Strata and body corporate cleaning in Townsville — a guide
What Townsville strata committees and body corporate managers should expect from a common property cleaning contract — scope, frequency, cost and red flags.
Common property is the first thing prospective buyers and tenants see, and the thing residents complain about most. A tired lobby, a smelly bin room or a slippery pool surround affects how a whole building is valued — and in Queensland, keeping common property in good condition is the body corporate’s responsibility.
This guide is for Townsville strata committees and body corporate managers putting a cleaning contract in place, or wondering whether the one they have is still good value.
What common area cleaning usually covers
A well-scoped strata cleaning contract is broken into what happens every visit and what happens periodically.
Every visit
- Entry doors, glass and intercom panels
- Lobby and foyer floors swept and mopped
- Lift interiors: floor, walls, mirrors, buttons
- Stairwells and landings swept, handrails wiped
- Letterbox area tidied and wiped
- Bin rooms swept, spills cleaned
- Common bathrooms, if the building has them
- Rubbish and cobwebs removed from entries and walkways
Periodically
- Bin washing and bin room deodorising
- Pressure cleaning of driveways, walkways and pool surrounds
- High dusting and cobweb removal from eaves and stairwells
- Window cleaning of common glass
- Light fittings wiped and insects removed
- Carpet steam cleaning in corridors
- Gym equipment wiped, if the building has a gym
In Townsville, cobwebs, geckos and insects around lights and eaves are a constant — especially in the wet season — so external high dusting deserves a proper place on the schedule rather than an “as needed” line.
How often should common areas be cleaned?
| Building | Typical frequency |
|---|---|
| Small block, under 10 units, no lift | Fortnightly |
| Medium block, 10 – 40 units | Weekly |
| Larger building with lift, pool or gym | 2 – 3 times per week |
| High-traffic building or holiday letting | Daily or near-daily |
Buildings with a significant share of short-stay or holiday letting see much more foot traffic and luggage damage, and usually need more frequent visits.
What it costs
As a rough guide in Townsville, common area cleaning for a small block runs around $140 – $300 per weekly visit, with larger buildings quoted on the hours required and the periodic schedule. Periodic work such as pressure cleaning is often quoted separately or built into the monthly figure.
Our commercial cleaning cost guide explains how contracts are priced in more detail.
What to put in the contract
Committees often inherit a contract that says little more than “clean common areas weekly”. That makes it very hard to hold anyone to a standard. A good contract includes:
- A written scope of work, area by area, with frequencies.
- A periodic schedule stating when pressure cleaning, windows and carpets happen, and whether they’re included in the fee.
- Insurance. Certificates of currency for public liability — at least $10 million for common property work — and workers’ compensation. Keep copies on the body corporate’s records and check the expiry dates.
- A visit log. A simple sign-in sheet or digital record so the committee and residents can see when cleaning happened.
- A reporting path. Who residents or the manager contact when something’s missed, and how quickly it will be fixed.
- Reasonable terms. A defined term with a sensible notice period. Be wary of long automatic rollovers.
Red flags
- No insurance paperwork. An injury on common property can become the body corporate’s problem very quickly.
- “We’ll just do what’s needed.” Without a scope, the level of service tends to drift down over time.
- Different cleaners every week. Consistency matters in a building where residents notice everything.
- Chemicals left in unlocked common areas. A real risk in buildings with children.
- Pressure cleaning with no care for runoff. Detergent and debris washed into stormwater drains can breach council requirements.
Getting quotes the right way
Every property is different — a walk through the building tells a cleaner far more than a unit count does. Before asking for quotes:
- Walk the common areas yourself and note problem spots.
- List what residents complain about most.
- Decide which periodic work you want included.
- Give every contractor the same brief, so you can compare like with like.
Then invite each one to walk the site. A cleaner who wants to see the building before quoting is taking your contract seriously.
Managing a Townsville building? Request a callback and we’ll arrange a walkthrough with a committee member or your manager, then send a written scope, a fixed monthly price and our certificates of currency.
