Strata cleaning obligations: what body corporates need to know

Owners corporations and strata committees are generally responsible for keeping common property in a reasonable state of repair and cleanliness. In practice, that responsibility is usually delegated to a cleaning contractor — but knowing what "common property" actually covers, and how it's typically scoped, makes it much easier to write a contract that avoids disputes down the track.

What counts as common property

Common property in a typical strata scheme includes areas that all owners and occupants share and none of them individually own, such as:

• Foyers, lobbies, and shared entrances
• Internal hallways, corridors, and stairwells
• Lift cars and lift lobbies
• Shared laundries, garbage rooms, and recycling areas
• Car park common areas, including driveways and visitor bays
• Shared amenities such as gyms, pools, or BBQ areas, where present
• External windows and glazing on shared building faces (often scheduled separately from internal cleaning)

What sits inside an individual lot — a resident's apartment, or a tenant's leased commercial suite — is not common property and isn't the strata scheme's cleaning responsibility, even though the line between the two can get blurry around things like balconies, individual entry doors, and shared plumbing risers.

Who's actually accountable

The owners corporation (sometimes still called the body corporate) holds the underlying legal obligation for common property upkeep, but the strata managing agent usually handles the day-to-day relationship with the cleaning contractor: approving the schedule, fielding complaints, and renewing or re-tendering the contract. For larger schemes, a building manager or strata committee member may also be the practical point of contact on-site. Whoever holds that role, it's worth having one clearly named contact for the cleaning provider to report to — contracts that get managed by committee, with no single accountable person, are where service standards tend to slip fastest.

Scoping a contract that actually covers your obligations

A strata cleaning scope should be specific enough that both sides can tell, without argument, whether it's being met. That generally means naming:

• Exact areas covered — listed by name (foyer, Level 1–6 corridors, bin room, car park common areas) rather than a vague "common areas" line
• Frequency per area — high-traffic foyers and lift lobbies often need more frequent attention than upper-floor corridors
• Specific tasks — floor mopping/vacuuming, glass and mirror cleaning, high-touch point sanitising (door handles, lift buttons), bin room cleardown, and window cleaning cadence if included
• Consumables — whether the contractor supplies and restocks items like bin liners or air fresheners in common bathrooms
• Reporting — a simple way for the committee or managing agent to log issues and confirm they've been actioned

Common disputes, and how to avoid them

Most strata cleaning disputes trace back to a scope that was too vague when the contract was signed. "Clean the common areas weekly" can mean very different things to different contractors. Naming the areas, tasks, and frequency explicitly — ideally as a schedule attached to the contract, not just a paragraph in an email — removes most of the ambiguity that leads to complaints from owners or occupants later.

It's also worth revisiting the scope periodically rather than letting it run unchanged for years. Buildings change: a car park might get extra visitor traffic after a nearby development opens, or a lobby might need more attention after a lift refurbishment brings more contractor foot traffic through for a few months. A scope reviewed annually tends to stay accurate; one left untouched for five years usually doesn't.

This article is general information only and doesn't constitute legal advice. Strata schemes vary, and specific obligations depend on your scheme's by-laws and the relevant NSW strata legislation. If you need a definitive answer for your building, speak with your strata manager or a strata lawyer.