5 things every body corporate should look for in a strata cleaner

Look for five things in a strata cleaner: a scope matched to your common areas, before and after photos of the work, fixed pricing you can defend, a cleaner who works with your strata or onsite manager and a proper process for extra work. Choosing on price alone is how committees end up with skipped cleans and owner complaints they can’t answer.

1. Does the scope match your building?

Common-area cleaning is specific: lobbies, lifts, stairwells, car parks, bin rooms, glass and rails. A good strata cleaner walks the building and builds the scope around your common property.

2. Do they show you the work?

Strata disputes come down to what anyone can show. When an owner says the bin room wasn’t done, the committee needs more than the cleaner’s word. Before and after photos of the work help settle it.

3. Is the pricing fixed and defensible?

Committees answer to levy payers. Fixed, itemised pricing shows owners exactly what their money buys. It also makes budgeting across the levy cycle simple.

4. Will they work with your manager?

Good strata cleaners deal directly with your strata manager and onsite manager. That keeps the committee out of the middle. Ask how they’ll stay in touch.

5. How do they handle extra work?

Every building eventually needs something outside the schedule, like a pressure wash or a carpet clean before the AGM. Ask for an itemised quote first. Nothing should start until it’s approved.

Written by Edward O'Rourke, Righto. → Related: Strata & body corporate cleaning