Body Corporate and Owners Corporation Window Replacement

Replacing windows across a strata building is a committee decision before it is a building job. Getting the approval and funding steps right early saves a year of back and forth. This page sets out how it usually works in NSW, where most of our strata projects are. Every scheme is different, so always check your strata plan, by-laws and any advice from your strata manager.

Who is responsible for the windows?

In most NSW strata schemes, windows in the external walls are common property, so the owners corporation is responsible for maintaining, repairing and replacing them. Some older plans and some by-laws set the boundaries differently, so the strata plan is the document to check. Where the windows are common property, a single owner cannot replace them without the owners corporation agreeing.

What usually needs approving

Replacing failed windows like for like is generally treated as maintenance and repair of common property. Changing the frame material, colour or style, or upgrading for energy efficiency, may need a resolution at a general meeting, and an individual owner doing their own windows will usually need a by-law. Your strata manager will confirm which applies. We provide written proposals, product data and samples formatted for committee papers and AGMs.

Funding the project

Window replacement is normally paid for from the capital works fund and should appear in the building's 10-year capital works plan. Where the fund will not cover the whole building at once, the work can be staged across financial years, elevation by elevation or block by block, with consistent frames and colours throughout so the facade still matches when it is finished. Whole-building projects also attract better per-window pricing than owner-by-owner replacement.

Window safety devices

NSW owners corporations must have window safety devices on certain openable windows so they cannot open more than 125mm while locked, mainly where the floor is 2m or more above the ground outside. New windows are a good time to bring every opening into line. We fit compliant restrictors on the windows that need them and record them in the handover documents.

Running the work in an occupied building

• One project manager as the single contact for the strata manager and committee
• Written notice to owners and tenants before each stage, with access dates per unit
• Openings replaced and sealed on the same day wherever possible
• Old frames removed from site and common areas cleaned at the end of each day
• Handover documents for the strata roll: product data, warranties and compliance certificates