Multi-Unit Residential

What does multi-unit residential work involve?

Multi-unit residential work is contracting commissioned by the owners and managers of apartment, condominium and rental buildings — strata councils, property management firms, rental portfolio owners and developers. The occupants are residents, but the client is the building. That distinction shapes everything: budgets are approved by a council or an asset manager, the work is scheduled around a building that stays occupied and trading, and the deliverables are the same ones a commercial client expects — a written scope, a fixed programme, documented change control and a clean close-out package.

The scope divides into a few recognisable programmes. Lobby and corridor renovations, where finishes, lighting, wayfinding and life-safety devices are replaced while residents keep moving through the space. Amenity and common-area upgrades: gyms, lounges, meeting rooms, mail and parcel rooms, laundry rooms and outdoor common areas. Suite turnovers at portfolio scale, where the same specification is repeated across dozens of units on a rolling schedule. Building envelope related interior work, where remediation or window replacement requires interior make-good, drywall, finishes and reinstatement. And accessibility and code upgrades, including entry approaches, door hardware, handrails, signage and washroom fixtures in common areas.

What does the process look like, start to finish?

1. Building assessment. Walk the common areas with the manager or council representative, review existing conditions, confirm the age of finishes and services, and identify anything that requires a hazardous materials survey before demolition.
2. Scope and budget. Define the work in writing against real drawings or a finish schedule, price it in a form a council or asset manager can approve, and carry a contingency sized for the age of the building.
3. Approvals. Support the approval path the client actually uses — a council vote, an AGM or special general meeting, a depreciation-report-driven capital plan, or an owner's internal capital approval — with the documentation each requires.
4. Consultants and permits. Design or finish drawings, structural or envelope engineering where the work touches the assembly, and building, electrical, plumbing and sprinkler permits where the scope requires them.
5. Resident and tenant communication. An agreed notice schedule, posted signage, phasing plans and a single point of contact so the manager is not fielding questions the site team should answer.
6. Construction. Phased demolition and protection, hoarding and dust separation, temporary lighting and wayfinding, maintained exits, rough-in, finishes, millwork and fixtures.
7. Inspections and close-out. Municipal inspections where applicable, a joint deficiency walk with the manager or council, correction, then handover with warranties, maintenance guidance and as-built information for the building's records.

What drives the cost of a multi-unit residential project?

• Occupancy. A building that keeps operating throughout dictates phasing, off-hours work and repeated setup and breakdown, all of which cost productivity.
• Access and logistics. Elevator bookings, loading bay windows, limited on-site storage and parking constraints often set the programme before the scope does.
• Life safety. Maintained exits, sprinkler and alarm devices, emergency lighting and fire separations must stay compliant at every stage of the work, not just at completion.
• The age and condition of the building. Concealed conditions behind corridor walls and ceilings — older wiring, abandoned services, asbestos-containing materials — are the most common source of change.
• Repetition at scale. Suite turnover programmes reward a fixed specification and a rolling schedule; one-off variations across units erode that advantage quickly.
• Long-lead items. Lighting, tile, carpet, doors, hardware and millwork commonly set the finish date on common-area work.
• Approval timelines. Council or asset-manager approval cycles are part of the schedule and should be planned for rather than absorbed later.

What permits and approvals apply in Vancouver and Metro Vancouver?

Work that alters structure, fire separations, sprinkler or alarm coverage, plumbing, electrical or the building envelope requires a building permit and the relevant trade permits. Purely cosmetic finish replacement in a common area frequently does not, but the boundary is worth confirming in writing before the work is scheduled. The City of Vancouver administers its own building by-law, and requirements differ across Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, New Westminster, North Vancouver and West Vancouver. Provincially, the BC Building Code sets the technical baseline for exiting, fire separations, accessibility in common areas and mechanical ventilation.

Alongside the municipal path there is a governance path. Strata work runs through bylaws, council approval and, for larger capital items, a general meeting vote, the depreciation report and the contingency reserve fund. Rental and purpose-built portfolios run through an internal capital approval and, where suites are affected, the notice requirements of the Residential Tenancy Act. Confirm both paths before fixing a start date, because the slower of the two governs.

How long does a multi-unit residential project take?

For common-area work, approvals, drawings and material lead times usually exceed the time on site. A single lobby is typically a matter of weeks; corridors are priced and programmed floor by floor; suite turnover programmes run continuously against a rolling schedule rather than to a single completion date. Faster projects have finishes selected and approved before mobilisation, permits in hand before trades are booked, long-lead items ordered early, and an agreed access and elevator schedule. Slower projects are delayed by mid-project scope changes, concealed conditions, approval cycles that were not built into the programme, and access that was assumed rather than confirmed.

Keeping the building occupied during construction

Residents stay, so the work adapts. That means hoarding and dust separation with negative air where required, protected floors, elevators and stairs, maintained and clearly signed exits at all times, temporary lighting and wayfinding in corridors under work, secure overnight conditions with no tools or materials left in circulation areas, daily cleanup, and work hours set by the municipal noise bylaw and the building's own rules — most Metro Vancouver municipalities restrict construction noise to weekday daytime hours, and many buildings narrow that further. Service shutdowns for water, power or elevators are scheduled with the manager and noticed to residents in advance rather than announced on the day.

Common mistakes, and what to check before signing

• Pricing a corridor or lobby from photographs instead of a walk-through, then discovering the ceiling and services during demolition.
• No contingency on a building over 30 years old, where concealed conditions are the rule rather than the exception.
• Treating council or asset-manager approval as instantaneous and losing weeks from the programme.
• Selecting finishes during construction, which stalls trades and triggers change orders across every remaining phase.
• Overlooking life-safety implications — exiting, fire separations, sprinkler coverage — in favour of visible finishes.
• Comparing bids that do not cover the same scope, the same phasing assumptions or the same after-hours allowance.

Before signing, confirm the written scope, the allowances and exclusions, who applies for permits, the phasing and access assumptions the schedule depends on, the resident notice plan, the change order process, the payment and progress draw schedule, and the close-out deliverables including the deficiency list and warranty terms.

Frequently asked questions

Who do you work for on multi-unit residential projects?

Strata councils, property management firms, rental building owners and developers. We contract with the building owner or manager, not with individual residents.

Do you take on individual homeowner renovations?

No. Our residential work is building-scale contracting for owners and managers — lobbies, corridors, amenity spaces, common areas and suite turnover programmes.

Can the building stay occupied during the work?

Yes, and it usually does. We phase the work, hoard it off, maintain exits and elevator access, and set work hours with the manager so residents keep using the building throughout.

Do common-area renovations need a permit?

Once structure, fire separations, sprinkler or alarm coverage, plumbing, electrical or the envelope are involved, yes. Cosmetic finish replacement often does not. Confirm the specific scope with the municipality before starting.

How are suite turnovers priced at portfolio scale?

Against a fixed specification repeated across units on a rolling schedule, which gives predictable unit pricing. Variations per unit are priced separately so the base programme stays comparable.

Where do you work?

Across Metro Vancouver, including Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Coquitlam and New Westminster.

Related reading

• Commercial renovation strategies in Metro Vancouver
• How contractors handle permits in Metro Vancouver
• How to review contractor bids: a property owner's guide
• Case study: 100 Park Royal lobby renovation, West Vancouver

How do I get a project priced?

Send the scope, the address and any drawings you already have to info@multigroup.ca, call 778-819-5933, or use the quote request form. Multigroup Contracting has operated as a general contractor out of Suite 700 - 838 West Hastings Street in Vancouver since 2016, and works across Metro Vancouver including Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Coquitlam and New Westminster.