Elite Contracting Ltd. renovates condos, apartments and townhomes in Vancouver strata buildings, working from our shop at 10220 120 St in Surrey. One insured crew handles the strata approval paperwork, the city permits, the trades and the finishing, inside the building’s own rules.
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Elite Contracting Ltd. renovates condos, apartments and townhomes in Vancouver, British Columbia, working from a shop in Surrey, BC. Strata work is different from house work in one specific way: before the job starts, the permission has to come from two places, your strata corporation and the City of Vancouver.
Under the Schedule of Standard Bylaws in B.C.’s Strata Property Act, an owner must obtain the written approval of the strata corporation before making an alteration to a strata lot that involves the structure of a building, its exterior, doors, windows or skylights, balconies or railings, common property inside the strata lot boundaries, or the parts of the lot the strata must insure. The strata corporation must not unreasonably withhold approval, but it may require the owner to agree in writing to take responsibility for expenses relating to the alteration.
We prepare the scope and drawings that approval process needs, then run the build inside the building’s noise and access rules. Estimates cost nothing, and the form on this page starts one.
Reviewed by Ranbir Bagri, Owner, Elite Contracting Ltd.
Inside a strata lot you can usually renovate kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, lighting and built-ins, and often move non-structural interior walls, provided the strata approves the alteration and the city issues any permit the work needs. Here is what we take on:
From a single bathroom to a whole unit down to the studs, Elite Contracting Ltd. runs the project under one contract, one schedule, and one workmanship warranty. See how we work as a general contractor in Vancouver, or browse every home renovation service we offer.
In a strata building the walls, the pipes and the hallway outside your door are not all yours, and the rules that govern them sit in provincial law and in your building’s own filed bylaws. A contractor who works in these buildings plans around that from the estimate onward.
Standard Bylaw 5 requires an owner to obtain the strata corporation’s written approval before altering a strata lot in listed ways, and Standard Bylaw 6 requires it before altering common property. The strata may make that approval conditional on the owner agreeing in writing to carry the expenses. We give you the scope and detail those submissions need.
The Standard Bylaws apply except to the extent that different bylaws are filed in the Land Title Office. Stratas can amend theirs by a three-quarters vote and file the change, so we read your building’s actual filed bylaws rather than assume.
Standard Bylaw 3 says an owner, tenant, occupant or visitor must not use a strata lot or common property in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard, causes unreasonable noise, or unreasonably interferes with other people’s use and enjoyment. We schedule demolition and cutting inside the hours your building sets.
The City of Vancouver requires a permit for drywall repairs to fire separations in multi-unit residential buildings, and for moving plumbing, electrical or gas lines. In a tower those systems are shared, so the work is planned around risers and shutoffs rather than treated like a detached house.
Elevator bookings, loading bay windows, protection for lobbies and corridors and a route for demolition waste are all part of the schedule in a Vancouver tower. In the West End, where the 2016 census counted about 47,200 people across 1.98 square kilometres, that logistics plan is the difference between a smooth job and a complaint.
We work from 10220 120 St in Surrey, on the Scott Road corridor. Crews reach Vancouver in roughly 30 to 45 minutes by Highway 91 and the Knight Street Bridge, or Highway 99 through the George Massey Tunnel. Renovation permits go through the City of Vancouver, and we prepare those applications as part of the job.
A condo renovation in Vancouver can need approval from your strata, a permit from the city, both, or neither. They are separate gates and one never substitutes for the other. Here is how common work falls out.
| Strata written approval | City of Vancouver permit | |
|---|---|---|
| New flooring, cabinets or fixtures | Often yes for flooring, because many buildings file their own bylaws on floor coverings and sound transmission. Check your filed bylaws. | No. The city lists replacing fixtures, cabinets or flooring among the projects that do not require a permit. |
| Moving a non-structural interior wall | Usually yes, and always if the wall touches common property inside your strata lot boundaries. | Yes. Renovation projects that include moving interior walls require a permit. |
| Relocating plumbing or electrical | Yes where it affects common property or the parts of the lot the strata must insure. | Yes. Moving existing plumbing, electrical or gas lines requires a permit. |
| Anything structural, or the exterior, windows or balcony | Yes. Standard Bylaw 5 names the structure of a building, its exterior, doors, windows and skylights, and balconies and railings. | Yes. Structural work and new construction require a permit. |
| Repairing drywall in a fire separation | Yes where the assembly is common property or is insured by the strata. | Yes. The city specifically lists drywall repairs to fire separations in multi-unit residential buildings as permit work. |
We measure the unit and read your building’s filed bylaws and rules, so the scope we price is a scope your strata can actually approve.
You get a written estimate plus the scope, drawings and trade details the strata needs to give written approval of the alteration.
We prepare the City of Vancouver applications, book the elevator and access windows with building management, then run demolition, mechanical, drywall and finishing inside the permitted hours.
We book the city inspections, review the unit with you, clear the deficiency list, and back the work with our workmanship warranty.
Approval paperwork, elevator bookings, access windows and noise hours are planned into the schedule instead of discovered on day one.
One client called us in for fire rating compliance work and passed their fire inspection afterwards. In multi-unit buildings that side of the job is not optional.
Framing, electrical coordination, plumbing, drywall, paint and tile run under our roof, which matters when your access to the building is a booked window.
Clients across Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and the rest of Metro Vancouver rate us 5.0. Read them before you call, they say more than we can.
Send us the unit and what you want changed. We will read your building’s rules, price the work in writing, and give you a scope your strata can approve.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google
I hired Elite Contracting to complete full renovations of a townhome I had just purchased in Burnaby. They upgraded both bathrooms, the kitchen, replaced all flooring and painted the entire 1,200 square feet unit. All of this work was completed in just 2 weeks. Ranbir is excellent to work with - he is responsive, he provided a reasonable budget and was open to negotiations, and he did the work within budget and schedule.
Karen Oliveira · Google reviewI was very satisfied with Elite Contracting. They were extremely fast, the intervention was completed in less than 48 hours. The team was very professional, especially regarding fire rating compliance. Thanks to their work, I passed my fire inspection successfully. I would definitely recommend them.
Baptiste CABAL · Google reviewThey handled everything from design adjustments to construction with care, staying on schedule and within budget. What really stood out was how they coordinated all trades (electrical, plumbing, flooring, painting) seamlessly, which made the whole process stress-free for us.
Rajdeep Kaur · Google reviewA Vancouver condo is one part of a service area that covers the whole region. Pick your city to see how we work where you live.
Elite Contracting Ltd. works out of 10220 120 Street, Surrey, BC V3V 4G1, on the Scott Road corridor. Crews cross into Vancouver by Highway 91 and the Knight Street Bridge, or Highway 99 through the George Massey Tunnel, in roughly 30 to 45 minutes.
The service area the owner lists is Surrey, Delta, White Rock, Richmond, Vancouver and West Vancouver.
