BC's 'leaky condo' crisis is one of the largest housing disasters in Canadian history. Beginning in the late 1980s and continuing through the early 2000s, tens of thousands of wood-frame condominium and townhouse buildings in Greater Vancouver and across BC suffered catastrophic water damage because of a combination of design failures, construction shortcuts and cladding systems that trapped moisture in the structure.
While the peak of new construction with these defects has passed, thousands of affected buildings remain. And the same problems continue to appear in newer buildings when rainscreen systems are improperly installed. Understanding the leaky condo problem — and how to identify it — is essential for any BC property owner.
What Caused the Leaky Condo Problem?
BC's leaky condos share a set of common characteristics:
- One-coat stucco on wood framing without a drainage plane or ventilation gap behind the cladding
- Flat or low-slope roofs draining onto balconies that in turn drained onto walls
- No weather-resistant barrier behind the stucco, so any water that penetrated the surface went directly into the wall cavity
- Poorly detailed window and door perimeters — the largest single water entry point
- Inadequate flashing at parapets, decks and penetrations
The result: water got in, couldn't get out, and rotted the structural framing from inside. By the time staining appeared on interior walls, the sheathing and framing were often already severely compromised.
How to Identify a Potentially Affected Building
A building is most likely to have leaky condo characteristics if it:
- Was built between 1985 and 2000 (though some pre-1985 and post-2000 buildings are affected)
- Is clad in one-coat stucco (smooth, painted finish without visible horizontal joints)
- Has wood-frame construction (typically 4–6 storeys)
- Is located in Greater Vancouver, Victoria, the Fraser Valley or any other area of BC with a wet maritime climate
- Shows any interior moisture staining, bubbling paint or soft drywall near windows and outside walls
Newer Buildings Are Not Immune
BC building code now requires a drainage plane — a ventilated air space or drainage mat — behind all cladding. But improper installation of this system is common. Buildings with rainscreen cladding but a blocked or omitted drainage layer will accumulate moisture just like the old one-coat stucco buildings, simply more slowly. We regularly inspect buildings less than 10 years old with significant moisture in the wall assemblies.
How We Inspect for Moisture
A professional building envelope and moisture inspection uses several complementary tools:
- Infrared thermal imaging — scanning interior walls and ceilings for cool, wet zones that indicate moisture behind the surface
- Probe moisture testing — inserting moisture probes through the cladding at strategic locations to measure actual moisture content in the sheathing and framing
- Controlled water testing — applying water at specific details (window perimeters, parapets, deck-to-wall transitions) to replicate rain and confirm entry points
- Moisture mapping — producing a wall-by-wall record of moisture readings to guide remediation scope
What the Report Tells You
A professional moisture inspection report identifies:
- Which walls and elevations show elevated moisture
- The likely water entry details
- The severity and extent of moisture in the assembly
- Priority recommendations for repair or full remediation
This report is the foundation for a depreciation report, a reserve fund study, an insurance claim, or a remediation scope of work. Engineers and contractors use it to plan targeted repairs vs. full re-clad decisions.
We Do Not Fabricate Results
As a division of Anyleak.ca, LeakInspections.ca reports only what we actually find. We do not guess at moisture extent, and we do not inflate findings to support a remediation contract. Our job is accurate detection — and we provide that in a written report with photos and readings that stand up to independent review.
If you own or manage a building in BC that may be affected by the leaky condo problem, contact us at 604-239-9934 or info@Anyleak.ca to discuss a moisture inspection.