Strata Works NSW: Planning Common Property Repairs

Start by confirming who is responsible

NSW Government guidance says the owners corporation is responsible for repairing and maintaining common property, while an owner generally maintains items within the lot. The boundary is not always obvious. Roofs, external walls, slabs, balconies, windows, services in boundary walls and water entering from common property are common areas of investigation, but the strata plan, by-laws, common-property rights by-laws and project history must be checked.

Do not start with a generic assumption that a leak, crack or failed finish belongs to one party. Identify the source, affected property and legal boundary. A symptom inside a lot may arise from common property, an owner-installed alteration, another lot, an insured event, a construction defect or several contributing causes.

For water-entry disputes, our guide to waterproofing repair responsibility in NSW strata explains how to connect the technical investigation with the strata plan, by-laws and renovation records before authorising the repair scope.

Urgent make-safe work versus permanent repair

Emergency work may be needed to protect people, prevent water spread, secure the building or reduce further damage. That does not mean the temporary response is the final repair. Record who authorised the work, why it was urgent, what was isolated or removed, the condition found and what remains outstanding.

A useful emergency record includes photographs with locations and dates, contractor notes, access details, affected lots, temporary controls, waste or samples retained, insurer notifications and a recommendation for permanent investigation. If the source is uncertain, avoid destroying evidence unnecessarily.

A practical strata repair workflow

SCE’s Surry Hills strata project shows the investigation-to-tender part of this process. The completed engagement covered structural assessment and investigations, an engineering inspection report, remediation specifications and design, and tender management, with specialist engineering consultant input.

What a quote-ready strata scope should contain

Match the defect to a focused repair brief

The general planning process applies across common-property works, but each repair needs its own evidence and construction scope:

• Strata concrete cancer repairs bring deterioration assessment, repair extent, access and resident protection into one brief.
• Strata subsidence repairs start with investigation of movement and its cause, followed by the engineering and construction requirements for the building.
• Common-area refurbishment addresses planned upgrades to shared spaces, finishes and access, with staging around residents and building users.

Roofing, waterproofing and façade work

Roof leaks and water entry need investigation because the visible leak does not identify the cause. Water can travel from flashings, penetrations, joints, membranes, gutters, drainage, façade interfaces, services or earlier alterations. A contractor should not be asked to guarantee an outcome from an undefined visual symptom.

A repair plan should document rainfall or usage conditions, entry and damage locations, safe access, moisture findings, relevant drawings, previous work and any intrusive investigation. If replacement is proposed, compare repairable extent, remaining service life, compatible interfaces, disruption, testing and maintenance—not only the square-metre rate.

For commercial enquiries, see SCE's Building Remedial Services and Strata Services. The project scope determines which specialist design, testing, certification and licensed trades are required.

Approvals, by-laws and regulated work

Repairing existing common property and changing common property are not automatically the same approval problem. NSW strata renovation guidance distinguishes cosmetic, minor and major renovations. Work affecting structure, external appearance, waterproofing, ceilings or other common property may need a general-meeting decision, special resolution, written agreement, a by-law or separate development approval depending on the circumstances.

Building and planning requirements sit alongside strata approval. Some work may require development consent, a complying development certificate, a construction certificate, regulated designs or declarations under the NSW Design and Building Practitioners framework. A contractor does not replace the owners corporation's legal adviser, strata manager, designer, principal certifier or insurer.

Confirm the applicable approvals before procurement and again before a variation changes the design or scope. “Like for like” should be evidenced, not assumed.

Insurance repairs and building defects

An insured event, maintenance failure and construction defect can affect the same area but follow different entitlement and evidence pathways. Notify the insurer or broker promptly where relevant, preserve evidence, distinguish the cause from resulting damage, and confirm what policy assessment or authority is required before permanent work.

For newer residential strata buildings, statutory warranties, the building bond process and Building Commission NSW powers may be relevant. Time limits and eligibility matter. The owners corporation should obtain project-specific legal and technical advice instead of delaying necessary common-property action while responsibility is debated.

SCE's Insurance Services page explains our assessment, coordination and repair delivery. The insurer determines policy coverage and claim approval; SCE establishes the investigation, construction scope and delivery requirements for the authorised work.

Resident communication and occupied-building controls

• nominate one instruction and escalation channel;
• give clear notice of access dates, duration, noise, dust, shutdowns and exclusions;
• identify vulnerable residents, pets, accessibility needs and essential services;
• protect common areas and record pre-existing condition;
• control keys, privacy and apartment access;
• keep emergency egress, fire-safety systems and building operations coordinated;
• state how weather delays, discoveries and programme changes will be communicated; and
• issue a closeout notice explaining completed work, remaining defects and maintenance actions.

Plan for an apartment that is not available

A notice is not the same as confirmed access. Before booking the workface, agree who confirms each affected appointment, manages keys or escorts and tells the site team if access cannot proceed. Collect the access arrangements and practical assistance needed, without circulating unnecessary personal information.

Define the fallback before a resident is absent: who contacts them, whether another approved work area can proceed and who assesses the delay to linked repairs or testing. A missed internal inspection may prevent verification of work outside the lot, even when the scaffold is ready. Record the incomplete check and arrange its return visit; do not mark the whole repair verified merely because the accessible part is finished.

Good communication does not remove construction risk, but it makes access, decisions and resident impacts easier to manage and verify.

Closeout that supports future maintenance

Do not close a strata repair because the contractor has left the site. Confirm the approved scope, completed quantities, test results, concealed-work evidence, certificates, product data, warranties, defects, variations and invoices. Update asset and maintenance records so the next committee does not have to reconstruct the project from email.

Feed recurring issues and remaining-life information into the 10-year capital works plan and detailed maintenance schedule. A repair can be complete while monitoring, planned renewal or a separate unresolved cause remains open; record those items explicitly.

For a newly registered NSW strata scheme, see SCE's initial maintenance schedule guide for the separate developer-to-owners-corporation handover and 10-year planning pathway.

Official NSW sources

Strata rules change. Check the current law and NSW Government guidance for the scheme and work.

• NSW Government — strata repairs and maintenance
• NSW Government — strata building repairs health check
• NSW Government — strata renovation rules
• NSW Government — strata by-laws
• Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), current in-force version