Recent developments have highlighted the potential overcharging in strata maintenance and repairs, emphasising the need for effective building management services.
At Building Management Australia (BMA), we understand the challenges strata committees face and are committed to ensuring fairness and transparency in all dealings. Here’s how professional building management services like BMA can help prevent the issues brought to light in recent reports.
How Professional Building Management Protects You
Expertise in Quote Verification
A proficient building manager can meticulously evaluate quotes, identify overpriced or inflated figures, and challenge contractors on discrepancies. BMA ensures that all quotations are fair and accurately reflect the required scope of work.
Relationship Management
Building managers foster relationships with reliable contractors known for delivering quality work at reasonable rates. This network helps prevent situations where contractors might feel encouraged to hike prices due to perceived anonymity.
Project Oversight
Professional building managers oversee projects from start to finish. This ongoing oversight ensures tasks are executed as planned, curbing unnecessary changes and preventing billing for unfinished work.
Legal Compliance Knowledge
Recent legislative updates, such as amendments to the Design and Building Practitioners Act, make it essential to have a building manager who is well-versed in these regulations. Their expertise helps navigate the legal landscape and maintain compliance without inflating costs.
Transparent Practices
BMA champions transparency by openly disclosing any commercial relationships with contractors and always acting in the best interests of our clients. This approach aligns with recent and ongoing legislative reforms aimed at enhancing industry transparency.
Time and Stress Savings
Managing complex building projects requires significant time and expertise, which many owners may not have. A skilled building management service alleviates this burden from the strata committee, providing professional oversight while conserving residents’ time and energy.
Regular Reporting and Communication
BMA ensures strata committees are well-informed through regular, detailed reports about ongoing works, expenditures, and any arising issues. This continuous communication facilitates timely and effective decision-making.
Dispute Resolution
When discrepancies or disputes occur, a professional building manager can mediate using their industry expertise to resolve conflicts efficiently and equitably.
Continuous Improvement
As regulations and technologies evolve, so does BMA. We stay updated with industry best practices, new laws, and emerging technologies to continuously enhance our services and safeguard our clients’ interests.
The Bottom Line
While recent reports of overcharging in strata maintenance raise concerns, they also underscore the critical role of having a reliable, competent building management service. BMA is dedicated to safeguarding strata committees from such issues, ensuring transparent pricing, quality workmanship, and peace of mind for all stakeholders. By choosing a professional service like BMA, strata committees can focus on fostering a harmonious community, confident that their property maintenance is in trustworthy hands.
Frequently Asked Questions
How common is overcharging in strata maintenance?
Common enough that it has drawn public reporting and legislative attention. The structural problem is simple: work gets quoted and billed to a committee of volunteers who often have no way to benchmark the price or verify the work. Anywhere that oversight gap exists, inflated quotes and padded invoices can follow.
How does a building manager actually catch an inflated quote?
By knowing what the work should cost — from pricing history, competitive quotes against the same scope, and day-to-day contractor experience — and by checking the invoice against the work actually done before it’s paid. Oversight from scoping through to completion is what makes padding visible.
Why does the building manager’s independence matter here?
Because scrutiny only works when the person doing it has no stake in the bill. A building manager with no undisclosed commercial ties to the contractors — and no corporate relationship with the strata manager processing the payments — can question any quote or invoice with only the building’s interests in play.
What should a committee do if it suspects it has been overcharged?
Gather the records first — quotes, invoices, correspondence and evidence of the work actually done — and have them reviewed by someone independent with industry pricing knowledge. From there the path may be a negotiated resolution with the contractor, or escalation through the strata manager and, where warranted, formal dispute channels or legal advice.
Is Anyone Checking Your Building’s Bills?
Building Management Australia is a Sydney building management firm — not a strata agent. Verifying quotes, supervising the work, checking invoices against what was actually done and reporting it all to your committee is core to how we manage buildings — with any commercial relationships disclosed and no competing loyalties.
If your committee can’t be sure its maintenance pricing is honest, request a proposal at bmaus.com.au or email Andrew directly at andrew@bmaus.com.au.
About the Author
Andrew Veron is the founder of Building Management Australia (BMA), an independent Sydney building management firm established in 1995. BMA is a building management company — not a strata agent — providing on-site and visiting building management, facilities management, concierge, cleaning and valet services to residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. Over the past 30 years, Andrew and the BMA team have managed buildings across the Eastern Suburbs, North Sydney, Inner Sydney, Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, with assets currently valued in excess of $3 billion under management. Because BMA is independent of any strata management firm, committees receive unbiased advice and transparent contractor relationships. Reach Andrew at andrew@bmaus.com.au or bmaus.com.au.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Legislative requirements in this area continue to change; owners corporations concerned about specific overcharging should obtain advice on their circumstances.
