Concrete Maintenance Plan for Body Corporate and Strata Common Areas

Strata and community title schemes on the Central Coast manage significant concrete assets: car parks, driveways, paths, pool surrounds, recreational areas, and building approaches. Concrete deterioration in common areas is not just a cosmetic issue, it creates trip hazard liability, fails accessibility compliance requirements, and when left unaddressed, leads to dramatically higher repair costs when the problem is finally dealt with.

A properly structured concrete maintenance plan allows the owners corporation to budget appropriately, meet their statutory obligations, and avoid the reactive, crisis-driven approach to repairs that always costs more.

NSW Strata Law Obligations for Common Area Maintenance

Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), an owners corporation:

• Must maintain and repair common property
• Must ensure common property is safe for occupants and visitors
• Must prepare a 10-year capital works fund plan that includes major maintenance items
• Can be held liable for injuries occurring due to failure to maintain common property

Capital Works Fund Plans

Section 75 of the SSMA 2015 requires owners corporations to maintain a capital works fund with sufficient money to pay for capital expenditure reasonably likely to be required in the 10-year period. Concrete resurfacing and maintenance is a capital expenditure item that must be anticipated in this fund.

Common failure: Many older strata schemes on the Central Coast, particularly those established before 2016 when current fund requirements were strengthened, have inadequate capital works funds for concrete maintenance. The result is either a large special levy when the concrete finally fails, or deferred maintenance that worsens the problem and increases the eventual cost.

Duty of Care to Visitors

An owners corporation owes a duty of care under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) to persons who enter the common property. A concrete trip hazard, a raised joint, a cracked driveway, a deteriorated step, that the owners corporation knew about (or should have known about) and didn’t repair is a foreseeable hazard that creates liability exposure.

What Concrete Assets Need to Be Managed

For a typical Central Coast strata scheme, common property concrete assets include:

Building a 10-Year Concrete Maintenance Schedule

A practical maintenance schedule for a mid-sized Central Coast strata scheme (50 lots, 3-storey, built 2005):

Year 1-2: Condition Assessment and Immediate Repairs

• Professional condition audit of all concrete common property
• Identify and repair all immediate trip hazards (liability priority)
• Seal any open cracks that are admitting water
• Verify pool surround slip resistance meets AS 4586 requirements

Estimated cost: $2,000 to $8,000 depending on scheme size and condition

Year 3-5: Routine Maintenance Cycle

• Annual pressure cleaning of car park and paths
• Reseal paths and car parks where sealer is failing
• Repair any new cracking or edge damage
• Pool surround maintenance seal

Estimated annual cost: $3,000 to $12,000 depending on scheme size

Year 5-7: First Major Resurfacing

• Resurface car park areas showing significant wear or surface damage
• Refresh decorative surfaces in common area recreation spaces
• Ramp and step resurfacing for compliance refresh

Estimated cost: $15,000 to $60,000 depending on area

Year 8-10: Planning for Next Cycle

• Repeat condition audit
• Update capital works fund projections with new condition data
• Plan for second major resurfacing cycle as appropriate

Cost Planning for Common Area Concrete

For capital works fund planning purposes, use these indicative rates (Central Coast, 2026):

For a 10-year capital works plan, work with these assumptions:

• Annual maintenance = 1-2% of concrete asset replacement value per year
• Major resurfacing cycle = every 8-12 years for car parks; every 10-15 years for paths
• Emergency repairs budget = 10-15% of planned maintenance budget

Tendering and Managing Concrete Contractors

As an owners corporation, you have fiduciary obligations in how you engage contractors. For concrete work above certain thresholds, competitive tendering is expected. Practical guidance:

For Works Under $10,000

Two or three informal quotes from licensed contractors is typically sufficient. Request written quotes with scope of works described in detail (what will be done, not just a total price). Compare scope carefully, a lower price may reflect less preparation or inferior products.

For Works Over $10,000

Prepare a written scope of works document and request formal written quotes from at least three contractors. The scope should specify:

• Surface areas to be treated (include plan or measurements)
• Surface preparation method (grinding, cleaning)
• Products to be used (brand and product name, not just generic description)
• Number of coats
• Non-slip rating requirement (if applicable)
• Warranty terms
• Staging and access requirements

Evaluating Quotes

Lowest price is not the correct selection criterion. Evaluate on:

• Scope completeness (does the quote address all your requirements?)
• Product specification (brand-specified products from established manufacturers)
• Contractor licensing and insurance
• Experience with strata/commercial projects
• Warranty terms

Contractor Requirements

Concrete resurfacing contractors working on strata common areas should hold:

• Builder licence (Contractor Type A or C) or General Building Contractor licence under the Home Building Act (if residential strata)
• Public liability insurance minimum $10M
• Workers compensation insurance
• Experience with similar strata projects (request references)

Managing the Work in an Occupied Strata Scheme

Common area concrete work in an occupied strata scheme requires careful logistics:

Notice to owners and tenants: Section 122 of the SSMA 2015 requires notice to be given before works affecting a lot or common property. For concrete works affecting car parks or access paths, minimum 48 hours notice to affected lot owners is good practice; 7-14 days is better.

Access management: Car parks taken out of service for resurfacing need an access plan. Options include:

• Staged resurfacing (half the car park at a time)
• Temporary parking arrangements with nearby landlords or council
• Weekend/overnight work to minimise daytime disruption

Concrete cure management: Vehicles must be kept off freshly resurfaced areas for 48-72 hours. Install physical barriers (bollards, barrier tape) that cannot be moved by impatient residents, bollards are better than tape.

Communication: A simple notice board posting (physical and digital) explaining the works, timeline, and alternative access arrangements reduces complaints dramatically.

Case Study, Typical Central Coast Strata Project

A 3-storey, 36-lot strata scheme in Gosford (built 2002) engaged us for a common area concrete assessment and resurfacing programme. The property had not had concrete maintenance since construction.

Identified issues:

• 580 m² car park with extensive surface cracking, oil staining, and faded line marking
• 120 m² pedestrian paths with multiple minor trip hazards and algae growth
• Pool surround (85 m²) with surface scaling and failed sealer, failed slip resistance test
• 2 access ramps with loss of surface texture below P3 rating

Works programme:

• Stage 1 (Week 1): Crack repair, trip hazard grinding, immediate safety fixes
• Stage 2 (Weeks 2-3): Car park resurfacing and line marking
• Stage 3 (Week 4): Path resurfacing and sealing
• Stage 4 (Week 5): Pool surround resurfacing
• Stage 5 (Week 6): Ramp treatment and compliance testing

Total cost: $78,000 for a 785 m² programme

Result: Full compliance achieved, 10-year maintenance plan established, capital works fund appropriately funded for next cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do we get owner approval for a major concrete resurfacing spend? For amounts within the capital works fund, the strata committee can approve works without a general meeting. For amounts exceeding the committee’s approval threshold or for works not in the approved budget, an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) is required. Your strata manager can advise on the threshold that applies to your scheme.

Our strata manager says we can’t afford the concrete repairs, what are our options? Options include: special levy (distributed across all owners according to their unit entitlement), strata loan (borrowed against future levies), staged works (address the most urgent items first and spread costs over multiple years), or redeeming capital works fund investments if they exist.

Can we use the same contractor that does the building exterior? Concrete resurfacing and building painting are different specialisations. A painting contractor who claims to offer concrete resurfacing may not have the diamond grinding equipment, the right products, or the experience with polymer-modified overlays. Get quotes from specialist concrete resurfacing contractors for concrete work.

What records should the owners corporation keep of concrete maintenance? Maintain: condition audit reports, contractor quotes and contracts, tax invoices and payment records, product data sheets for materials used, warranty certificates. These support capital works fund planning and provide evidence of due diligence in any liability dispute.

Is there a minimum liability claim amount that makes the maintenance worth doing to avoid? The cost of a serious trip-and-fall claim on an unimproved concrete hazard, legal costs, compensation, medical costs, can easily reach $200,000 to $500,000. The cost of grinding a trip hazard is $80 to $200. The cost-benefit calculation is not complicated.

Ready to develop a concrete maintenance plan for your Central Coast strata scheme? Get a free common area assessment, an independent contractor inspects the assets, prepares a written condition report, and provides a prioritised maintenance plan and capital expenditure schedule.