Strata Cleaning and Maintenance Cost Sydney Guide

One pattern that appears consistently in Whirlpool and strata owner forums: properties that receive multiple quotes often find a spread of three to one between the lowest and highest bids for what looks like the same scope. This is almost always explained by undisclosed differences in visit frequency, exclusions for specialist tasks, and the cleaning company's access to correct equipment - particularly for lift and basement car park work.

What Factors Determine Strata Cleaning and Maintenance Cost?

Strata cleaning and maintenance cost is not a fixed rate applied uniformly across all buildings. Six variables have the greatest influence on the final price, and understanding them helps strata managers and owners' corporation committees assess quotes accurately.

• Building size and footprint are the primary cost drivers. A 6-lot, two-storey walk-up in Leichhardt requires a fraction of the labour and time of a 60-lot high-rise in Chatswood with basement car parking, three lifts, and a rooftop terrace. Cleaning companies assess the total cleanable area - lobbies, corridors, stairwells, lift interiors, car parks, bin rooms, and external paths - not just the floor plan.
• Cleaning frequency directly determines the per-visit rate. Schemes contracted for weekly cleaning receive a lower unit price per visit than those requiring fortnightly or monthly-only service. This is because daily and weekly scheduling allows cleaners to maintain surfaces more efficiently, avoiding the heavier remediation work that accumulates between infrequent cleans.
• Facility complexity significantly increases cost. Buildings with swimming pools, gyms, rooftop common areas, or multiple lift shafts require specialist cleaning protocols, additional equipment, and extended visit times. A building with a pool common area, for example, adds surface sanitisation, deck scrubbing, and chemical management - none of which is covered under a standard strata cleaning rate.
• Accessibility affects labour cost in ways that are easy to overlook at the quote stage. A building with multiple stairwells and no lift access for cleaning equipment, narrow service corridors, or complex traffic management requirements for external pressure washing will take longer per visit and attract a higher rate than an equivalent building with straightforward access.
• Location in Sydney creates a moderate pricing differential. Properties in the Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, Northern Beaches, and lower North Shore attract a slight premium on strata cleaning rates due to parking costs, access restrictions, and demand for services in those areas. Midwestern suburbs and outer metropolitan areas typically track 10-15% lower.
• Specialist task inclusions - window cleaning, high-pressure washing, bin room deodorising, carpet cleaning, or graffiti removal - are almost always quoted separately from routine cleaning contracts. Strata managers should confirm explicitly at the quote stage whether these tasks are bundled or excluded, as this accounts for most of the cost discrepancies between competing quotes.
  

How Does Strata Cleaning Cost Fit Within the Levy Structure?

Strata cleaning and maintenance cost is not paid as a standalone expense by individual lot owners. It is funded through the owners' corporation's administrative fund, which is one of the two mandatory levy funds that every strata scheme in NSW is required to maintain under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

The administrative fund (sometimes called the day-to-day fund) covers all recurring operational costs of the common property - cleaning, gardening, utilities for common areas, insurance premiums, and strata manager fees. NSW Fair Trading notes that cleaning and garden maintenance are standard line items in the administrative fund budget. This budget is set at the Annual General Meeting and divided among lot owners proportionally according to their unit entitlement - owners of larger lots pay a larger share. For a broader overview of how levy budgets are structured and what committees should track, see Everyday Clean's strata maintenance guide.

The capital works fund (previously called the sinking fund) covers non-recurring, higher-cost maintenance and replacement works that cannot be absorbed by the annual administrative budget. Items funded through the capital works fund include exterior repainting, roof restoration, lift refurbishment, replacing common area carpets, resurfacing car parks, and major plumbing or electrical infrastructure repairs. NSW requires every strata scheme to maintain a 10-year capital works plan - meaning the committee must project these costs forward and collect sufficient sinking fund contributions to cover them.

The practical implication for strata cleaning cost: routine cleaning sits in the administrative fund and is relatively predictable year-on-year, while specialist deep cleaning tasks or post-remediation cleaning (following water damage, mould, or construction works) may be funded from the capital works fund or via a special levy if the cost is unbudgeted.



As a benchmark for buyers assessing strata fees, LJ Hooker and PICA Group both note that total strata levies for a property typically fall between 0.3% and 1.2% of the property's market value annually. Properties at the higher end of this range usually have more amenities and correspondingly higher cleaning and maintenance requirements.

What Should Strata Cleaning and Maintenance Include for the Cost?

A strata cleaning contract should itemise deliverables clearly. Vague scope descriptions - "clean common areas" or "general building maintenance" - create disputes about what is and is not included, particularly when strata managers change providers. The following services should be explicitly confirmed in any strata cleaning contract in Sydney.

• Routine common area cleaning covers lobbies and foyers (vacuuming or mopping floors, wiping down surfaces, glass panels, and entry doors), stairwells (all flights, handrails, and skirting boards), and lifts (interior floor, walls, mirrors, and button panels). These areas require at minimum weekly cleaning for presentable buildings, with twice-weekly or daily service for higher-traffic complexes.

• Car park and basement cleaning involves sweeping or blowing down the car park floor, removing debris from drainage channels, cleaning any bin or storage rooms, and managing grease or oil stains. Pressure cleaning of car park floors and external pathways is typically quoted as a separate service, with Sydney pricing between $200-$500 per service depending on area size and surface condition. This area is most commonly dropped from lower-priced quotes and added back as a separate charge, so it requires explicit confirmation.

• Bin room and waste management covers cleaning the bin room area, placing and returning bins on collection days, sanitising the bin room floor and walls, and managing recycling separation. In some Sydney councils, incorrect waste separation creates fines - a well-managed strata cleaning contract should include bin room procedure as a baseline.

• High-touch surface disinfection - handrails, lift buttons, intercom panels, door handles, and letterbox areas - is a distinct task from general cleaning and should appear as a separate line item, particularly for buildings with a history of shared illness transmission or those seeking to maintain elevated hygiene standards post-COVID.

• External and grounds maintenance typically includes sweeping footpaths, clearing leaf litter, and maintaining the building perimeter. Garden maintenance is usually a separate contract, with Sydney strata garden services running $600-$1,800 per month for small to medium sites.

How to Reduce Strata Cleaning and Maintenance Cost Without Reducing Quality

Strata committees can actively manage cleaning costs downward without accepting lower service standards by applying three well-established approaches used by experienced strata managers across Sydney.

• Bundle services with one provider. Using a single contractor for routine cleaning, window cleaning, high-pressure washing, and post-storm garden cleanup almost always produces a lower total cost than sourcing each service separately. Bundled contracts reduce coordination time, administrative overhead, and mobilisation costs for specialist tasks. Everyday Clean's approach to strata cleaning contract management consolidates these services under one agreement with one invoicing cycle - simplifying approvals at the owners' corporation level.

• Establish a cleaning specification document before going to tender. Committees that go to tender without a documented scope document receive quotes against different assumptions, making meaningful cost comparison impossible. A specification that lists each zone, the cleaning tasks required, the expected visit frequency, and the consumables the contractor is expected to supply produces comparable quotes and eliminates surprise invoicing.



• Opt for recurring contracts over ad hoc bookings. Per-visit rates for ad hoc strata cleaning are typically 20-30% higher than contracted rates for the same scope. Weekly or fortnightly service agreements - particularly with the same provider over 12 months - attract the best pricing consistency and allow the cleaning team to build familiarity with the building's specific access, equipment, and quirks.
  

FAQs About Strata Cleaning and Maintenance Costs

Strata owners, committee members, and property managers frequently ask similar questions when reviewing cleaning tenders or challenging their levy contributions. The questions below reflect the most common areas of genuine confusion and concern.

How much does strata cleaning cost per month in Sydney?

Strata cleaning cost per month in Sydney ranges broadly from $300 to $800 per month for small to medium residential complexes (6 to 30 lots), depending on visit frequency and service scope. A 12-lot walk-up building with weekly common area cleaning and fortnightly bin room servicing would typically fall in the $350-$500 per month range. A larger 30-50 lot complex with lifts, basement car parking, and an external grounds component would more realistically sit between $700 and $1,500 per month. High-rise buildings in the Sydney CBD or on the Northern Beaches with 50+ lots, multiple lifts, and specialist window cleaning requirements can reach $2,000-$3,500 per month or above. These figures reflect routine cleaning only - specialist services such as high-pressure washing, carpet cleaning, or post-event cleaning are quoted and invoiced separately unless explicitly bundled into the monthly contract.

Are strata cleaning costs tax-deductible?

Strata cleaning and maintenance costs are generally tax-deductible for investment property owners, as they form part of the administrative fund contributions that directly relate to deriving rental income. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) treats administrative fund levies - which fund routine expenses including cleaning, gardening, insurance, and utilities - as deductible in the year they are paid, provided the property is rented or genuinely available for rent. Sinking fund (capital works fund) contributions are not immediately deductible; instead, they may be claimed as capital works deductions over time under Division 43 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Owner-occupiers cannot claim strata levy deductions. The key compliance requirement is maintaining accurate levy records and financial statements from the owners' corporation. As always, specific tax circumstances should be confirmed with a registered tax agent or accountant.

Is strata cleaning cheaper than hiring an individual cleaner?

Not necessarily - and the comparison is more complex than hourly rate alone. An individual cleaner arranged privately may charge $25-$35 per hour in Sydney, which appears lower than the $45-$60 per hour rate of a professional strata cleaning company. However, owners' corporations using individual contractors take on legal obligations under Safe Work Australia regulations - insurance, workers' compensation, and superannuation obligations sit with the contractor arrangement rather than the company. Professional strata cleaning companies carry their own public liability insurance, workers' compensation, and equipment, reducing the owners' corporation's administrative burden and legal exposure. They also provide more reliable continuity of service, documented compliance records, and the capacity to deploy qualified staff for specialist tasks that fall outside a solo cleaner's capability. For an owners' corporation managing a building, the accountability and liability protection that a professional company provides is generally worth the rate differential.

Does strata maintenance cost increase for older buildings?

Yes - older strata buildings reliably incur higher maintenance costs than newer equivalents, and this should be factored explicitly into the owners' corporation's 10-year capital works plan. The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 in NSW mandates that every scheme maintain a 10-year capital works plan projecting future expenditure - older buildings carry greater uncertainty and higher projected costs because infrastructure such as plumbing, lift systems, electrical switchboards, common property carpets, and waterproofing membranes approaches or exceeds their design life. Cleaning costs in older buildings also increase because aged surfaces - worn tiles, oxidised handrails, stained concrete - require more intensive treatment to maintain a presentable condition. A building with cracked or uneven pathway surfaces, for example, traps debris and requires more labour-intensive cleaning per visit than a smooth-surface equivalent. Committees of older buildings should review their capital works plan contributions annually to avoid the need for unexpected special levies.

What's the difference between strata cleaning and strata maintenance costs?

Strata cleaning cost and strata maintenance cost are related but distinct budget categories within an owners' corporation's administrative fund. Strata cleaning refers specifically to the labour and materials involved in keeping common property surfaces, fixtures, and areas visually clean and hygienically safe - routine mopping, vacuuming, surface disinfection, bin management, and window wiping. Strata maintenance cost covers the repair, upkeep, and replacement of common property components - fixing a broken lobby door closer, replacing a burnt-out light fitting in the stairwell, resealing external paths, or engaging a plumber for a common property pipe fault. Both categories are funded through the administrative fund for day-to-day items and through the capital works fund for larger, non-recurring works. In practice, many strata cleaning companies also offer minor maintenance services - replacing consumables, reporting faults, checking bin room equipment - as part of their regular contract, which can reduce the owners' corporation's coordination burden across both categories.

Why Everyday Clean for Strata Cleaning in Sydney?

Everyday Clean has managed strata cleaning contracts across Sydney for over 20 years, with a team of 20 police-checked professionals delivering services for owners' corporations ranging from boutique 6-lot blocks to large mixed-use schemes. Every contract includes a documented scope of work, transparent pricing with no hidden extras, and a direct point of contact for strata managers and building committees.

Services include routine common area strata cleaning, bin room management, high-pressure washing of car parks and pathways, and window cleaning - all available as a consolidated package to simplify procurement and invoicing for your owners' corporation. For guidance on setting a compliant cleaning timetable for your building, see Everyday Clean's strata cleaning schedule for Sydney resource.