British Columbia's housing market continues to innovate, offering creative ownership models for diverse buyers.

This is the fourth column in my series about home ownership in B.C. The first outlined options from freehold to cooperatives, the second explored fee simple freeholds’ outright independence and the third examined conventional stratas’ shared building lifestyle.

Today, I’ll dive into bare land strata, a hybrid that feels like owning a detached home but with communal ties, ideal for suburban or rural developments where privacy meets practicality.

Governed by the Strata Property Act and Bare Land Strata Regulations, bare land strata subdivides raw land into individual lots (strata lots) using survey markers. Nothing is built on the lot , the land is just chopped up.

Your strata lot is the “land parcel.” You typically own, and are responsible for, the house and improvements on that parcel, while the strata corporation owns and maintains the common property such as internal roads, sidewalks, landscaping strips, perimeter fencing, signs, community mail kiosk, gates, and any shared services (pump house, treatment plant, storm systems). Some developments add amenities such as a hall, gym or playground.

They look like regular subdivisions but the roads and parks are usually looked after by the strata, not the local........

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