Strata painting works best when the owners corporation plans it years ahead in its maintenance plan, funds it through the maintenance fund, and asks painters to quote against one written scope. In Victoria, larger owners corporations are legally required to have that plan and fund. With the money and scope settled, the committee’s job becomes managing colour approval, access, resident notice and staging.
A full repaint is one of the biggest projects an owners corporation takes on. This guide walks through each step from a committee’s point of view.
Do you need a maintenance plan for strata painting?
It depends on the size of the owners corporation. Under Victoria’s owners corporation rules, tier one and tier two owners corporations must have a maintenance plan and a maintenance fund. Tier one covers more than 100 occupiable lots and tier two covers 51 to 100, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria’s guide to tiers. Smaller owners corporations can choose to have one, and Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends it.
A maintenance plan covers major capital items expected to need repair or replacement over the next 10 years. For each item, it should record:
- its present condition
- when it will need repair or replacement
- the estimated cost
- its expected life once the work is done.
External painting is one of the most predictable items in that plan. If the owners corporation has a plan, it must report on how it is being implemented at each annual general meeting.
Maintenance fund or sinking fund?
Most people call it the sinking fund. Victorian law calls it the maintenance fund. Either way, it is the money set aside to pay for the works in the plan. Building a repaint into the fund years ahead is far easier on owners than a large special levy when the paint starts failing.
How do you get comparable painting quotes?
The most common problem committees face is quotes that can’t be compared. One painter prices two coats with minimal preparation, another prices full preparation and a primer, and a third leaves out access. The fix is a written scope that every painter quotes against.
A good scope covers:
- Areas included. Which elevations, balconies, stairwells, car parks, fences and common corridors.
- Surfaces and substrates. Render, brick, timber, metal balustrades, fibre cement.
- Preparation. Pressure cleaning, crack repairs, sealant replacement, rust treatment, mould treatment.
- Products and system. Brand, product, number of coats and sheen for each surface.
- Access method. Scaffold, elevating work platform (EWP), rope access or ladders, and who arranges any permits.
- Staging and hours. Order of works and permitted working hours.
- Guarantee and insurance. Length and terms of the workmanship guarantee and the contractor’s public liability cover.
Our guide to what a painting quote should include lists the line items and red flags to look for.
Colour approvals and changes to appearance
A repaint is a good moment to refresh the building’s look, but the decision needs to be made properly. Consumer Affairs Victoria explains that an owners corporation can only make significant alterations to the use or appearance of its common property if they are listed in the maintenance plan or approved by special resolution, with limited exceptions for upgrade works and urgent safety works.
A like-for-like repaint is maintenance. A noticeably different colour scheme may be a significant change to appearance, so check with your manager or a lawyer before work starts. In practice, committees usually:
- shortlist two or three schemes with large painted samples on the building itself
- present them to owners with photos taken on site
- record the approved colour codes, products and sheens in the minutes and the contract.
If the building is in a heritage area, check with your council whether planning controls apply to external colours. Our guide to choosing exterior house colours in Melbourne covers how colours read on render and brick in our light.
Access: scaffold, EWP and safety
Access is often one of the largest costs in a strata repaint, and it is where quotes vary most. The right method depends on height, ground conditions, the building’s shape and how long each area will take.
- Scaffold suits long programmes on one elevation, heavy preparation and buildings with complex facades.
- Elevating work platforms suit shorter tasks, touch-ups and sites where scaffold would block access for too long.
- Ladders are only suitable for low, short-duration work.
Contractors must manage fall risks under Victoria’s OHS laws. WorkSafe Victoria’s compliance code on preventing falls in general construction sets out how duty holders can meet those obligations. As a committee, ask each painter how they will access every area, who is responsible for any council permits for scaffold on footpaths, and how residents’ entries and car park access will be kept clear and safe.
Scheduling and notifying residents
A repaint touches every resident, so communication matters as much as the painting.
- Give a programme early. Share which areas will be worked on and roughly when.
- Give specific notice before each stage. Residents need to clear balconies, move cars and close windows.
- Know the rules for entering lots. If painters need to go through an apartment to reach a balcony, Consumer Affairs Victoria says the owners corporation must give the occupier at least 7 days’ written notice, unless it is an emergency or the occupier agrees to less. For rented lots, the notice rules under the Residential Tenancies Act apply.
- Name one point of contact. Residents should know who to call with a problem, and the committee should get regular updates.
Melbourne’s weather also shapes the programme. Exterior coatings need suitable temperatures and dry conditions, so allow for weather days. Our guide to the best time to paint a house exterior in Melbourne explains the seasons.
Staged works: spreading cost and disruption
Not every building needs, or can afford, a full repaint in one go. Staging the work can match the maintenance plan and fund:
- by elevation, starting with the north and west faces that cop the most sun
- by block, in a multi-building complex
- by type of work, such as common corridors one year and the exterior the next.
Staging also lets the committee judge the contractor’s quality on the first stage before committing to the rest. The trade-off is that access may need to be set up more than once, so compare the staged and single-stage prices.
AMP Master Painters runs strata and maintenance plans for owners corporations: we review the property, set out a schedule of work spread to suit the sinking fund or budget, notify residents before scheduled visits and report back to the committee. Every job, from common corridors to a full exterior painting programme, comes with a written 7-year guarantee and is backed by $10M public liability insurance.
The bottom line
Good strata painting starts in the maintenance plan, not when the paint starts peeling. Fund it ahead, write one scope for every painter to price, get colour changes approved properly, and insist on a clear access and communication plan. Staging the works can make a large repaint affordable and far less disruptive for residents.
