Before renting your strata lot you should ensure you have the right to rent your strata lot. How do you know if you're allowed to rent? The first place to look is your Strata Corporation bylaws. Every Strata Corporation has bylaws and should have a section for rentals. In the rental section it will outline how many units are allowed to be rented and how the Strata Corporation administers the approval process. After granting permission the Strata Corporation should  advise in writing you have been approved to rent your strata lot.   

If your Strata Corporation doesn’t have a bylaw restricting rentals you should be allowed to rent. Owners should confirm with the Strata Corporation to ensure they have read the bylaws correctly. 

If your strata lot was built after December of 2009 you should review the Form J for your strata lot. Properties built in 2010 and beyond have restrictions on when they can implement rental restriction bylaws indicated by a time frame stated on the Form J. 

Strata Corporations with rental restrictions could still permit renting your property, as the Strata Property Act outlines certain exemptions. Sections 142 and 144 of the Strata Property Act outlines allowable exemptions when a rental restriction bylaw exists. 

One exemption is “family”, the definition of family is identified in the section 8.1 of the Strata Property regulations. Family includes immediate family of the owner, a spouse, a child or parent of the owner or spouse. This description of family excludes siblings, cousins and other family members. 

Hardship is another exemption for allowing rentals. This is a process where an owner applies to the Strata Corporation requesting permission to rent due to hardship. Strata Corporations would review the application and decide if they will allow the rental for hardship reasons.  

Even a building with a rental restriction could have many renters. Review your documents and confirm with your Strata Corporation before renting your Strata lot. 

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