Strata Manager vs. Building Manager

These two roles are not interchangeable!  Both the Strata Manager and the Caretaker, sometimes called “Building Manager”, work in very different roles.  I often hear from Council Members and Owners that their expectations of a Strata Manager are to be on site regularly, walk around the property, let contractors into the building, supervise service work, take pictures, and prepare a report as per the visual inspection.

While Strata Managers do visit their Stratas for specific reasons, the aforementioned tasks are part of a job description for a Caretaker/Building Manager and not for a Strata Manager. Yes, it’s true; not all Strata communities can afford a site Building Manager, as it is cost-prohibitive for smaller buildings with a smaller budget. However, that does not mean that the Strata Manager should take on those extra duties. 

You want to think of a management company as a managing agent; keyword: “Agent”.  Under the Strata Management license and also under the Managing Broker’s license, the management company must fulfil three main service criteria fiduciary duties, which are:

Financial Management of the Strata Corporation, which includes preparation of the monthly Financial Statements; managing the Strata’s two trust accounts (Operating and Contingency Reserve Fund accounts); collecting Strata Fees, Special Levies, applying fines & user fees to Owners’ ledgers; paying service providers, which can also include payroll services for Strata employees; and also drafting the next fiscal year’s budget for Council’s approval. Any other administration-related costs are also managed by the management company.

Building Management and the day-to-day operations of the Strata building are also coordinated by the Strata Manager from his or her office, as it was approved by the Owners through the operating budget at the last Annual General Meeting.  The Strata Manager must also take direction from the duly elected Strata Council, and if anything falls outside of a regular maintenance contract, it must be approved by the Council.  That means that Council Members must also contribute their time and actively take part in site inspections and also meet with service providers as needed (especially in buildings, where there is no Building Manager).

People Management or customer service is also one of the biggest parts of the Strata Manager’s job.  Each day the management company receives hundreds, if not thousands of phone calls and emails from Owners, Councils and Service Providers.  Responding to correspondence in a timely fashion, helping to resolve issues and helping to conclude workflows is key for any management company to build a good reputation.  Therefore, Strata Managers’ time is best spent in their offices, coordinating work with service providers, facilitating workflows, writing Minutes, drafting budgets, paying invoices, completing Council’s action items, and providing customer service to Owners. 

Once we set our expectations realistically around Strata Management and once, we understand the separation of duties between the different roles, we can all move forward with more confidence and with less stress to accomplish all our goals in the best interest of the Strata Corporation.