Strata and common area cleaning: what committees should specify

A strata cleaning specification should list every common area, the tasks for each, the frequency of each task, the periodic work as separate line items, and how the work will be reported to the committee. Most strata cleaning problems come from specifications that do not do this: a single line saying "common areas cleaned weekly", a price that nobody can check against anything, and a bin room that is cleaned when a resident complains. This guide sets out what a committee or building manager should specify, in plain terms, before going to tender.

Start with a list of every common area

Walk the building and write down every space the body corporate is responsible for. A typical list for a mid-rise building:

• Entrance, lobby and foyer, including intercom panels and mailboxes
• Lifts, including floors, walls, mirrors, buttons and door tracks
• Corridors and landings on every level
• Stairwells and fire stairs
• Bin room, bin chute and bin store
• Car park, driveway and ramp
• Gym, pool deck, barbecue area, common room
• External paths, gardens edges and entry steps
• Plant rooms and service cupboards, if the cleaner is expected to enter them

Buildings differ. A townhouse complex has walkways and a shared bin area instead of a lobby and a lift; a tower has several lift cars and a loading dock. The point is that nothing is left to assumption. Delta's strata and common area cleaning scope is built from exactly this kind of list at the walkthrough.

Give every area a task list and a frequency

For each area, specify what is done and how often. A simple table works well in a tender document:

The frequencies are illustrative; a busy tower will need more and a quiet complex less. What matters is that each one is written down, so the committee knows what it is buying and the manager knows what to check.

Specify the periodic work as separate line items

Periodic work is what keeps a building looking cared for between refurbishments, and it is the first thing to disappear when it is hidden inside a weekly price. Specify each item with its own frequency and ask for its own price:

• Ride-on mechanical sweeping of the car park, usually monthly or quarterly. The car park sweeping guide explains why a machine beats a broom.
• Pressure washing of entrances, driveways and bin areas, usually quarterly or around the wet season.
• High dusting of stairwell voids, lobby fittings and ledges, usually six-monthly.
• Window cleaning of lobby glass, balustrades and common area windows, on a frequency that suits the exposure.
• Carpet steam cleaning of corridors and lift lobbies where they are carpeted.

With each item priced and dated, the committee can approve them individually, budget for them in the sinking fund discussion and see in the record when they were done.

Specify the reporting

This is the part most specifications leave out, and the part that decides whether the manager spends their week chasing. Ask for:

• a visit record the manager can check without ringing
• scored inspections, with the scores shared with the manager and the committee
• a way to log a resident's complaint and see its status until it is closed
• a stated response time for problems, with the hours it applies to
• a note to the manager when the cleaner finds something: a dumped item, a light out, graffiti, a propped fire door

Delta provides all of this through the client portal, with the owner replying within 30 minutes during enquiry hours and issues reported within 24 hours of a clean re-attended at no extra cost.

Specify the compliance requirements

The committee has a duty to engage competent, insured contractors on common property. Ask every tenderer for:

• a current certificate of currency for public liability, and the cover amount
• confirmation that workers' compensation is in place
• safe work method statements for the tasks on the building, including pressure washing, high dusting and machine sweeping
• confirmation that cleaners are police checked
• safety data sheets for the chemicals used

WorkSafe Queensland publishes guidance for people who engage contractors at worksafe.qld.gov.au. Delta's compliance pack covers each of these and is shown before the agreement is signed.

Specify the terms

Ask for the length of the agreement, the notice period, how price changes are handled, and what happens when work is missed. Delta's agreements run for an initial 12 months and then continue on a rolling basis with 30 days' written notice after the initial term. The contract terms guide lists the clauses to question in any cleaning agreement.

A checklist for the tender

1. Every common area listed
2. Tasks and frequency per area
3. Periodic work itemised with its own frequency and price
4. Reporting: visit records, scored inspections, issue tracking, response time
5. Compliance documents requested up front
6. Terms: length, notice, price changes, missed work
7. A walkthrough with each tenderer before they price

Handling the handover from the old cleaner

Changing strata cleaners is where buildings lose keys, miss a week and start the new agreement badly. Set a changeover date in writing, collect every key, fob and code from the outgoing contractor against a list, and have the incoming cleaner walk the building with the manager before their first visit so the bin room procedure, the chute, the fire stair access and the car park gate are understood rather than guessed. Ask the new contractor to do a first-visit inspection and share the score, so the committee has a baseline for the state the building was handed over in. If the outgoing cleaner has periodic work half done, note it, because the new scope should start with a known position rather than an argument about who stripped the lobby floor last.

Next step

Walk your building with this list, then ask Delta to walk it with you. Book a free walkthrough and the owner calls you within 30 minutes during enquiry hours to set a time with your manager. See how strata buildings are set up along the river in Kangaroo Point and in the newer towers of Newstead.

Questions people ask

How often should strata common areas be cleaned?

It depends on the building. A high-rise lobby with a lift and a bin chute usually needs daily attention; a small walk-up complex may need weekly visits with the bin room done twice. The walkthrough sets a frequency per area, and the committee can adjust it in writing.

Who should the cleaner report to, the manager or the committee?

Whoever the committee nominates. Most buildings have the building manager as the day-to-day contact and the committee receiving the inspection scores. Both can have access to a portal if the contractor provides one.

Should periodic work be in the same contract?

Yes, but as separate line items with their own frequency and price. That way the committee approves each one, budgets for it, and can check it was done. Hidden inside a weekly figure, periodic work tends not to happen.