded reinforcing steel.  If oxygen and water are also present (and they usually are), then the embedded reinforcing steel starts to corrode.  The corrosion products take up more space than the original steel and therefore typically cause the concrete cover over the reinforcing steel to break off (this is also known as delamination or spalling).



Concrete Delamination - Copyright Halsall 2011

Injecting a leak in an area with chloride contaminated leakage can actually trap the chloride contaminated water in the crack or on the top surface of the slab. Injection sealing is usually completed from below.  Ports are drilled on an angle to intersect the leaking crack. The injection material is injected under pressure.  Done well, the injection material should completely fill the crack from the top of the slab to the bottom of the slab.  However, this injection does not fix the fundamental defect in the waterproofing system above the slab.

Water trapped in the depth of the crack, or on top of the slab (below the waterproofing membrane) can hasten the chloride-related corrosion and deterioration. In locations exposed to chlorides it is far better to excavate from above and properly repair the defect in the waterproofing membrane.  This not only stops water from dripping on occupants below, but also protects the slab from the chlorides, minimizing structural deterioration over time. The repair costs more in the first instance than injection-sealing, but less in the long-term because it reduces the risk of structural deterioration.

A proper condition evaluation and specifications should ensure that the appropriate repair methodology is used in the appropriate locations.