Strata Painting in NSW: How a Building Repaint Works, Start to Finish

A strata repaint is a project with an audience. The committee has to approve it, the strata manager has to report on it, and every household in the building has to live through it. This guide walks through how a building repaint works in NSW, from where the money comes from to what a good handover looks like.

Why a strata repaint is different from painting a house

In a strata scheme, the outside of the building, the stairwells, the corridors and most of what you see from the street is common property. Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, the owners corporation has a duty to maintain and repair it (section 106). That makes repainting a decision the building makes together, not something one owner can book on their own.

It also means more people need to understand the job before it starts. Owners want to know what they are paying for, the committee wants something it can table at a meeting, and residents want to know when the painters will be outside their windows.

Where the money comes from: the capital works fund

Every owners corporation in NSW keeps a capital works fund, and a 10-year capital works fund plan that sets out the major work the building expects to need. According to the NSW Government’s strata guidance, the plan is reviewed at least every five years and considered at each annual general meeting. An external repaint is one of the biggest items in most plans, so the timing of a repaint is usually set years in advance.

If your building’s plan has a repaint coming up, it is worth getting a condition assessment a year or so ahead. Render cracks, failing sealant and rusting balustrade fixings are much cheaper to deal with as part of a planned repaint than as separate emergency repairs.

Same colours or new colours?

This is the question that most often slows a strata repaint down. Repainting common property in the existing colour scheme is generally treated as maintenance. Changing the colour scheme is generally treated as altering common property to improve or enhance it, which falls under section 108 of the Act and needs a special resolution at a general meeting.

A special resolution is harder to pass than an ordinary one, so if the building wants a new look, plan the vote early and put real colour samples in front of owners before the meeting. Your strata manager can confirm exactly what your building needs; if in doubt, ask them before the scope is finalised. Where a new scheme is approved, we offer colour advice once the quote is accepted.

What a quote the committee can compare should include

Committees are often asked to choose between quotes that are not describing the same job. One quote is a single figure; another runs to six pages. A quote you can compare line for line should set out:

• The scope by building and elevation, so everyone knows which walls, balconies, doors and stairwells are included.
• The preparation: washing, crack repairs, sealant replacement, rust treatment and priming.
• The products by name, including the sheen and the number of coats on each surface.
• How the building will be accessed, and what that means for residents’ balconies and car spaces.
• A programme, with allowance for wet weather.
• What is not included, written out, so nothing turns into a variation halfway through.

That is how we write ours: an itemised quote after a site walk, never a number over the phone.

Living in the building while it is painted

The difference between a repaint residents remember fondly and one they complain about for years is mostly communication. Good practice looks like this:

• Notices go up before each stage, saying which elevation is being worked on and when balconies need to be cleared.
• Work moves in sections, so no one has drop sheets on their balcony for weeks at a time.
• Low-VOC products are used in enclosed common areas such as corridors and lobbies.
• The strata manager gets regular updates, so they can answer owners without chasing the painter.

Handover, and what comes after

At the end of the job, the committee should receive a record of what was painted, with which products and colours. That record makes the next repaint, and every touch-up in between, far easier. Our workmanship guarantee is five years, in writing, and it is part of the handover pack.

If you manage or sit on the committee of a building that has a repaint coming up, our strata painting page explains how we run these jobs, and our page for property managers covers the reporting side. Buildings near the water have their own preparation needs; see what we usually find in the Eastern Suburbs.

Ready for a written quote?

Call 1300 153 163, or tell us about the job and a person will reply within one business day. Every quote is written and itemised after a site walk.

Sources: NSW Government: strata levies, finances and insurance