Form B Information Certificate

Under the Strata Property Act, a buyer is entitled to obtain an Information Certificate (known as a Form B). The Form B contains information about the strata lot including the monthly strata fees, whether the owner has entered into an agreement with the strata corporation regarding alterations, and what the owner owes to the strata corporation. The Form B also provides information about the strata corporation such as the amount in the contingency reserve fund, whether the strata corporation is involved in litigation or arbitration and information about the use of parking spaces and storage lockers.

Attached to the Form B must be the strata corporation’s rules, the current budget, and the most recent depreciation report, if obtained.

Where a strata lot is part of a section, as discussed above, if the section is in compliance with the Strata Property Act the section will have its own strata fees, its own operating and contingency reserve fund, and possibly, its own depreciation report. Thus, a Form B will be required for the section as well as for the strata corporation.

The Strata Property Act references a “current” Form B. Many real estate licensees mistakenly believe that a Form B that is dated within the past 30 or 60 days is current. In fact, a Form B is a snapshot of the current state of affairs in respect of information relating to both the strata lot and the strata corporation. Information such as the amount that the strata lot must pay in strata fees can change if a new budget is approved at an annual general meeting. Thus, if an annual general meeting was held after the Form B was prepared, although the Form B may be less than 30 days old, it may nonetheless be out of date. Similarly, the answer to the question respecting whether the strata corporation has been sued or is subject to arbitration can change in a day. In addition, the required content of the Form B is set out in the Strata Property Regulation and may change from time to time. Real estate licensees should consult the Strata Property Regulation to ensure that they are disclosing the required content.

Because the listing agent may have obtained the Form B when they listed the strata lot, when providing the Form B to the buyer’s agent, if the listing agent provides the Form B obtained at the time the strata lot was listed, the listing agent may be providing a Form B that is not current even though it is less than 30 days old. Since there is no way to know whether any of the information on the Form B has changed, the agent should provide a new Form B, or confirmation from the strata corporation that the Form B being provided is current and up-to-date.

Although the Form B is generally of interest to the buyer, the listing agent should use the Form B as a guide in determining with the seller how parking stalls and storage lockers are to be recorded on the listing. Thus, to ensure they are providing accurate and complete information, it is advisable for the listing real estate licensee to obtain the Form B before they begin marketing a strata lot.

Additionally, the listing agent should review, with the seller, the portion of the Form B that indicates how much the seller owes the strata corporation to ensure that the seller agrees with the amount and that the seller understands that in most cases the amount will need to be paid to the strata corporation, or arrangements that are satisfactory to the strata corporation must be made, before the strata corporation will issue a Form F. The Form F must be provided to the Land Title Office in order for the sale to complete in most cases. If the seller disputes some of the charges, such as fines, chargebacks for damage, or insurance deductibles, the listing agent should advise the seller to immediately seek legal advice in order that the matter can be resolved. Waiting until a few days before the completion date to dispute the amount owing is not generally an effective strategy.

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  In the case where the strata lot is within a section of the strata corporation, a real estate licensee should ensure that a Form B is requested from the strata corporation and the section. Real estate licensees should note that in some cases, the section and the strata corporation may be managed by different strata management companies.