Strata Snow Removal in British Columbia
Your Council Signs Off Once. We Handle the Winter.
Strata corporations in BC are responsible for maintaining common property, and that responsibility does not pause for weather. Invictus Snowfighters has been clearing strata roads,
parkade ramps, walkways and visitor parking across Metro Vancouver for over 30 years, with documentation your council can put in the minutes. ISO SN9001 certified, ASCA and SIMA accredited.
What Your Strata Is Actually Responsible For
If you sit on a strata council, you already know the corporation is responsible for common property. What is easy to underestimate is how much of that is outdoors, and how much of it turns hazardous in a single freezing night.
BC’s Strata Property Act requires the strata corporation to maintain and repair common property, and the Province’s guidance on those duties spells out that this includes parkades, roads and landscaping. Separately, BC’s Occupiers Liability Act places a duty on the occupier of a property to take reasonable care that people using it are reasonably safe. Neither of those obligations comes with a snow exemption.
In practice, for a typical Lower Mainland strata, that means:
Internal roads and the visitor parking area
The parkade ramp, which ices first and is the most expensive place for a car to slide
Walkways between buildings and to the mail kiosk or garbage enclosure
Entry stairs and landings
The public sidewalk bordering the property, which is a municipal requirement on top of everything above
None of this is legal advice, and your council should take its own where liability is concerned. But the operational conclusion is straightforward. Winter maintenance of common property is work the corporation owes its owners, and the record of that work is what protects the council if someone falls.
The Part Councils Get Caught By
Most councils do not get caught by the plowing. They get caught by the paperwork.
When an owner or a visitor slips on common property, the question that follows is not whether the strata had a contractor. It is whether anyone can show what was done, and when. A contractor who came sometime that morning is not a defence. A timestamped record of a visit, what was cleared and what de-icer went down, is.
Every Invictus visit is documented. Your property is assessed and mapped before the season starts, so the crew that arrives at 4 a.m. knows where the ramp drains, where the fire lane runs and which walkway is the one residents actually use. That record goes to your property manager, and it is there when your council needs it.
Book Before Your Budget Year Runs Away
Strata timing works against winter preparedness. Many BC stratas hold their AGM and approve the operating budget in the autumn, which is the same moment every other strata in the region starts calling contractors. The councils that get the best service are the ones that line up coverage before that rush, and the ones that treat snow and ice as a budgeted line item rather than an emergency expense.
We cap the number of properties we take in each service area on purpose. A contractor who signs everyone in November is a contractor who cannot reach everyone in January.
Snow Clearing Deadlines Vary by Municipality, and Your Strata Sits in One of Them
This is where generic winter advice fails strata councils. The Lower Mainland does not have one snow clearing rule.
Coquitlam gives you 10 hours from the end of a snowfall, under the Boulevard Maintenance Bylaw, and the cleared path has to accommodate a stroller or a wheelchair
District of North Vancouver holds businesses and multi-family properties to a 24 hour window, while District homeowners face a 10 a.m. deadline and a $150 fine
City of North Vancouver requires clearing within 24 hours of the snow stopping, or before accumulation exceeds 10 cm, with de-icer or salt applied
Port Moody allows 24 hours
If your strata portfolio crosses municipal boundaries, and plenty do, your buildings are on different clocks. We work to the standard that applies to each address rather than to one regional average.
De-Icing That Will Not Cost You a Landscaping Budget
Ask any strata council what their winter complaint file looks like and you will hear two things. Someone nearly fell, and the salt killed the plantings along the walkway.
Our
Easy Ice Melt product is included with every visit and contains roughly 80% fewer chlorides than traditional road salt. In practice that means less damage to landscaping, less spalling on concrete walkways and parkade decks, and less chloride running into creeks. For stratas in North Vancouver, Coquitlam and anywhere near a salmon-bearing stream, that last point tends to matter to the owners at the AGM as much as to the council. It is also LEED compliant, which helps if your building is pursuing or maintaining certification.
Why Councils Choose Invictus
30+ years operating through Lower Mainland winters, including the ones that shut the region down
ISO SN9001 certified, an internationally recognised quality standard for snow and ice management, which is unusual in this trade
ASCA and SIMA accredited crews
Equipment for multi-unit sites, from parkade-height machines to loaders for the pile that has nowhere to go by February
Documented visits, every time
Capacity caps by service area, so the commitment we make in September is one we can keep in January
Strata Properties We Cover
Townhouse complexes, low-rise and high-rise condominium buildings, mixed residential and commercial stratas, senior living communities and bare land stratas, across Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, Richmond, Surrey, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge and White Rock.
Common Questions About Strata Snow Removal in BC
Who is responsible for snow removal at a strata in BC, the owners or the corporation?
Common property is the strata corporation’s responsibility to maintain and repair under the Strata Property Act, and that includes outdoor areas like internal roads, parkades and landscaping. Individual owners are responsible for their own strata lot, and limited common property, such as a balcony assigned to one unit, is often handled differently again. Your bylaws are the place to confirm how your building splits it.
Does our strata need a snow removal contract, or can we call someone when it snows?
You can call during a storm, but you will be behind every property that arranged coverage in advance, and mid-storm is when contractors are at capacity. A contract set up before the season also means your property is assessed and mapped in advance, so service is faster when it counts.
What documentation should we expect from a snow removal contractor?
At minimum, a record of each visit with the date and time, what areas were cleared and what de-icing product was applied. If an incident happens on common property, that record is what shows your council acted reasonably. We document every visit as standard.
Will de-icing salt damage our landscaping and concrete?
Traditional road salt can do both. Our Easy Ice Melt product contains around 80% fewer chlorides, which reduces damage to plantings, walkways and parkade decks, and reduces chloride runoff into local creeks.
Do you clear the public sidewalk around our strata, or just inside the property?
Both, and it matters, because the sidewalk bordering your property is a municipal requirement with its own deadline that differs by city. We work to the deadline that applies at your address.
When should our strata book winter coverage?
Before your AGM rush if possible, and certainly before the first snowfall. We cap client numbers by service area, and the areas with the most challenging terrain fill first.
Ready to Live Stress-Free This Winter? Reserve Your Spot today.
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Get Your Strata on the List
Send us the property and we will assess and map it before the season starts, then give your council a written scope and price it can approve at a single meeting.
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