Greetings,
The Province is committed to reducing red tape and administrative burden for citizens and businesses. In support of Better Regulations for British Columbians Day 2019, the Strata Property Regulation (the Regulation) is being amended to clarify deposit insurance requirements for monies invested by strata corporations.
In 2014, the Strata Property Regulation was amended to modernize and simplify the requirements for permitted investments for funds collected through special levy or held in a contingency reserve fund. The amendments support strata corporations to earn money for upcoming repair and maintenance issues and reduce the need for higher strata fees in future years. The Regulation specified that certain investments (savings and chequing accounts, term deposits, and guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) must be in accounts at financial institutions that are a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) or the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (CUDIC), and the deposit must be eligible for deposit insurance.
Accounts at financial institutions that are members of CUDIC have unlimited deposit insurance protection. However, as CDIC limits deposit insurance to the first $100,000 of the total amount on deposit, some strata corporations interpreted Regulation 6.11to mean that the entire amount on deposit must be insured and believed they are required to divide their investments across many accounts to ensure no account exceeds the $100,000 limit.
As many strata corporations have account balances well in excess of $100,000, it is unreasonable to expect them to administer a multitude of accounts to keep balances under the deposit insurance limit, and this was never intended.
To reduce confusion and the perceived administrative burden on strata corporations, the language in Regulation 6.11 is being amended to clarify that that a strata corporation is compliant with the Regulation in situations where only a portion of an account is eligible for deposit insurance. The amendment takes effect immediately.
These amendments are part of the Province’s ongoing efforts to reduce regulatory barriers for British Columbian citizens and businesses and are expected to reduce the administrative burden on strata corporations. The Province of British Columbia is committed to supporting strata housing through ongoing improvements to strata legislation and regulations.
Please see the attached Order In Council and update to our website for reference.
101-2019 Order in Council
Thank you,
Housing Policy Branch
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Province of British Columbia