House vs Condo vs Townhouse Renovation in Vancouver: What's Different in 2026

Metro Vancouver homeowners renovating in 2026 face a choice: which property type are you working with? A detached house, a strata condo, or a townhouse each carries different rules, costs, and constraints. This guide breaks down the renovation differences that matter so you can plan accurately regardless of your property type. The core difference is governance. Detached houses answer only to the City of Vancouver or the relevant municipality. Condos and townhouses answer to a strata corporation first and that changes everything. Strata approval adds two to six weeks to the start of any project. It can block cosmetic changes if a council votes against them and it can impose rules about contractor insurance, work hours, and noise that a house owner never encounters. Reno Stars has completed projects in all three property types across Richmond, Vancouver, Coquitlam, Delta, and North Vancouver. The step-by-step build process is the same for all three; the permissions layer on top is what varies between them.