A strata cleaning checklist should answer three questions. What gets cleaned, how often, and how the committee knows what has been agreed. A clear scope from a strata cleaning company gives the cleaning team a consistent reference for every scheduled visit.
That clarity matters in shared buildings. When frequencies and tasks are not written down, routine cleaning can take priority while periodic work such as carpet steam cleaning and floor machine scrubbing gets overlooked. A room-by-room checklist keeps those requirements visible and gives the body corporate or property manager a clear basis for reviewing the service.
This guide sets out the checklist area by area, a frequency framework separating routine from periodic work, what a strata cleaning company should put in writing before the first clean, how to compare contracts and quotes, and a simple weekly review you can use to check the agreed scope.
Quick Strata Cleaning Checklist
The scope agreed with your strata cleaning company should mirror the table below area by area.
Area | Routine tasks | Periodic tasks |
Entrance and foyer | Vacuum, mop, internal glass, touchpoints | Carpet steam cleaning and additional detailed cleaning as required |
Lifts and lift lobbies | Floors, buttons, mirrors, door areas | Detailed cleaning as required |
Corridors | Vacuum or mop, spot clean scuffs | Carpet steam cleaning and floor machine scrubbing |
Stairwells | Sweep, mop landings, handrails | Detailed cleaning as required |
Bin rooms | Floors, spills and general cleaning | Detailed cleaning as required |
Shared amenities | Clean fixtures and touchpoints | Detailed cleaning as required |
Glass | Internal glass and entry doors | Additional internal glass cleaning as required |
Internal glass can form part of the agreed cleaning scope. The required frequency should be confirmed during the walkthrough based on building use, access and the condition of the areas.
What the Checklist Misses Area by Area
The table above records what should be done. What follows is what goes wrong in each area, which is the part strata cleaning contracts’ scope rarely captures.
Building Entrance and Foyer
Cobwebs around the entry surround survive most cleans because crews work at floor level and below eye height. In a Brisbane summer, the entrance also carries the most water in the building. Mats left saturated through a wet week become a slip risk and begin to smell, which is why mat lifting belongs on the periodic schedule.
Lifts and Lift Lobbies
Lift areas require attention to both visible surfaces and frequently touched points. Floors, buttons, mirrors and door areas can be listed individually so the strata cleaning company has a clear reference for every visit.
Detailed cleaning can then be included periodically where required. Keeping these tasks within the written scope makes it easier for the committee or property manager to check what has been completed.
Corridors and Common Hallways
Corridors can cover a large amount of shared floor space, particularly in larger buildings. The routine scope should identify the required vacuuming, mopping and spot cleaning, while periodic requirements are recorded separately.
For carpeted corridors, carpet steam cleaning can be scheduled as required. Floor machine scrubbing can also be included where suitable for the flooring and agreed as part of the cleaning plan.
Stairwells and Fire Stairs
Fire stairs come with a legal obligation. The Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 says nobody may obstruct an evacuation route, and stairways, landings and corridors all count. The occupier has to keep them clear, including the two metres outside a final exit door.
Cleaning cannot make a building compliant. It can work against it. A bucket parked at a fire door or equipment left on a landing is the sort of thing your scope should rule out.
Bin Rooms and Waste Areas
Frequency here depends on resident numbers, waste volume, ventilation, chute design and the council collection schedule. Brisbane humidity compresses the interval further. In February, a sealed basement room needs a cycle that would be excessive by July.
Timing matters more than frequency. Clean the room the morning after collection, while bins are empty and the floor is clear, and the same hours produce a materially better result.
Car Parks and Outdoor Common Areas
Shared access areas and car park entry points can collect dirt and debris from regular resident and visitor movement. The cleaning scope should identify the areas that form part of the agreed service and the tasks required in each location.
Building managers and committees should confirm these areas during the walkthrough so the cleaning team has a clear understanding of the site before scheduled service begins.
How Often Each Common Area Should Be Cleaned
Frequency should follow the building’s characteristics rather than a standard template.
Task | Daily | Weekly | Monthly | Periodic |
Lobby and foyer floors | ✓ |
|
|
|
Lift touchpoints | ✓ |
|
|
|
Corridors |
| ✓ |
|
|
Stairwells |
| ✓ |
|
|
Internal glass |
| ✓ |
|
|
Bin room floors | as required | ✓ |
|
|
Car park litter |
| ✓ |
|
|
Carpet extraction |
|
|
| ✓ |
High dusting |
|
| ✓ | ✓ |
Twelve lot walk ups and two hundred lot towers need different documents. Frequency also drives a strata cleaning quote further than almost any other variable, so committees revising a schedule should expect the price to move with it.
What a Strata Cleaning Company Should Provide
Ask what arrives before the first clean. A strata cleaning company should hand a committee the following.
- A site inspection before any pricing is issued
- A written scope naming every common area and the task required in each
- Frequency documented per task, routine separated from periodic
- Equipment and chemicals supplied, so the building stores nothing
- Consumables either priced in or stated as an exclusion, never left ambiguous
- Public liability cover, certificate of currency on request
- Worker screening suited to a residential building
- One named contact, an escalation path, a stated response time
- Safe work method statements for wet floors, chemicals and after hours access
Bin liners, toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels are ordinarily an optional extra rather than a standard inclusion. Committees are regularly surprised by this at the first invoice, so strata cleaning contracts listing them without pricing them leave a gap to argue about later.
How to Compare Strata Cleaning Contracts
Check whether the scope names specific areas, whether periodic tasks appear with their frequency, and what happens when a rostered cleaner is absent. Confirm the account contact, how complaints get recorded, and how often quality gets inspected.
- Strong strata cleaning contracts state a remedy. If a task is missed, what is the documented fix and how fast does it apply?
- Weak strata cleaning contracts leave that to goodwill and a phone call.
Check the term as well as the rate. Many strata cleaning contracts roll over automatically, so notice periods, cancellation provisions and the pricing of additional services all belong in front of the committee before anyone votes. A provider that declines to put those terms in writing leaves the committee exposed at renewal.
How a Strata Cleaning Quote Is Calculated
A strata cleaning quote is built from the building, not an hourly rate. Key pricing factors include:
- Lot count and common area size
- Lifts, stairwells and car park layout
- Floor surfaces and internal glass volume
- Access complexity and service hours
Access is often underestimated. Waiting on residents to open security doors adds cost beyond what floor area alone would suggest.
When comparing quotes, look at scope, frequency and inclusions. A lower figure may simply mean fewer areas cleaned less often. Ask every strata cleaning company to price the same written scope.
Strata Maintenance Cleaning Services and Where They Stop
Strata maintenance cleaning services restore a surface to its agreed standard. Building maintenance repairs or replaces the surface itself. A strata cleaning company reports a cracked lift mirror or a failing door seal. They do not fix it, and any scope implying otherwise will disappoint someone.
Settle where strata maintenance cleaning services end and trade work begins at onboarding. Left undefined, the boundary surfaces as a dispute the first time a committee expects a repair it never contracted for.
Getting the Scope Right Before You Sign
Agree the areas, set the frequency and record the access requirements before recurring cleaning begins. Then ask your strata cleaning company to price that written scope rather than a general description of the building.
Reset Cleaning Crew works with body corporate committees and property managers across Brisbane CBD, Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, Spring Hill, Bowen Hills, Milton, Toowong, Newstead, Eagle Farm, Rocklea, Eight Mile Plains and Mount Gravatt. The service includes police-checked and insured staff, standard cleaning equipment and chemicals, structured onboarding, same crew consistency and $10 million public liability cover.
Our team begins with a free walkthrough to understand the building, establish the cleaning requirements and prepare a clear service scope. The company aims to commence service within 7 days once the walkthrough, quote approval and onboarding requirements are completed. If an issue is reported during ongoing service, the team aims to address it within 24 to 48 hours, depending on the issue and access requirements.
Call 0485 974 218 to arrange a walkthrough and discuss your strata cleaning quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
The body corporate holds the duty to maintain common property under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. Committees ordinarily discharge it by engaging a contractor. The obligation remains with the body corporate regardless of who performs the work or how well.
Recurrent cleaning is generally paid from the administrative fund and recovered through levies, which is why a strata cleaning quote is usually assessed against the approved budget rather than in isolation. Periodic work of significant value may need to be raised separately depending on the scheme’s budgeting.
Not directly against the common property scope, since the contract sits between the body corporate and the provider. Requests are normally routed through the committee or building manager. Work inside a lot is a private arrangement and should be invoiced separately.
The building does, drawn from common property outlets. Sites without an accessible tap or power point at basement or upper levels should raise it at the walkthrough, because it changes equipment selection and the time a floor takes to complete.
Yes. The cleaning team works around fixed or heavy furniture according to the agreed scope. Areas requiring particular attention can be identified during the walkthrough and included in the service plan.
Construction dust and trade traffic exceed a routine scope. Post trade cleaning falls outside strata maintenance cleaning services and is ordinarily a separate engagement. Committees should confirm before works begin whether the existing agreement is paused, supplemented or left unchanged, since strata cleaning contracts rarely address it by default.
A single reporting point, normally the building manager or a nominated committee member, who logs the issue and raises it with the provider. Residents contacting cleaners directly on site produces work outside the scope, no record, and no basis for assessing performance later.