Strata property owners have been urged not to cancel maintenance jobs in the face of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.    

Strata Community Association (SCA), Australia’s peak body for strata title properties, warned of the long-term impact and expense if maintenance or any planned work is not carried out.   

SCA is the industry body for Body Corporate and Community Title Management (also referred to as Strata Management, Strata Title or Owners Corporation Management) in Australia and New Zealand.    

More than two million Australians live in strata and SCA National President Andrew Chambers said cancelling any maintenance work would have a severe impact on the workflow and budgets of strata ecosystems.    

“If strata communities cancel ongoing maintenance or planned work, they impact not only on the workflow of strata ecosystems, they can cause long-term effects on the building and amenities and will cost far more money to fix in the long run,” Mr Chambers said.  

“With more people self-isolating at home, we’re hearing cases of blocked drains or toilets. You can’t ignore issues like that which only get worse and can create bigger problems – not to mention more expense – if ignored.”  On top of further damage and expense, Mr Chambers said livelihoods could be affected by the cancellation of work.

“It’s important for any ongoing maintenance or planned work to continue because cancelling any of this has a disastrous effect on our workforce at this unprecedented time,’’ Mr Chambers said.  “As Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, we have to keep Australians in jobs to tackle the significant economic impact from Coronavirus to ensure Australia bounces back.  “People who provide services to strata, like painters, electricians, garbage collectors, gardeners, are the people on the front line taking us through this crisis and rely on regular payment for their services. They are making sure we can survive, even risking their health to do it. We can’t let them down.”  

As the pandemic continues, Mr Chambers said demand on strata managers is greater than ever before. And with more people at home, there is a significant increase in the need for more maintenance with cleaning and disinfecting, garbage disposal, plumbing, water, utilities and other issues which add to expenses.  Strata managers are now finding themselves not only managing strata schemes but also the social fabric and health obligations with government-imposed restrictions on residential communities on a scale never imagined.   

Managers must tailor their actions for strata schemes based on size, the number of residents and facilities. “There is now more focus on adaptive solutions for each building,” Mr Chambers said. “This means the role of strata managers is to maintain a business-as-usual environment.  

  "This unprecedented environment is likely to result in more service solutions channelled through the strata manager.Across our industry, our workforces are supporting strata residents because we know how critical our role is to ensure safety, security, sanity and survival.   

“We see the role of the manager as critical for maintaining social cohesion, security and safety for residents and ensuring schemes can adopt to the challenges that the unprecedented challenges will throw at those in isolation.”

Strata Community Association Limited (SCA) is the peak industry body for Body Corporate and Community Title Management in Australia & New Zealand. Membership includes body corporate managers, support staff, committee members and suppliers of products and services to the industry. SCA proudly fulfils the dual roles of a professional institute and consumer advocate.
SCA has in excess of 3,300 members who help oversee, advise or manage a combined property portfolio with an estimated replacement value of over $1.2 trillion. Website: https://www.strata.community/