Most strata councils in BC pick a cleaning schedule once and never look at it again. Over time the lobby starts to look dirty by the middle of the week. Elevator buttons go days without being wiped down. Residents start to wonder what their strata fees are paying for.
If a resident tells you the hallways feel dirty, you need a good answer. A written cleaning schedule gives you that answer. It also helps protect the council and keeps the building in good shape.
This article tells you exactly how often a strata building in Surrey should be cleaned. We break it down by area, traffic level, and time of year. We also cover who is responsible under BC law, what the rules say, and how to find a good cleaning company for your building.
Quick Answer: How Often Should a Surrey Strata Building Be Cleaned?
Here is a simple guide you can share with your strata council. Most Surrey strata buildings should follow this schedule for their common areas:
| Building Area | Minimum Frequency | Recommended Frequency |
| Lobbies and entrance areas | 3x per week | Daily |
| Elevator interiors and buttons | 3x per week | Daily |
| Hallways and stairwells | Weekly | 2-3x per week |
| Mailrooms | Weekly | 2x per week |
| Amenity rooms (gym, lounge, party room) | Weekly | 2-3x per week |
| Parkade and bike storage | Bi-weekly | Weekly |
| Recycling and garbage areas | Weekly | 2x per week |
| Windows (interior) | Quarterly | Monthly |
| Deep clean (all common areas) | Quarterly | Monthly to quarterly |
Buildings with 50 or more units, or those with a gym, pool, or shared lounge, usually need cleaning more often. Buildings in busy areas like Newton, Guildford, or Whalley will get dirty faster, especially during Surrey’s wet winters.
Not sure what schedule fits your building? Request a free strata cleaning assessment in Surrey and we will walk you through it.
Cleaning Frequency by Area: A Room-by-Room Breakdown
The table above gives you a quick look. Here is a little more detail on each area so you know what to expect and why.
Lobbies, Entrance Mats, and Mailrooms
The lobby is the first thing people see when they walk into your building. Entrance mats pick up a lot of mud and water, especially during Surrey’s rainy season from October through March. Busy buildings should have their lobby cleaned every day, or at least three times a week. Mailrooms do not get as much foot traffic, but counters and door handles still need to be wiped down two to three times a week.
Elevators
Elevator buttons are touched by every resident who comes and goes. That makes them one of the dirtiest surfaces in the whole building. Elevator buttons, walls, and floors should be cleaned every day. If you skip a few days, the difference in how the elevator looks and smells will be easy to notice.
Hallways, Stairwells, and Common Corridors
Hallways and stairwells do not get as much traffic as the lobby, but they still get dirty fast. Dust, scuff marks, and tracked-in dirt build up quickly. Cleaning them two to three times a week keeps them looking good without costing too much. Stairwells are easy to miss because dirt tends to collect in corners and along the walls at floor level.
Amenity Rooms (Gym, Party Room, Lounge)
The best way to clean amenity rooms is based on how much they are used. A gym that residents use every day should be cleaned two to three times a week. A party room or meeting space can usually be cleaned once a week, with a deep clean before and after any booked events. Plan your cleaning around how much each room actually gets used.
Parkades, Recycling Areas, and Garbage Rooms
These spots are the ones most likely to be cut from the budget first, but they also carry the most risk for contamination. Recycling and garbage rooms should be cleaned every week, and twice a week in summer when smells get worse. Parkades can be swept weekly and deep cleaned once or twice a month. In our experience with Surrey strata buildings, the recycling room is the most skipped area we see during building walkthroughs.
Who Is Responsible for Cleaning Common Areas in a BC Strata?
The simple answer is the strata corporation. Under Section 72 of BC’s Strata Property Act, the strata corporation must repair and maintain common property and common assets. That covers all shared spaces, from the lobby and elevators to the parkade and amenity rooms.
This is not optional. It is the law. A strata council that lets common areas fall into poor condition may face complaints from owners, disputes at AGMs, or claims through the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal. Having a written cleaning schedule on file is one of the easiest ways to show the council is doing its job.
What the Strata Pays For vs. What Owners Pay For
The general rule is simple. Anything outside the unit is the strata’s job. Anything inside the unit is the owner’s job. Here is a quick breakdown:
- Strata responsibility: lobbies, hallways, elevators, stairwells, parkades, amenity rooms, recycling areas, and all other shared spaces
- Owner responsibility: inside the strata lot, including private balconies unless the bylaws say otherwise
- Limited common property (like parking stalls or storage lockers): depends on what the bylaws say
The Role of the Strata Council vs. a Property Management Company
The strata council decides what gets done and approves the budget. If the building uses a property management company, that company handles the day-to-day work, including setting up cleaning contracts. Either way, someone needs to own the schedule and make sure it is followed and written down.
Hiring a professional cleaning company also takes some pressure off the council. When a licensed and insured cleaning company does the work, the council has a paper trail to point to if any complaint or dispute comes up.
See how we work with strata councils across Surrey. Visit our strata cleaning services in Surrey page for more details.
What the Industry Says About How Often to Clean
BC law sets the floor, but there are also industry guidelines that can help strata councils figure out if their current schedule is good enough.
High-Touch Surfaces and CDC Guidance
The CDC’s guidance on environmental cleaning says that high-touch surfaces in shared spaces should be cleaned more often. In a strata building, that means elevator buttons, door handles, stair railings, and intercom panels. These spots should be cleaned and disinfected every day in a busy building, not just once a week.
Focus Cleaning Where Dirt Actually Enters
A well-known idea in the cleaning industry, referenced by groups like the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), is that most of the dirt in a building comes in through just a few entry points. In a strata building, that usually means the main lobby door and the parkade entrance. Putting more cleaning effort on those two spots is one of the smartest and most cost-effective things you can do.
Why Cleaning Every Two Weeks Is Not Enough
Many smaller strata buildings try to save money by only scheduling cleaning every two weeks. In a building with many units, two weeks is too long to go without cleaning lobbies, elevators, and other high-touch areas. Professional cleaning guidelines in the industry point to weekly or more frequent visits for shared areas in any residential building. Buildings that only clean once a week or less tend to get more resident complaints during Surrey’s wet season, when mud and moisture track in constantly.
Keep Records of Every Clean
Your cleaning company should give you a service log after every visit. The log should show which areas were cleaned, what products were used, and when the work was done. These records are very useful at AGMs or if a disagreement ever comes up. [1] The Province of BC recommends that strata councils keep written records of all maintenance work to track the condition of shared spaces over time. Make sure your service agreement includes this.
How to Pick the Right Cleaning Schedule for Your Surrey Strata Building
Rules and guidelines are a good starting point, but every building is different. The right schedule for your building depends on what your property is actually like.
What Affects How Often You Need to Clean
- Number of units: A 12-unit townhouse has very different needs than a 150-unit highrise in Guildford or Surrey City Centre.
- Amenity rooms: Buildings with a gym, party room, or shared lounge need those spaces cleaned based on how often people use them.
- Building age: Older buildings often have grout, flooring, and surfaces that show dirt faster and need more attention.
- Who lives there: Buildings with a lot of families and kids tend to see more wear on shared areas than buildings with mostly adults.
- Location and season: Buildings near busy roads in Newton or Whalley get dirty faster. Surrey’s rainy winters from October to April make lobbies and hallways dirty much more quickly.
What a Free Building Assessment Covers
Before you sign any cleaning contract, a good strata cleaning company should walk through your building with you. The walkthrough should include a look at each common area, a suggested cleaning schedule based on how your building is actually used, and a written quote that lays out the work, the schedule, and the price. Crystal Clean Dream Team offers free building walkthroughs for strata buildings all across Surrey, including Fleetwood, Cloverdale, South Surrey, and nearby areas.
5 Questions to Ask Before You Sign
- Are you fully insured and WorkSafeBC compliant? Any cleaning company working in a strata should carry liability insurance and workers compensation coverage. This protects the strata if something goes wrong on-site.
- Do you provide service logs after every visit? Good cleaning companies give you written records of every clean.
- Can you work around our residents? Your cleaning team should be able to schedule visits at times that do not bother people who live in the building.
- What products do you use, and are they safe for shared surfaces? Harsh cleaning products can damage floors, fixtures, and furniture over time.
- Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee? A good company stands behind its work. If the clean does not meet the agreed standard, they should come back and fix it at no extra charge.
A Real Example From Surrey
We walked through a 72-unit highrise in Surrey that had no cleaning schedule at all. The strata council had one part-time cleaner who only tackled areas where residents had complained. Within 60 days of starting a proper weekly plan, with daily service for the lobby and elevators and bi-weekly deep cleans of the parkade and recycling area, resident complaints dropped a lot. The council also had a clear written record to bring to their next AGM.
A good cleaning schedule does not have to be complicated. It just needs to be written down, followed every time, and right for your building.
Ready to put a cleaning schedule in place for your Surrey strata building? Our team is fully insured, WorkSafeBC compliant, and has worked with strata councils all across Newton, Guildford, Fleetwood, South Surrey, and the rest of the city. Contact our Surrey strata cleaning team today for a free building assessment and no-obligation quote.
Sources
- BC Strata Property Act, Section 72 — BC Laws (bclaws.gov.bc.ca)
- CDC Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Guidelines — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov)
- ISSA — International Sanitary Supply Association — Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association (issa.com)
- Crystal Clean Dream Team — Strata Cleaning Services Surrey BC
- [1] Doing Repair and Maintenance Work in a Strata — Province of British Columbia (www2.gov.bc.ca)
