Window replacement in a strata building almost always stalls on the same two questions before anyone talks about the windows themselves: who gets to decide, and who pays for it. Until those are settled, the project goes nowhere. So this article answers the process rather than the product. If you are a committee member, a strata manager or a lot owner in a NSW apartment building trying to get windows replaced, uPVC Windows Expert works with strata across New South Wales, and here is how the approval and funding generally work, and what a committee should have sorted before it goes anywhere near a quote.
In NSW the window itself is usually common property while internal fittings are not, so replacement is normally an owners corporation decision rather than a lot owner’s. The strata plan and the building’s by-laws decide it, so check those first. Window replacement is generally funded from the capital works fund and planned rather than treated as an emergency repair.
Is a window common property?
The question that decides almost everything else is whether the window is common property or belongs to the individual lot, because that determines who is responsible for it and who can authorise work on it.
As a general position in NSW, the window itself, the frame and the glass, is usually common property, while the internal fittings such as the internal coverings and furnishings are usually the lot owner’s. That is why window replacement is normally a decision for the owners corporation rather than something an individual owner arranges on their own. The window is part of the shared building fabric, not part of the private lot, under the common arrangement.
But, and this is the important qualification, that is the general position, not a rule that applies identically to every building. What is common property and what belongs to the lot is set out in the building’s own strata plan and its by-laws, and these can vary from building to building. So while windows are commonly common property, the only way to know for certain in your building is to check your own strata plan and by-laws rather than assume the general position applies.
The practical first step, then, before any discussion of products or quotes, is to confirm from your strata plan and by-laws whether the windows are common property in your building. That single check determines who runs the project and who pays for it, so it comes first.
Who approves the work
Once you have established that the windows are common property, the work needs to be approved through the owners corporation’s proper decision-making process rather than arranged by one owner or even one committee member acting alone. Knowing the path keeps the project moving rather than stalling.
The usual starting point is to raise it with the committee. A lot owner or committee member brings the issue, ideally with some information about the condition of the windows and why replacement is being considered, so the committee understands what is being proposed.
From there, it generally needs to be put on the agenda of a general meeting of the owners corporation, so the owners can consider and vote on it, since a decision affecting common property on this scale is a collective one.
There is an important distinction to understand, which is the difference between a committee decision and one that needs a general meeting resolution. Some decisions can be made by the committee, while larger ones, particularly those involving significant expenditure or changes to common property, need to go to the owners at a general meeting and be passed as a resolution there. Which category a window replacement falls into, and what kind of resolution it requires, depends on your building, its by-laws and the nature of the work, so this is something to confirm with your strata manager rather than assume. The key point is that the approval follows the owners corporation’s formal process, and getting that process right from the start is what prevents a decision being challenged later.
Capital works and how it is funded
With approval in hand, the next question is funding, and here the answer is usually the capital works fund. A NSW strata scheme typically maintains a capital works fund, money set aside over time specifically for major, non-routine work on the building, as distinct from the day-to-day running costs.
Window replacement is generally the kind of work this fund exists for. It is a significant, planned upgrade to the building fabric rather than a minor repair, so it usually sits as a capital works item. And because a well-run scheme plans its capital works ahead through a long-term plan, window replacement is best approached as a planned project, budgeted and scheduled in advance, rather than as an emergency repair scrambled together after a failure.
This is actually good news for a committee, because it means the project can be done properly. A planned replacement allows time to specify the work well, compare quotes on equal terms, and choose a quality product such as double glazed uPVC windows and doors that improves the building’s comfort and performance for the long term, rather than rushing a like-for-like swap under pressure. Planning it as capital works is what lets the owners corporation treat it as an upgrade worth getting right.
What makes a strata replacement different on site
Replacing windows across an occupied apartment building is a very different job from a single home, and understanding why helps a committee set realistic expectations and a workable scope.
The central challenge is that the building is occupied throughout. Residents are living in their apartments while the work happens, so the job has to be staged carefully, apartment by apartment or section by section, rather than done all at once, to keep disruption manageable.
Access is a logistical exercise in itself. Getting materials and crew to apartments on multiple floors often means booking the building’s lift, coordinating access to individual apartments with residents, and managing common areas, all of which has to be arranged in advance.
Working hours usually have to respect the building’s rules and the residents’ reasonable amenity, so work happens within agreed hours rather than whenever suits the crew.
Resident notice matters a great deal. Residents need clear, advance notice of when work will reach their apartment and what access is needed, so they can prepare and be available, which keeps the staging on track.
And matching across elevations is a requirement a single home never has. For the building to look right and keep a uniform appearance, the replacement windows generally need to match across every elevation, so they read as consistent from the street rather than a patchwork. All of this is why a strata job is planned and coordinated as a building-wide project, not a series of unrelated window swaps.
What to put in a scope before you go to quote
To get quotes a committee can actually compare, the scope has to be clear and consistent, so every supplier is pricing the same job. Specify at least these things:
- Number of openings by type. How many windows of each style and size across the building, so the quantities are clear.
- Elevation. Which elevations the windows sit on, since access and matching considerations differ around the building.
- Access constraints. The lift situation, any difficult-access apartments, and how materials and crew will reach each level.
- Hours. The permitted working hours the job must stay within.
- Whether matching across the building is required. State plainly if the windows must match across all elevations, since that shapes the product and the staging.
With that specified, every quote is pricing the same defined job, which is the only way to compare them fairly. A vague scope produces quotes that cannot be compared and a project that grows once underway. Getting uPVC window frames supplied and installed across NSW quoted against a clear, building-wide scope is what gives a committee a decision it can defend to the owners.
Scope first, then quote
The thread through all of this is that a strata window replacement is won or lost before the quoting even starts. Confirm from your strata plan and by-laws that the windows are common property, take the work through the owners corporation’s proper approval process, fund it as a planned capital works item, and write a clear, building-wide scope so every quote is comparing the same job. Get those in order and the project runs smoothly. Contact us with your scope and we will quote the building rather than the opening.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a lot owner replace their own windows?
Usually not without approval, because the window is normally common property rather than part of the private lot. That makes it an owners corporation matter, not an individual decision. Check your building’s by-laws and strata plan to confirm the position, since it can vary between buildings.
Does the whole building have to match?
Commonly, yes. Uniformity across elevations is usually required so the building keeps a consistent appearance from the street rather than a patchwork of different windows. This is why strata replacements are planned as a building-wide project, and why matching should be specified in the scope from the start.
How long does a strata window replacement take?
It depends on the size of the building and how the work is staged, because an occupied building is done section by section rather than all at once, coordinated around resident access and agreed working hours. Your installer can set out a staging plan once the scope and access are confirmed.