Guide / Strata
Renovating in a strata building: who approves what
Most of Double Bay lives under strata title, so most renovations here begin with a question that has nothing to do with tiles: whose permission do I need? NSW law gives a surprisingly tidy answer. Here it is in plain language, with the debris angle we get asked about most.
The three tiers, in one table
The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 sorts owner renovations into three tiers. The tier decides who has to say yes, and how formally.
| Tier | Typical work | Who approves |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic work | Painting inside your lot, filling small holes, hanging pictures, built-in wardrobes, laying carpet | Nobody. You can just do it (keep it inside your lot and workmanlike). |
| Minor renovations | Renovating a kitchen, hard flooring, non-structural wall changes, new wiring or cabling, reverse-cycle air conditioning | The owners corporation by ordinary resolution (a simple majority at a meeting), and buildings can delegate this to the strata committee through a by-law. |
| Major renovations | Structural changes, anything affecting waterproofing (which captures most bathroom renovations), work changing the outside appearance of the building | A special resolution (no more than a quarter of votes against), usually with a by-law recording conditions. |
The tier names come straight from the legislation; the everyday examples above are the ones NSW Fair Trading itself uses. The one that surprises people is the bathroom: because waterproofing sits above the cosmetic and minor tiers, the humble ensuite reno is usually a "major", and needs the formal vote.
Three things worth doing early
- Read your building's by-laws before you plan anything. Individual schemes add their own conditions: work-hour windows, lift-use rules, protection requirements for common property, sometimes a bond. Your strata manager can send the current consolidated by-laws; the NSW Strata Hub is the government's portal for scheme records.
- Get the tier right before you brief trades. A "minor" that turns out to be a "major" mid-job stops the job. If waterproofing might be touched, assume major until someone qualified says otherwise.
- Put the debris plan in the approval paperwork. Committees ask about it anyway; answering before they ask reads as competence. Where the waste will be held inside the lot, how it crosses common property, and when.
Where the debris fits (the part we know best)
Nothing in the tier system authorises rubbish to sit on common property, and most by-laws forbid exactly that. In practice that means a strip-out's debris either leaves the building the day it's created or waits inside your lot, and every carry across the hall, lift and lobby happens under the building's rules: protection down, work-hour window respected, lift booked where the building requires it.
That's the shape of our between-trades debris run, and it's why we plan around the building rather than just the load. If you want to see how your building's specifics change the run, the Building Run planner sketches it in four questions.
The committee doesn't actually care about your rubbish. It cares about the lobby, the lift and the neighbours' Saturday. Look after those three and approvals get friendlier.
Sources
- NSW Fair Trading: Renovations in a strata scheme. The plain-English authority on the cosmetic / minor / major tiers and their approval paths, including the delegation of minor renovations to a strata committee.
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). The legislation itself; sections 109 and 110 define cosmetic work and minor renovations.
- NSW Government: Strata Hub. The state's portal for strata scheme information and records.
General guidance only, not legal advice: your scheme's by-laws and your strata manager have the final word on your building.
Ready when the debris is
Tell us what's coming out and which building it's coming out of. We come back with one fixed price, agreed before we lift a thing.