Who owns the wiring inside the walls of a Metrotown condo?

In a BC strata, the wiring inside the walls is almost always common property, not the unit owner's property. That single fact has big practical consequences: you generally cannot hire an electrician to open a wall and run new wiring in your suite without strata council approval first, and the strata corporation is responsible for maintaining that wiring under the Strata Property Act.

What the Strata Property Act actually says

The Act defines common property as everything that is not within the boundaries of a strata lot. In most strata plans, the boundary is the unfinished surface of the walls, floors and ceilings. The wiring running through the wall cavity sits outside that boundary, which puts it on the common property side. The strata's bylaws may shift some of that responsibility, so it is worth reading your specific bylaws and strata plan carefully, but the default rule favours common property.

What you typically own outright: the outlets, switches and light fixtures inside your suite, the wiring from the outlet box face inward, and your in-suite electrical panel (the breaker panel in your suite, if you have one). What the strata owns: the conductors in the wall cavities, the main electrical room, the risers feeding each floor, and the wiring in parkades and common areas.

This matters most in three situations. First, if you want to add a circuit, run new wiring or install an EV charger fed from a new circuit, you need a strata alteration agreement before an electrician can touch the walls. Second, if there is a wiring fault inside a wall, the strata is responsible for the repair cost, not you, unless your bylaws say otherwise or the damage was caused by something you did. Third, Metrotown-era high-rises (many built in the 1980s and 1990s) sometimes have moisture-related wiring damage from the leaky-condo period, and that remediation is a strata expense.

For in-suite work that stays within your strata lot boundaries, such as swapping a light fixture, replacing an outlet or adding a device on an existing circuit without opening walls, you generally do not need council approval, though checking your bylaws first is always smart.

On the permit side, Burnaby runs its own electrical permit and inspection program, separate from Technical Safety BC, so any permitted electrical work in a Burnaby strata goes through the City of Burnaby's building department. A licensed electrical contractor will know this and pull the permit on your behalf.

If you are planning any work that touches the walls or adds capacity, start with a written request to your strata council and get the alteration agreement in writing before booking an electrician. Vancouver Electrical Repair can match you with a local electrician familiar with Burnaby strata work if you are ready to get quotes.