Strata and common area

What we handle in strata

Strata common-area work covers the items that aren't inside a single unit: lobby and stairwell painting and repair, common-area lighting, exterior building maintenance, gardens and landscaping, common timber and fencing, basement and parking-area items, and any structural work outside individual unit boundaries.

For mid-sized blocks (10–40 units) the work tends to cluster — paint a lobby every five years, replace common-area carpet every seven, refresh the front entry every three. Larger blocks need a more regular cadence; smaller blocks see less, but the items themselves are similar.

Working with committees

Strata works on committee approval cycles. A quote that arrives the day before an OC meeting helps no one; we time quotes to give the committee at least a week to review, ask questions, and approve.

Quotes are itemised for committee scrutiny — what's being done, who's doing it, total cost split where useful (materials versus labour for larger jobs). Where the work involves a contribution from individual unit owners (a leak originating in one unit affecting another), the quote separates the apportionment so the committee can make the call cleanly.

We attend OC meetings on request for larger jobs where direct contractor presence helps the discussion.

The OC manager workflow

For an OC manager running multiple blocks, the alternative to coordinated maintenance is fielding individual trade calls per item per block. That doesn't scale.

Routing common-area work through Excell means one contact per block, one invoice per job, and a scheduling cycle the manager can see ahead of meetings rather than chase between them. The work gets done; the manager's calendar doesn't fill up with trade scheduling.

Where regulated work is involved — electrical work in the common hallway, plumbing in a shared bathroom, shared hot water systems — the licensed trade is coordinated through Excell with the documentation the OC needs to satisfy its own audit and insurance requirements.

Common scenarios

• Lobby in a 20-unit block needs repainting before listing season. Committee-ready quote, two-week scheduled visit, single invoice.
• Common-area lighting upgrade from halogens to LEDs. Electrical work coordinated through a licensed REC, certificates of electrical safety on file.
• Garden contractor unreliable; committee has asked for a new arrangement. Initial site visit, scope quote for monthly visits, scheduled from next month.
• Leak from upper-unit balcony affecting common-area stairwell ceiling. Source repair (coordinated with the unit's plumbing) plus common-area make-good (separate quote for the OC).
• Annual fire safety equipment check needs coordination across all five common-area locations. Licensed contractor scheduled in single visit, certificates issued for the OC's compliance file.