The Bare Land Strata Concept

There are several bare land strata developments in the Vernon area. Most are adult communities. Some of the earliest bare land strata adult communities were Uplands, Hillview Meadows and Sandpiper. Other examples are Quail Run and Quail Vista.

The bare land strata concept is best described as a larger piece of land that has been subdivided into several strata lots. The road within the development is known as common property. In addition to owning their lot, all the strata owners have a proportionate share of ownership in that roadway. The same proportionate share of ownership would apply to other common property such as the complex swimming pool or clubhouse.

Locally, residential bare land strata is most commonly freehold ownership and is rarely leasehold. The developer subdivides the parcel into several strata lots and submits it to Land Registry. Each strata lot gets its own lot number and the whole development will be registered under a certain Plan number. The developer has a fee simple ownership on all of the lots at the outset. The developer can then sell the lots to buyers who will subsequently be freehold owners.

Each owner pays their own individual property taxes. Their taxes are based on their individual lot and its improvements, together with their share of the common property. Each lot within the bare land development is assessed separately.

As with all strata developments when a strata plan is filed at the Land Title Office a strata corporation is established. The owners of the strata lots in their strata plan are the members of that strata corporation.

The duties of the strata corporation are to manage and maintain the common property and to keep records, such as the list of owners and their addresses. They must hold annual meetings and see that a strata council is formed each year. That strata council has to enforce the rules, regulations and bylaws. Financial records must also be kept. They must show the strata fees collected and publish how each dollar is spent or saved.

As with all strata, the owners have to vote on items such as rentals and age restrictions, etc. Other than the owners having to comply to the Strata Property Act they are free to vote on any issues that concern their complex. Minutes of all meetings are required to be kept.

In a bare land strata each owner is normally responsible to insure their individual home and also to maintain and repair the home inside and out, including roof and siding.

This is a very abbreviated summary of the bare land strata concept. This column attempts only to cover the basic idea.