The most common version of “I read the depreciation report” we hear from BC council members is: they opened the executive summary, scanned the 30-year cash-flow chart, and put the binder on the shelf. That’s not council malpractice — it’s a 110-page document and most of the methodology section was written for other practitioners, not for you.

Below are the 8 numbers that actually matter. If a treasurer can recite these from memory, the council can have an intelligent conversation about CRF strategy, special levies, and capital planning for the next five years. If they can’t, they’re flying blind regardless of how thick the report is.

1. The minimum CRF balance in years 1–30

Skip the year-30 ending balance. The number that matters is the lowest point the CRF reaches across the 30-year projection, under each of the three scenarios.

A healthy CRF stays well above zero across the full window. A tight one dips to nearly zero in one or two specific years (usually when a big-ticket envelope or plumbing project is scheduled). A failing one goes negative.

Find this number for each of the three CRF scenarios in your report. Note which years the troughs hit.

2. The year of the first trough

The year your CRF first hits its low point is the year you have to plan for now. If it’s year 8 and you’re approving budgets one year at a time, you have eight budget cycles to bend the trajectory. If it’s year 3, you have a special-levy conversation to have at the next AGM.

The first-trough year is often quietly mentioned in the methodology section but rarely highlighted in the executive summary. Make your treasurer find it.

3. The three CRF contribution levels modelled

Your report runs three scenarios at three different annual contribution levels. Note what those three levels are, per unit per year. (Most reports state contributions in aggregate; divide by your unit count to get the per-unit picture, because that’s the number your owners will see on their strata fee statement.)

These three numbers anchor every conversation about strata fee increases. They are also the only numbers in the report that you, the council, control.

4. The total replacement cost of major components

Somewhere in the asset register, the report totals up the current replacement cost of all major components — roof, envelope, plumbing, mechanical, elevators, and so on. This is not the same as the building’s insurance replacement value (the insurance number includes finishes, fixtures, soft costs, and demolition that the depreciation register doesn’t).

But the number is useful for two reasons. First, it gives you a reality-check on what the strata is, financially, in current dollars. Second, if your insurance limit is materially below this number, it’s a sign your insurance valuation is overdue.

5. The largest three component spends in the next 10 years

Glance at the 30-year expenditure schedule. List the three biggest line items in years 1–10. For most BC stratas, these will be some combination of:

• Roof or roof-membrane replacement
• Envelope or window-system work
• Plumbing re-pipe
• Elevator modernisation (if applicable)
• Major mechanical (boiler, HVAC, fan-coil)
• Parking-garage waterproofing (for buildings with one)

These three items are the projects your council will be planning, scoping, and contracting in the medium term. They drive everything else: the CRF policy, the borrowing decision, the special-levy conversation, the choice of when to engage a separate building envelope consultant.

6. The construction-cost inflation assumption

Buried in the methodology section is the assumption your preparer used for construction-cost inflation. Common 2026 ranges are 3.5%–5.5% per year. The lower end is optimistic; the upper end matches what BC contractors are actually quoting on multi-year capital projects.

This single assumption has enormous leverage on the 30-year projection. A report run at 3% inflation paints a much rosier picture than the same report at 5%. If your report assumes 3% or lower, ask your preparer to also model 5% as a sensitivity — most will do this for free.

7. The investment-return assumption

The other big assumption is what your CRF earns sitting in the bank. Most BC stratas hold the CRF in a high-interest savings account, a money-market account, or a GIC ladder. As of 2026, 2.5%–4% is the realistic range. Anything above 4% is aggressive and probably reflects an assumption about CRF investment policy your strata doesn’t actually have.

The combination of (6) and (7) is what your CRF model is really doing under the hood. If your inflation assumption is high and your investment return is low, every scenario is pessimistic. If it’s the reverse, every scenario is optimistic. Know which one your report is doing.

8. The funding gap relative to scenario 2

Most BC reports present three scenarios: status-quo contributions (often inadequate), gradual contribution increases (the middle path), and aggressive fully-funded contributions (the safest path). Scenario 2 is the one most councils end up adopting.

Note the gap, in per-unit-per-year dollars, between what your strata is currently contributing and what Scenario 2 requires. That gap is your contribution increase — and it’s the number you’ll be presenting to owners at the AGM when you ask them to vote.

If the gap is small (under $200 per unit per year), it’s a soft AGM conversation. If it’s large ($800+), it’s a special-levy-and-contribution-increase package, and you’ll want the provider in the room presenting the scenarios alongside you.

What to do with the eight

Write them down. One page. Keep it in the council binder with the report. When the AGM agenda is drafted, when the budget is reviewed, when an owner asks why the strata fees went up — the eight numbers are how you have the conversation without re-opening the binder.

If you want to stress-test the numbers your provider used, our CRF calculator lets you plug in your own assumptions and see what changes. It’s a back-of-the-envelope tool — not a replacement for the formal report — but it’s useful for testing what happens if construction inflation runs at 6% instead of 4% over the next decade.

If you haven’t commissioned a report yet, the 2026 deadline guide walks through procurement, and the matching service is the fastest path to qualified quotes.