An exterior repaint is one of the largest bills an owners corporation pays, and the rules for paying for it and approving it are set by the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Section numbers below refer to that Act unless another law is named. We do strata and body corporate painting across Sydney.
What the Owners Corporation Has to Paint
Section 106 requires the owners corporation to “properly maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair the common property”. Common property is everything in the scheme outside the lots. Under section 6 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, a lot’s boundaries are the inner surface of its walls, the top of its floor and the underside of its ceiling, unless the strata plan says otherwise. On a typical block, that leaves the external walls, stairwells, lobbies, corridors, fences and carpark with the owners corporation. Plans registered before 1 July 1974 can draw the boundaries differently, so check the plan itself.
The owners corporation can only decide against a repair by special resolution, and only if leaving it won’t affect the safety of the building or detract from its appearance (section 106(3)). A street-facing wall with peeling paint would be hard to leave under that test.
Who Paints Balconies and Front Doors
A scheme can adopt the common property memorandum in its by-laws. It sets out who looks after the items on the boundary between a unit and the common property. It’s optional (section 107), so check your by-laws. Where it applies, the painting splits like this:
| Item | Under the memorandum |
|---|---|
| Balcony walls, doors and windows | Owners corporation |
| Balcony ceilings, including the paint | Owners corporation |
| Paint on walls and ceilings inside the unit | Lot owner |
| Paint on skirtings, architraves and cornices inside the unit | Lot owner |
| Paintwork on the unit’s entrance door | Lot owner, though the owners corporation maintains the door itself |
If your scheme hasn’t adopted the memorandum, the strata plan and by-laws decide. A common property rights by-law can also hand an owner the upkeep of common property next to their lot.
How a Strata Repaint Is Paid For
The Capital Works Fund
The capital works fund is for large, less frequent costs, and section 79 names “painting or repainting any part of the common property which is a building or other structure” as one of them. A full exterior repaint comes out of this fund.
The 10-Year Capital Works Fund Plan
The owners corporation must keep a 10-year capital works fund plan listing the major work it expects, when it’s due, what it should cost and where the money will come from (section 80). The plan has to be reviewed at least once every five years. New and revised plans must use the NSW Government’s standard form, which puts a repaint under exterior materials and finishes.
Buildings near the water need repainting sooner than inland ones, and the plan should allow for that. Our guide to how often coastal homes need repainting explains why. Salt and sun wear down a block of units on the Northern Beaches or in the Eastern Suburbs the same way they wear down a house.
When the Fund Falls Short
If the funds can’t cover the work, section 81(4) requires a contribution from each owner, decided at a general meeting. Most people call this a special levy, though the Act doesn’t use the term. It’s split by unit entitlement (section 83), and owners must get at least 30 days’ notice before it’s due. The strata committee can’t raise a levy on its own.
The Two-Quote Rule
For any item costing more than $30,000, the owners corporation must get at least two independent quotes, meaning quotes from businesses that aren’t connected with each other (section 102, with the amount set by clause 25 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016). It applies to every scheme, large or small. If two quotes can’t be found, the secretary has to put an item on the next general meeting agenda explaining why. Emergency work is exempt.
The Act asks for two quotes. Nothing stops a committee getting three or more.
Getting Quotes You Can Compare
Quotes can only be compared if every painter is pricing the same job. On a larger building, the committee can have a painting specification written first. On a smaller one, give each painter the same list of areas and check that each quote shows:
- Which elevations and areas are included, and which aren’t: balconies, stairwells, fences, garages and the carpark.
- The preparation, such as washing, crack and render repair, rust treatment and replacing failed sealant.
- The paint system by product name, with the number of coats.
- How the painters will reach the work, whether by ladder, scaffold, elevating work platform or rope access, and whether that’s in the price.
- How the job will be staged, and how long each stage should take.
- How variations will be priced and approved.
- The contractor’s licence number and insurance certificates.
On an older building, some damage only shows once the old paint is washed and scraped back. Ask each painter how that will be priced before the committee votes. Our questions to ask before hiring a painter apply to strata jobs too.
Who Approves the Work
A strata committee decision counts as a decision of the owners corporation (section 36). The committee can’t decide anything that needs a special or unanimous resolution or a general meeting, or anything the owners have voted to keep for a general meeting.
The Act sets no dollar limit on what a committee can spend. Where a limit exists, the owners set it at a general meeting, in the by-laws or in the terms of a delegation, so check your scheme’s minutes and by-laws. If the owners haven’t set a limit and the capital works fund can cover the job, the committee can approve a repaint in the existing colours. A levy to pay for it still needs a general meeting.
Owners holding more than a third of the unit entitlements can stop a committee decision by giving notice that they oppose it before it’s made (Schedule 2, clause 9).
Changing the Colour Scheme
Repainting in the existing colours is maintenance. A new colour scheme changes how the building looks, and section 108 says altering common property to improve or enhance it needs a special resolution that specifically authorises the work. The Act doesn’t say whether new colours count as an alteration. The safe course is to put the colour scheme to a general meeting, and ask your strata manager whether it should go up as a special resolution.
If the building is heritage-listed or in a heritage conservation area, check with the council before choosing colours. Our colour consultations can help a committee settle on a scheme before the vote.
Checking the Painter’s Licence and Insurance
In NSW, painting worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST, needs a contractor licence, according to NSW Fair Trading. The Home Building Act 1989 counts a strata home unit as a dwelling, along with the shared stairways and passageways of the building. Stand-alone interior painting has been exempt from licensing since 2015, but exterior work isn’t. Check the painter’s licence on the NSW Government’s Verify licence service before the committee votes.
The Home Building Act also sets rules for the contract:
- Over $5,000: a written contract, signed and dated, with the contractor’s licence number, a description of the work and the price.
- Over $20,000: a major work contract, and Home Building Compensation Fund cover, with a certificate for the owners corporation before work starts. The exemption for large multi-storey buildings only covers the construction of new ones, according to SIRA, so a repaint of an existing apartment block still needs it.
- The deposit: no more than 10 per cent of the contract price.
Ask for current public liability and workers compensation certificates too.
Living in the Building While It’s Painted
Most of a repaint is done from outside, but painters may need to get onto balconies or into units. Section 122 lets the owners corporation’s contractors enter a lot to do required work, but outside an emergency only with the occupier’s consent or a tribunal order. The Act sets no notice period, so residents need plenty of written notice and a clear schedule.
Before each part of the building starts, residents need to know:
- Which days their side of the building will be worked on.
- What to clear from their balcony, such as pot plants, furniture, washing and bikes.
- When cars need to move for work near the carpark or driveway.
- When a stairwell, entry or walkway will be closed, and how to get around it.
- Who to contact with a problem.
Staging the work one elevation or one building at a time keeps most of the complex usable while it’s being painted.
Older Buildings and Lead Paint
NSW Health says lead paint was used in most Australian homes built before 1970. Lead paint in good condition can be painted over. Sanding, scraping and heat are what release lead dust. If your building is older than 1970, the old paint should be tested before any of that starts, and the test belongs in the quote. Our guide to painting a heritage home explains what lead-safe preparation involves.
Who Does the Work
We’re a family-run, second-generation painting business, working on Sydney homes since 1988. As well as houses, we paint low-rise apartment blocks and townhouse complexes for owners corporations.
Planning a strata repaint? See our strata and body corporate painting, or get a free quote. We’ll inspect the building and put the quote in writing for your committee.