The short answer

Strata cleaning is the regular cleaning of shared common areas in residential or mixed-use buildings — lobbies, lifts, stairwells, bin rooms, car parks. Its purpose is to keep the building presentable for owners and visitors. The contract is held by the strata manager or body corporate.

Commercial cleaning is the regular cleaning of occupied workspaces in offices, retail, warehouses, medical centres and similar — desks, kitchens, bathrooms, hard-floor areas, breakouts. Its purpose is to keep an occupied premises hygienic, presentation-ready and compliant for the business operating in it.

The two services use overlapping skills and equipment, but the scope, frequency, audit standard and accountability model are different.

What strata cleaning covers (and what it doesn’t)

Strata cleaning typically covers:

Lobbies, hallways, lift cars, stairwells
Common-area bathrooms and amenities
Bin rooms (a major presentation pain point)
Car parks (surface sweep or pressure clean)
Mailbox and entry detailing
Glass and entry door spot cleaning
Common-area carpet and hard-floor care

It does not cover:

Inside individual units or apartments (that’s the owner’s responsibility)
Tenanted commercial spaces inside a mixed-use building (that’s the tenant’s contract)
Building maintenance like graffiti removal beyond first-line wipe-down (separate scope)
Pest control, gardening or landscaping (separate scope)

The contract is held by the strata manager on behalf of the body corporate. Most strata contracts in Perth are month-to-month or annual, terminable on 30–90 days notice.

What commercial cleaning covers

Commercial cleaning typically covers:

Workstations, desks and shared surfaces
Kitchens and breakout areas (dishwasher cycle, surface wipe, bin liner replacement)
Bathrooms (clean and consumables restock)
Reception, meeting rooms and high-touch surfaces
Vacuum and hard-floor mopping across the tenancy
Glass partitions and entry presentation
Bins consolidated and disposed of as agreed

Add-ons typically include:

Carpet steam cleaning on a quarterly/bi-annual rotation
Hard-floor strip and seal (annual or bi-annual)
Window detail (internal monthly, external quarterly/bi-annual)
Consumables top-up management (soap, paper, sanitiser)

The contract is held by the business tenant or facility manager. Commercial cleaning contracts often have an SLA with documented audit cycles and may require Cm3 prequalification or equivalent.

The five real differences

1. Who’s paying, and what they care about

Strata is paid for by the body corporate (owners). Owners care about visible presentation — clean lobbies, no smell in the bin room, lifts that don’t look grubby. Their proxy is the strata manager, who hears complaints and wants fewer of them.

Commercial is paid for by the tenant. Tenants care about operating conditions — clean bathrooms, presentable reception, staff and customer experience. Their proxy is the office or facility manager, who measures audit pass rate and compliance.

2. Compliance and audit standard

Commercial cleaning is increasingly compliance-driven — Cm3 prequalification, documented SWMS, infection-control protocols (especially for medical and childcare), and a documented audit trail.

Strata cleaning has lower formal compliance overhead but higher visible quality expectations — photo reports per visit, fast resolution of complaints, and a single point of contact who picks up the phone.

3. After-hours requirements

Commercial cleaning is almost always after-hours or pre-opening — between 5pm and 8am — so it doesn’t disrupt the tenant.

Strata cleaning runs during the day for most buildings because common areas need to be done while empty (and residents are at work). High-end strata may run early-morning to be done before residents leave.

4. Equipment density

Commercial sites typically need backpack vacuums (faster), commercial-grade chemicals, microfibre by zone, and occasionally ride-on scrubbers for warehouse and retail. Carpet steam, strip-and-seal and window-detail are big quarterly mobilisations.

Strata sites need similar core equipment but rotate more often through exterior and waste-handling gear: pressure washers, ride-on sweepers for car parks, bin-rinse equipment. Less specialist clinical chemistry.

5. Termination and contract flexibility

Commercial contracts are typically 12–36 months with documented SLAs and a defined notice period. Cm3-style contracts are especially long.

Strata contracts are usually shorter — month-to-month after an initial probation — because strata committees rotate and the strata manager needs flexibility to change cleaners if owners are unhappy.

Mixed-use buildings — both at once

Most mid-rise Perth buildings need both. The body corporate contracts strata cleaning for the lobbies, lifts and shared areas. Each commercial tenant contracts their own commercial cleaning for inside their tenancy. Some cleaners (we’re one) hold both contracts in a building, which removes finger-pointing and gives a single accountable team.

Picking the right service

If you’re a strata manager, you want strata cleaning — emphasise inclusion specificity, photo reporting, fast complaint resolution, and bin-room rigour. Avoid generalist commercial cleaners who treat strata as a side hustle.

If you’re a facility or office manager, you want commercial cleaning — emphasise Cm3 prequalification, audit and SLA terms, after-hours scheduling, and a documented quality cycle. Avoid cleaners without commercial references.

If you operate a mixed-use building, get separate quotes for the common areas and your tenancy. One cleaner can hold both, but the scopes and audit standards should remain distinct.

Want a quote?

We provide both. Request a strata cleaning quote or a commercial cleaning quote — or one combined quote for mixed-use sites.

Strata cleaning vs commercial cleaning: what's the difference?