Statutory deadline briefing For strata councils & property managers
Every strata corporation in the Capital Regional District with five or more lots must obtain an Electrical Planning Report (EPR) by December 31, 2026 under the Strata Property Act.1 There is no exemption, and owners cannot vote the requirement away, not even by a ¾ vote.3 What most councils have not yet mapped is the timeline: the governance steps needed to authorise the expenditure take longer than the field and engineering work itself.
| Step | What has to happen | Earliest |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | Scope confirmed, fixed-price proposal issued | Sept 4 |
| Resolution | Council approves the vendor and drafts the CRF funding resolution | Sept 11 |
| Notice | SGM package out: 14 days’ notice, 2 clear days, 4 days deemed delivery4 | Oct 1 |
| Vote | SGM held; owners approve the expenditure by majority vote1 | Oct 2 |
| Field & data | Site visit, switchgear survey, BC Hydro consumption data request | Nov 6 |
| Delivery | Load modelling, report sealed by the qualified person, council review | Dec 11 |
A council that starts in September finishes with a fortnight to spare. A council that starts in November does meet the deadline and the consequences of that fall on the council.
Durations above are statutory minimums and assume quorum at the first SGM. The report also depends on your building’s peak-load data, which must be requested from BC Hydro on their utility data form — a step provincial guidance expects to be underway well before drafting.7
Neither the Strata Property Act nor its Regulation attaches a fine to a missed EPR.2 That is precisely why the deadline gets read as soft. The consequences are structural rather than punitive, and two of the three are permanent until the report is completed.
Sections 90.1–90.3 come into effect for a strata on the earlier of two events: it obtains its EPR, or the deadline to obtain one passes.6 From that moment an owner’s properly made request to install EV charging cannot be unreasonably refused, and council must decide within three months.5 One of the few grounds the Act names for refusal is the capacity of, and anticipated demands on, the electrical system6 which is the exact evidence an EPR produces. Miss the deadline and the duty arrives on January 1 without the document that would let you discharge it defensibly.
The Province is explicit: the EPR is a permanent record of the strata corporation, disclosed on the Form B: Information Certificate for owners and prospective purchasers, and provided for many years.1 Without a report, that disclosure is where the gap becomes visible in every sale file. Our read: how buyers, lenders and insurers price a missing report is not yet settled, but the disclosure itself is certain, and it is the council of record that carries it.
Approved one at a time, dedicated 40A charger circuits exhaust a building’s capacity, BC Hydro’s own program lead has said so plainly.10 The report is also now the gate on money: since July 15, 2026 BC Hydro requires a building-level plan, an EPR, EV Ready Plan or Opportunity Assessment, before a strata can access standalone charger rebates.9
Only designated B.C. professionals may complete an EPR, and the eligible list depends on your building type. Since October 27, 2025 it also includes professional licensees (engineering) and certified technicians.1
P.Eng or Professional Licensee (Engineering), or an AScT / Certified Technician registered with ASTTBC.1
All of the above, or a journeyperson in the construction or industrial electrician trade.1
Current capacity of the electrical system · a list of existing demands including EV charging, heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting · an estimate of peak demand and spare capacity · an estimate of the capacity needed for future demands such as EV charging and heat pumps · recommendations for demand management, plus the preparer’s qualifications, errors-and-omissions coverage and relationship to the strata.2 Provincial guidance expects the underlying site visit to have been completed within the last 24 months.7
An electrical P.Eng and a Red Seal construction electrician on staff — so we sign Part 3 and Part 9 buildings without subcontracting the credential.
Ring-fenced 2026 EPR capacity, staffed by two field technicians and two dedicated report writers. Portfolios are batched and scheduled as one block.
Strata service calls behind us. We know CRD electrical rooms — the 1970s James Bay towers and the Westshore townhouse blocks alike.
Delivered before December 31, 2026 for any strata that signs by October 3, 2026.
Fixed price, no scope creep. One number in the proposal, and it is the number on the invoice.
We handle the BC Hydro data request — the step that most often blows the timeline.
We draft your SGM package — funding resolution wording, agenda and a plain-language owner one-pager.
EV Ready and rebate roadmap included at no extra cost with every EPR.
Fixed-price proposals from on request, priced by building type and lot count.
We scope the building from your plan number, issue the fixed price, and hand council the resolution wording and owner explainer.
One visit: service and switchgear survey, panel schedules, suite sampling, parkade routing photographed for the rebate file.
A sealed Regulation 5.11 report, a costed capacity roadmap, and the rebate sequence in the order BC Hydro wants it filed.
Councils rarely hear this part before they vote. Since July 15, 2026 BC Hydro will not release strata charger rebates without a building-level plan on file9 — so the compliance document you already owe is what unlocks the money.
Up to 75% of an EV Ready Plan, to a $3,000 maximum — the planning work that pairs with your EPR.9
Up to 50% of infrastructure and installation at $600 per parking stall, to a $120,000 cap per project.8
Up to half the purchase and installation cost of the chargers themselves, on top of the infrastructure rebate.8
| Building | Stalls | Infrastructure | + Planning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westshore townhouse row | 18 | $10,800 | $13,800 |
| Mid-rise, single parkade level | 45 | $27,000 | $30,000 |
| Downtown tower, two levels | 120 | $72,000 | $75,000 |
Illustrative only — stalls × $600 plus the planning maximum, assuming eligible scope and available funding. Every rebate is also capped at 50% of what the work actually costs, so the real figure depends on your quotes; we model your building’s number as part of the report.
Two things that decide whether you keep it. Funding is offered while funding lasts and the caps change8 — stratas that plan in 2026 are queuing ahead of the buildings that wait for a January scramble. And approving chargers one owner at a time, without a plan, spends the capacity the rebates were going to pay to build properly.10
Portfolio managers: send the list. We will batch-price every uncontracted building at once.
Rebate caps and program terms change and funding is while-funding-lasts — confirm at application. General information, not legal advice.
