Sydney is one of Australia's most densely strata-titled cities — particularly on the North Shore, where apartments and townhouse complexes are common across suburbs like Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Crows Nest, and Chatswood. If you're on a strata committee or own an investment property, understanding your cleaning obligations is essential.
Who Is Responsible for Strata Cleaning?
Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), the owners corporation is responsible for maintaining common property in a "clean and in good repair" condition. Common property typically includes: lobby and foyer areas, lifts and stairwells, corridors and hallways, car parks and driveways, pools and gym facilities, and garbage rooms.
Individual lot owners are responsible for cleaning within their own apartment or townhouse.
What Does a Strata Clean Cover?
Weekly or Fortnightly Maintenance
- Vacuum and mop all common area floors
- Wipe down lift interiors including buttons and handrails
- Clean letterbox area and entry foyer
- Empty common area rubbish bins
- Clean and sanitise any common bathrooms or toilet facilities
Monthly or Quarterly Tasks
- High-pressure wash of car park or driveway
- Window cleaning on common area windows
- Pool surrounds scrubbed and cleaned
- Bin room deep cleaned and deodorised
- Garden furniture cleaned and maintained
⚖️ Compliance note: Sydney strata committees are increasingly scrutinised by NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) for failure to maintain common property. A documented cleaning contract is useful evidence of due diligence.
Choosing a Strata Cleaning Provider
When selecting a strata cleaner, strata committees should verify: public liability insurance of at least $10M (Northline Cleaning carries $20M), police checks for all staff, the ability to provide a detailed scope of works, and references from comparable strata properties in Sydney.
Strata Cleaning Costs in Sydney
Strata cleaning contracts in Sydney's North Shore typically range from $340–$600 per visit depending on building size and scope. Annual contracts provide budget certainty and priority scheduling. Northline Cleaning provides strata cleaning quotes with itemised scope, allowing committees to present the detail at AGMs.
Contact Northline Cleaning for a strata cleaning proposal.
What Strata Cleaning Actually Includes
Strata cleaning covers the common-property areas of a strata-titled building — areas that are owned collectively and managed by the owners corporation. The specific scope is set by the strata committee but typically includes:
Lobby and entry areas
- Main entry doors (glass and frames), entry mats, intercom, mail area
- Lobby floors — daily mopping for high-traffic, weekly for smaller buildings
- Lobby furniture, lift call buttons, hand-sanitiser stations (post-2020 standard)
Lifts
- Lift interiors — floor, walls (mirrors and panels), buttons, ceiling vents
- Lift door frames and tracks — daily wipe in busy buildings
- Emergency phone area
Corridors and stairwells
- Hallway floors — vacuum carpets weekly, hard floors mopped 2–3× weekly
- Stair treads, handrails, landings
- Cobweb removal in stairwells (often forgotten)
- Wall-mounted fittings dusted
Common amenity areas
- Pool surrounds, BBQ areas, gym, library, function room as applicable
- Bin rooms and recycling areas — daily in larger buildings
- Car park common areas (not individual spaces)
- Plant rooms (entry only — actual plant maintenance is separate)
Setting Up Strata Cleaning Contracts in Sydney
If you're on a strata committee evaluating cleaning contracts, these are the items that matter most:
Define the scope precisely. The single biggest cause of disputes is undefined scope. Get a clear list: which areas, what frequency, what included in each visit. A "fortnightly clean" without a checklist is meaningless — the cleaner does what they think is reasonable, the committee thinks something different was meant.
Confirm insurance and WorkCover. Owners corporations carry liability for accidents in common areas. Cleaners should have $20M+ public liability and current WorkCover for any staff. Get certificates annually.
Specify after-hours and emergency response. Lift breakdown floods, vandalism, lobby spills — your cleaner should have a defined response time for emergencies, and a separate quote for after-hours work. Without this, emergency work becomes a renegotiation each time.
Schedule deep cleans separately. Most strata contracts cover routine cleaning. Carpet steam cleaning, window cleaning, pool tile cleaning, and pressure washing of paths should be quoted as separate annual or bi-annual items.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for strata cleaning costs?
The owners corporation, paid from strata levies. Cleaning is typically the second-largest line item in strata budgets after insurance. Each lot owner pays their share via quarterly levies — not directly to the cleaner.
How often should strata common areas be cleaned?
It depends on size and traffic. Small buildings (4–10 units) typically run weekly or fortnightly cleaning. Medium buildings (10–30 units) usually have 2–3× weekly cleaning. Large buildings (30+ units, towers) often have daily cleaning of high-traffic areas. The strata committee sets the schedule with guidance from the strata manager.
Are owners corporations required to use insured cleaners?
Strongly advised, but not mandated by NSW law. However, if a cleaner causes property damage or injury and isn't insured, the owners corporation's own insurance has to cover it (at the cost of higher future premiums). Always require a current certificate of currency before signing.
Can individual lot owners hire their own cleaner for inside their unit?
Yes — strata cleaning only covers common property. Individual unit interiors are entirely separate; lot owners arrange their own cleaning if they want it. Strata cleaners can sometimes do private cleans in the same building under separate engagement.
What happens if the strata cleaner does a poor job?
The strata manager or committee should raise it formally — verbally first, then in writing if not resolved. Most contracts include a remedy period (typically 7–14 days) for the cleaner to address defects. Repeated issues are grounds for contract termination, usually with 30 days' notice. Get all complaints in writing for the contract record.