Building Settings
What each building setting controls, who can change it, how settings changes interact with manager approvals, and how to review or change settings by asking eConcierge.
Building settings control how Pastrata behaves for your building: which features are on, the rules residents follow when they use them, and which manager roles can perform each management action. Settings live on the Building Settings page, one card per area. Managers who can view settings but not edit them see each value without a control.
Required Roles & Capabilities
Access to these features depends on your building role and assigned capabilities:
| Capability | Description | Default Roles |
|---|---|---|
BUILDING_SETTINGS_VIEW | View building settings | PROPERTY_MANAGEMENT, STRATA_COUNCIL |
BUILDING_SETTINGS_EDIT | Edit building configuration | PROPERTY_MANAGEMENT |
Quickstart (Getting Started)
- Go to Management > Settings.
- Find the card for the area you want to change, such as Bookings or Fee Collection.
- Turn the setting on or off, or enter a new value. Changes save as soon as you make them.
- If your building requires approvals, a Change submitted for approval notice links to the request. The change takes effect once another manager approves it.
Step-by-Step Guides
How to Ask eConcierge about building settings (Property Managers & Council)
Get the live value of any setting, what it does, and where to change it, in plain language.
- Open eConcierge and ask a question such as "Can residents cancel their own bookings?", "What does open join do?", or "Which roles can send notices?".
- eConcierge reads your building's current settings and explains each relevant one: what it does, its current and default values, and the values it accepts.
- Follow the link in the answer to open the matching card on the Building Settings page.
How to Change building settings with eConcierge (Property Managers)
Ask eConcierge to make a change. Nothing changes until you confirm.
- Ask eConcierge for the change, for example "Set the booking cancellation cutoff to 12 hours" or "Turn off open join".
- Review the confirmation card. It lists each setting that will change and its new value.
- Click Confirm to apply the change, or Cancel to discard it.
- If your building requires a second manager to approve settings changes, the card says so. Confirming creates an approval request instead of applying the change.
Pro-Tip: eConcierge can only make changes you could make yourself on the Settings page. If you can view settings but not edit them, eConcierge explains them but will not change them.
Pro-Tip: Settings for features your building's plan doesn't include can't be changed until the plan includes them.
How to Require a second manager to approve settings changes (Property Managers & Council)
Use Manager Approvals so no single manager can change building settings alone.
- Go to Management > Settings > Manager Approvals.
- Turn on Require approvals for manager actions. Your building needs at least two active managers.
- Optionally, open the per-category settings to require approval only for some categories of action.
- From then on, settings changes create an approval request. Managers who can approve management actions are notified and can approve or reject it.
Key Concepts & Building Policies
What each section controls
Manager Approvals: whether sensitive manager actions (membership changes, outbound messages, financial actions, settings changes) need a second manager, overall or per category. Inbox: resident requests, whether they require verified membership, maintenance requests, and whether residents see common area issues reported by others. Package Tracking: package logging and the uncollected-package reminder delay (0 turns reminders off, up to 168 hours). Front Desk: on Prime, whether the building runs a front desk; turn it off in a building with no concierge and the concierge hub, guest passes and front-desk menu entries go away. Membership: open join without an invitation. Resident Verification: whether owners can verify their own residents, and whether residents can upload proof documents. eConcierge: the AI assistant, whether answers may reference community posts, whether answers may include Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) decisions (on Prime in British Columbia; turning it off removes CRT decisions for everyone in the building, including the similar-decision lists managers see on requests and violation cases), and an optional custom disclaimer of up to 500 characters. Members see the disclaimer as a note from the building above their eConcierge conversation, on web and mobile. Clear the text and save to remove it.
Meetings, bookings, fees, payments, violations and e-signature settings
Meetings: meeting facilitation, weighted voting by unit entitlement (not offered in British Columbia, where each lot has one vote unless the strata plan's Schedule of Voting Rights sets others), the media jurisdiction (Global, or Canadian strict residency where Pastrata has enabled it for the building), and voice intent detection (language, confidence threshold, auto-dismiss timeout, auto-confirmed and double-confirmation intents, muting during in-camera sessions). Bookings: amenity booking, verified-only bookings, resident self-cancellation, the cancellation cutoff (0–168 hours), and how far ahead residents can book (0–365 days; 0 means no limit). Fee Collection: fee collection, accepted payment methods (card always; pre-authorized debit and bank transfer optional), default due day, late fees (annual percentage, grace period, optional cap), reminder and overdue-notice days, and passing card or bank fees to owners. Payments: one-time resident payments, minimum amount, partial refunds, and the auto-refund window. Violations: violation tracking, resident reporting, resolution deadline, and auto-escalation. E-Signature: e-signature requests and the monthly alert threshold.
Manager permissions
Under Manager permissions you choose which manager roles (Property Management, Strata Council, Concierge) can perform each management action. Reset an action to return it to the platform default. Some actions are fixed by the platform and cannot be reassigned.
Settings changes and manager approvals
When your building requires approvals and has at least two active managers, a settings change is not applied right away: Pastrata creates an approval request and notifies the managers who can approve. If it is rejected or expires, nothing changes. While a change to a section is waiting for approval, other changes to that section are blocked until it is resolved. This applies everywhere settings can be changed: the web app, the mobile app, and eConcierge. Turning approvals off is itself a settings change, so it also needs a second manager while approvals are on.
Settings managed elsewhere
Expense categories and financial transparency are set from Finances, rent collection from Leases, and accounting through its extension. These are not on the Building Settings page.
Jurisdiction not set
Pastrata applies the law of your building's province or state, which it takes from the building's city. If your building isn't linked to one, statutory guidance is off: Pastrata cites no legislation and offers no province- or state-specific steps, such as certificates or lien filing. Managers who can view settings see a Jurisdiction not set notice on the Building Settings page and where one of those steps would otherwise appear. You can't set the jurisdiction yourself; use Contact support in the notice and Pastrata support will link your building. A building whose law simply doesn't provide for a step shows no notice; the step just isn't offered.
Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting
Why did my settings change not take effect?
Your building requires a second manager to approve settings changes. The change takes effect once another manager approves the request. You'll find it under pending approvals.
Can eConcierge change settings for me?
Yes, if you are allowed to edit building settings. eConcierge shows a confirmation card first, and it follows the same approval rules as the Settings page.
Why does my building say "Jurisdiction not set"?
Your building isn't linked to a province or state, so Pastrata isn't showing statutory guidance or jurisdiction-specific steps. Managers can't change this themselves. Contact Pastrata support from the notice to have it set.
Who can change building settings?
By default, property managers can change settings, and property managers and council members can view them. Your building can change this under Manager permissions.