Strata Cleaning in Wollongong: A Guide for Strata Managers and Committees

Quick answer: Strata cleaning covers the shared areas of a building, such as lobbies, lifts, stairwells, bin rooms and carparks. It suits strata managers and owners corporations across Wollongong and the Illawarra. Small walk-up blocks are usually cleaned fortnightly and mid-size blocks with lifts weekly, and every building is quoted after a free walk-through with a written scope for committee.

Common areas are the part of a building every owner and tenant uses, and the part they notice first. A tidy lobby and a bin room that does not smell go a long way toward keeping an owners corporation happy. This guide explains what to expect from strata cleaning Wollongong providers, how often buildings are usually serviced, and how to write a scope your committee can approve.

What a common area clean includes

Every building is different, but most strata cleans cover the same core areas.

Lobby and entry

Glass doors and side panels, the intercom panel, the mailbox bank and entry matting. Floors are vacuumed or mopped, cobwebs removed and stray rubbish picked up. This is the first impression for residents, visitors and prospective buyers, so it is usually cleaned every visit.

Lifts and stairwells

Lift interiors, mirrors and door tracks, plus stair treads, landings and handrails. Lift buttons and handrails are high-touch points and should be sanitised on each visit.

Corridors and common rooms

Carpets vacuumed, hard floors mopped, skirting and light fittings dusted, and shared laundries or gyms reset where a building has them.

Bin rooms

Bin room floors washed and deodorised, bins wiped externally and stray waste removed. Bin bays can be hosed where there is a tap and a drain.

Carparks and driveways

Regular sweeps of resident and visitor parking, entry ramps and driveways, including leaf and litter removal. A quick check of fire stairs for rubbish is also worth including.

Typical frequency by building type

How often a building needs cleaning depends on its size, traffic and whether it has a lift. The table below shows typical frequencies. Every building is quoted after a free walk-through rather than off a set rate.

Building type	Typical frequency	How it is priced
Small block (6 to 12 lots, walk-up)	Fortnightly	Quoted after a free walk-through
Mid-size block with lift (12 to 40 lots)	Weekly	Quoted after a free walk-through
Townhouse or villa complex	Fortnightly or monthly	Quoted after a free walk-through
Mixed-use or high-traffic building	2 to 3 visits a week	Quoted after a free walk-through
One-off common area or post-reno clean	As needed	Quoted per building

These are starting points. A building near the beach may need glass done more often because of salt spray, while a complex with a busy shared laundry may need that room serviced on every visit.

Bin room odour and presentation

Bin rooms are the most common source of complaints in an owners corporation. Smells build quickly, especially in warmer months, and a dirty bin room can attract pests. A regular wash and deodorise on a set schedule keeps odour under control. Hosing bin bays helps too, but only where a tap and a floor drain are available.

Some buildings also want bin presentation, which means putting bins out for kerbside collection and bringing them back in. If your building needs this, include the collection days in the scope so the schedule lines up with council pickups.

Pressure washing carparks and driveways

A regular sweep keeps carparks tidy, but it will not shift oil stains, tyre marks or the grime that builds up on driveways and entries over time. That job needs pressure washing, which is best scoped and quoted separately because it depends on the surface area, the type of surface and water access. Many buildings book pressure washing once or twice a year on top of the regular common area clean.

What to put in a written scope for committee approval

A written scope makes it easy for the committee to see exactly what the building is paying for, and gives the strata manager something to check against. A good scope includes:

• Each area listed separately: lobby, lifts, each stairwell, corridors on each level, bin rooms, carpark and any shared facilities.


• Tasks for each area: for example, glass cleaned, floors mopped, handrails sanitised.


• Frequency for each task: every visit, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.


• Visit days and times: useful for residents and for coordinating with other contractors.


• Bin presentation: whether it is included and which collection days apply.


• Exclusions: tasks quoted separately, such as pressure washing or high windows.


• Insurance: a Certificate of Currency sent to the strata manager.


• Reporting: how issues such as damage, leaks or dumped rubbish are reported.


• Term and notice period: so the committee understands its commitment.

With this in place, comparing quotes becomes straightforward because every provider is pricing the same work.

Why a walk-through matters for strata

No two buildings are the same. The number of levels, whether there is a lift, how far the bin room is from the street and the condition of the carpark all change the time a clean takes. Walking the building with the strata manager or a committee member lets the cleaner see these details, ask about problem areas and write a scope that matches the building. It also means the committee is approving a price based on the real site, not an estimate made over the phone.

Mixed-use buildings

Some buildings combine residential lots with ground floor shops or offices. In these cases the common areas and the commercial tenancies are often cleaned by the same provider on different schedules. If your building includes office tenancies, our office cleaning page explains how we handle workplaces.