Written by Chris Earley
Founder, Perth Eco Clean
Chris Earley founded Perth Eco Clean in 2018 to give Perth homes and businesses a genuinely eco-friendly alternative to conventional cleaning. He holds multiple industry certifications including BSCAA and RapidClean accreditations across office cleaning, carpet cleaning, chemical handling, and infectious cleaning in commercial settings.
Key Takeaways
- Strata cleaning focuses on the regular cleaning of shared common areas in strata-managed properties, helping maintain hygiene, safety and presentation.
- Responsibility for strata cleaning typically sits with the strata committee, body corporate or owners corporation, not individual lot owners.
- A professional strata cleaning provider can tailor cleaning scopes and schedules to suit the size, usage and needs of each building.
If you sit on a strata committee, manage a body corporate, or own a lot in a Perth strata scheme, you’ve probably had the “who’s supposed to clean this?” conversation at least once. Common areas fall into a grey zone that’s easy to under-service and expensive to neglect, and Perth’s own conditions (bore water, limestone, coastal salt air) make it a slightly different job here than it is in most other Australian cities.
Here’s what strata cleaning actually covers, what’s specific to Perth buildings, and what to look for in a provider.
What Is Strata Cleaning?
Strata cleaning refers to the regular and scheduled cleaning of common areas within a strata-managed property. These are areas that are shared by residents, tenants or occupants and are not privately owned by an individual lot holder.
Strata cleaning typically covers both internal and external shared spaces, depending on the building layout and service agreement.
Common examples of strata properties include:
- Apartment and unit complexes
- Townhouse developments
- Mixed residential and commercial buildings
- Office buildings under strata management
The goal of strata cleaning is to maintain cleanliness, safety, hygiene and presentation across all shared areas of the property.
Perth Eco Clean works closely with strata managers and committees across Perth to deliver consistent, reliable strata cleaning that reflects the needs of each individual building.
What Strata Cleaning Actually Covers in Perth (And Why It’s Different Here)
If you sit on a strata committee, manage a body corporate, or own a lot in a Perth strata scheme, you’ve probably had the “who’s supposed to clean this?” conversation at least once. Common areas fall into a grey zone that’s easy to under-service and expensive to neglect. Perth’s own conditions, like bore water, limestone, and coastal salt air, make it a slightly different job here than it is in most other Australian cities.
Here’s what strata cleaning actually covers, what’s specific to Perth buildings, and what to look for in a provider.
What Counts as a Common Area
Strata cleaning covers the shared spaces of a property: the parts no single lot owner is individually responsible for, but everyone uses. Depending on the building, that typically includes:
- Entryways, foyers, and lobbies
- Hallways, stairwells, and lifts
- Car parks, driveways, and basements
- Shared bathrooms and amenities
- Bin rooms and waste areas
- External pathways and entry points
- Shared recreational or outdoor areas
What’s included in your building’s cleaning scope should be spelled out in your service agreement, not assumed. If you’re unsure what falls under strata responsibility versus what’s an individual lot owner’s problem, that’s worth clarifying with your cleaning provider before issues come up.
Perth Has Two Very Different Types of Strata Buildings
A lot of strata cleaning content treats every strata scheme the same way. In Perth, that doesn’t really hold up.
- Low-rise villa and triplex complexes are common across the northern and southern suburbs. These are typically older developments with shared driveways, small garden areas, and limited internal common space. The cleaning needs here are mostly external: driveways, paths, letterboxes, and shared fencing or retaining walls.
- Higher-density apartment buildings, more common around the CBD, East Perth, and South Perth, have a different profile entirely. Lifts, internal corridors, foyers, and higher foot traffic through shared spaces usually mean more frequent internal cleaning and stricter presentation standards for residents and visitors.
A provider quoting the same scope and schedule for both types of building generally hasn’t looked closely enough at what your property actually needs.
The Cleaning Problems That Are Specific to Perth
A few issues turn up in Perth strata properties far more than they do elsewhere, and they’re worth asking a provider about directly:
Bore water staining. Perth’s widespread use of bore irrigation means common driveways, visitor car parks, and shared paths often develop the same rust-coloured mineral staining you see on private driveways, except it’s the strata committee’s problem to fix, not an individual owner’s. It needs the right approach. Regular pressure washing alone won’t shift it, and harsh acid treatments can damage the surface.
Limestone surfaces. Limestone retaining walls, paving, and garden edging are common in Perth strata developments, particularly in newer complexes. Limestone needs different products and techniques to concrete or brick, and the wrong approach can cause pitting or discolouration that’s hard to reverse.
Salt air and coastal exposure. For strata buildings near the coast, including Scarborough, Hillarys, Sorrento, Cottesloe, and similar suburbs, salt air accelerates corrosion on glass, metal railings, and external fittings. Buildings in these areas typically need more frequent attention to entryway glass and metalwork than an equivalent property further inland.
Who’s Actually Responsible for Organising It
In WA, strata schemes are governed under the Strata Titles Act, and responsibility for common area cleaning generally sits with the strata company (the body corporate) or the strata committee acting on its behalf, not with individual lot owners. In practice, that means the committee engages and manages a cleaning provider on behalf of everyone in the scheme.
If you’re a committee member reviewing your current arrangement, or a strata manager coordinating on behalf of several schemes, the practical questions are usually less about who’s responsible and more about getting the scope, frequency, and standard of cleaning right for the specific building.
How Often Common Areas Actually Need Attention
There’s no single right answer here. It depends on the building type, resident numbers, and foot traffic through shared spaces. A low-rise villa complex with light shared-area use might only need fortnightly attention to common areas. A busy apartment building near the CBD, by contrast, often needs multiple visits a week to keep lobbies, lifts, and entryways presentable.
The honest approach is to have a provider assess the building itself rather than apply a standard package regardless of what the property actually needs.
What to Look for in a Strata Cleaning Provider
A few things matter more than price when you’re choosing or reviewing a provider:
- Experience with strata-specific work, not just general commercial cleaning, since strata properties have their own access, scheduling, and communication requirements
- A clearly defined scope of work, so there’s no ambiguity about what is and isn’t included
- Reliable, insured staff, given the level of access required across shared and sometimes semi-private areas
- Eco-friendly, non-toxic products, particularly relevant in shared spaces used by residents, children, and pets
- Clear communication back to the committee or strata manager, so issues get flagged rather than quietly ignored
Get a Strata Cleaning Quote in Perth
Perth Eco Clean works with strata committees, body corporates, and property managers across the Perth metro area, using fully insured, police-cleared staff and eco-friendly, non-toxic products safe for shared spaces. Whether you’re managing a low-rise villa complex or a higher-density apartment building, get in touch for a tailored strata cleaning quote, or call 0459 544 876 to talk through what your building actually needs.