Your Strata's EPR Deadline Is December 31, 2026 — Here's What to Do

You're at a council meeting and someone mentions that your strata needs an "electrical planning report" by the end of next year. Half the table has never heard of it. The other half thinks it might be optional. Your property manager says something vague about "looking into it." Meanwhile, the deadline is already closer than you think.

Here's the short version: if your strata has 5 or more lots and is located in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, or the Capital Regional District, you are legally required to have an electrical planning report (EPR) completed by December 31, 2026. You cannot vote to skip it. There is no opt-out.

Now let's break down what that actually means and what your council needs to do about it.

What exactly is an electrical planning report?

An EPR is a report prepared by a licensed electrician or electrical engineer that looks at your building's electrical system and tells you how much capacity you have — and how much you'd need — to support EV chargers.

Under section 90.2 of the Strata Property Act (the part added by Bill 22 in 2023), stratas are required to get this done so that when owners inevitably ask to install chargers, your building isn't starting from zero.

Think of it as an x-ray of your building's electrical backbone. It tells you things like how many amps your panels can handle, where the capacity bottlenecks are, and roughly what it would cost to upgrade if 20% or 50% of your stalls needed a charger.

It's a one-time requirement. You get it done once and you're compliant. You don't need to redo it every year.

Does my strata actually need one?

If your strata has 5 or more strata lots, yes. That covers the vast majority of condo buildings and townhouse complexes in BC.

The deadline depends on where you are:

• December 31, 2026 for stratas in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Regional District, and the Capital Regional District (Victoria and surrounding municipalities)
• December 31, 2028 for stratas in the rest of BC

If you're in a 40-unit building in Burnaby, you need one by end of 2026. If you're in a 6-unit townhouse complex in Kelowna, you have until 2028. But either way, you need one.

And no, your strata cannot vote to exempt itself. Section 90.2 of the Strata Property Act makes this a mandatory requirement. A 3/4 vote, a unanimous vote, even a strongly worded letter to your MLA — none of it gets you out of this. The legislation doesn't include a mechanism for opting out.

What happens if we miss the deadline?

This is the question everyone asks, and the answer is more complicated than a simple fine.

There is no explicit fine written into the legislation for missing the EPR deadline. The government hasn't set up an enforcement regime where someone shows up on January 1, 2027 and hands you a penalty notice.

But here's what does happen: section 90.1 of the Strata Property Act activates regardless. That's the section that gives individual owners the right to request EV charger installation. Under section 90.1, that right kicks in either when your EPR is complete OR when the deadline passes — whichever comes first.

So if your strata doesn't have an EPR by December 31, 2026, owners can still submit charger requests starting January 1, 2027. Your council will have 3 months to respond to each one (per the Strata Property Regulation, section 5.7). And you'll be responding without the electrical data an EPR would have given you. You'll be making decisions about charger installations with no idea what your building's electrical system can actually handle.

That's a recipe for expensive mistakes, liability exposure, and very frustrated owners on both sides of the EV debate.

How much does an EPR cost?

The cost depends on the size and complexity of your building. Here are realistic ranges based on what providers are currently quoting:

• Small townhouse complex (5–20 lots): $1,500–$3,000
• Mid-size condo building (20–75 lots): $2,000–$5,000
• Large highrise (75+ lots): $4,000–$8,000

What drives the price up? Older buildings with outdated electrical panels, buildings with multiple electrical rooms, parkades with limited conduit pathways, and anything where the original electrical drawings are missing. If your building was built in the 1980s and nobody can find the as-built drawings, expect to be at the higher end.

What drives it down? Newer buildings (post-2018ish) often have better electrical documentation and more capacity already built in. Some EPR providers offer volume discounts for strata management companies bringing multiple buildings at once.

One thing to flag: the BC Hydro EV Ready Plan rebate can cover up to 75% of the cost of an EV Ready Plan, to a maximum of $3,000. An EV Ready Plan is a different document than an EPR (more on that in a future article), but some providers bundle them together, and getting both done at once can save you money.

So how do you pay for it? You have two options, and Bill 22 made both easier than they used to be. Your council can approve the expenditure from the operating fund with a majority vote at a council meeting — no special general meeting required. Or you can use the contingency reserve fund (CRF), which under the Bill 22 amendments now requires only a majority vote (more than 50%) at a general meeting for EV-related spending, rather than the 3/4 vote that used to apply. (See section 96 of the Strata Property Act as amended.)

For a building where the EPR will cost $3,000–$5,000, most councils fund it from the operating budget and move on. If the cost is $6,000+, it might make more sense to take it from the CRF with an owner vote.

Here's sample motion language you can adapt for your AGM or special general meeting:

"RESOLVED THAT the strata corporation approve expenditure of up to $[amount] from the [operating fund / contingency reserve fund] for the preparation of an electrical planning report as required under section 90.2 of the Strata Property Act, and that the council be authorized to select a qualified provider."

How long does it take, and who does the work?

Longer than you'd think. Budget 3 to 4 months from start to finish.

The report itself takes most providers 4–6 weeks to prepare once they have the information they need. But before they can start, they usually need to request your building's electrical load data from BC Hydro. That request takes 2–8 weeks depending on BC Hydro's backlog.

And here's the part that should worry you: as the December 2026 deadline gets closer, both EPR providers and BC Hydro are going to get busier. If you're a council reading this in mid-2026, you're already in the window where delays start stacking up.

The math is simple. If you start the process in September 2026, you need 2–8 weeks for BC Hydro data plus 4–6 weeks for the report. Best case, that's 6 weeks. Worst case, that's 14 weeks — which puts you past the deadline.

Start now. Or at least start this quarter.

The legislation requires your EPR to be prepared by either a licensed electrician or a professional electrical engineer. In practice, most are done by electrical engineering firms that specialize in multi-unit residential buildings. Some electrical contractors also offer them, particularly for smaller townhouse complexes.

A few things to check when getting quotes:

• Confirm they've done EPRs for buildings similar to yours (highrise vs. townhouse vs. wood-frame condo — these are very different electrically)
• Ask whether the quote includes the BC Hydro load data request or if that's separate
• Ask about their current turnaround time, not the standard one. Timelines are stretching as demand increases.
• Check if they also offer EV Ready Plans, in case you want to bundle both and access the rebate

Your property manager may have a preferred provider. That's fine as a starting point, but get at least two quotes. Prices vary more than you'd expect. (And yes, your property manager probably charges you $150–$200/hour to coordinate this kind of thing. Knowing what you're asking for before you call them saves everyone time and money.)

What should we do right now?

If you're on a strata council in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, or the Capital Region, here's your action list:

Put the EPR on the agenda for your next council meeting. It doesn't need a special general meeting to get started — council can authorize getting quotes and requesting BC Hydro data.

Get two or three quotes from EPR providers. Give them your building's address, number of lots, number of parking stalls, and age of the building. That's enough for a ballpark quote.

Request your BC Hydro load data now, or ask your EPR provider to do it as part of their scope. This is the single biggest bottleneck in the process. The sooner you request it, the sooner everything else can move.

Don't wait for your AGM if it's months away. Council has the authority to spend from the operating fund for this. If the cost exceeds what's reasonable from operating, schedule a special general meeting and use the sample motion above.

Check where your building stands right now — it takes 5 minutes. Take the free compliance check →

The deadline isn't moving. But the queue for EPR providers is getting longer every month. The councils that started early are the ones that won't be scrambling in November.

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your strata, consult a strata lawyer or your property manager.