In a sectional title scheme, common area carpet cleaning is the body corporate's responsibility and it is paid for out of the levies every owner already contributes. Corridors, stairwells, lift lobbies, the entrance foyer and the clubhouse are common property, so no individual owner pays for them directly and no individual owner can commission the work. Inside your own section, from your front door inward, is yours. That boundary decides everything about who can authorise what, and getting it wrong is why quotes sit unapproved for months.
This describes how schemes generally work in South Africa. It is not legal advice, and your scheme's own registered rules govern. Read them, or ask your managing agent, before acting on anything here.
The boundary, in practice
Sectional title splits a building into two categories, and almost every dispute traces back to people not knowing which is which.
Common property. Owned collectively by all owners in undivided shares, managed by the body corporate, funded by levies. In most schemes this is the entrance foyer, the corridors, the stairwells, the lift lobbies, the clubhouse and communal lounges, the gatehouse, and the scheme's office. Carpet in any of these is the body corporate's to clean.
Sections. The individual units, owned by individual owners. Generally from your entrance door inward. Your carpet, your cost, your decision.
Exclusive use areas. The complication. These are parts of common property allocated to one owner's exclusive use, and responsibility for them varies by scheme and by how the right was granted. If soft furnishings sit in one, check the rules rather than assume.
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act and your scheme's registered rules set this out. Schemes differ, which is why "read your rules" is the only universally correct answer.
Why this matters more than it should
Because it determines who can say yes, and a quote addressed to the wrong person cannot be approved by anyone.
An owner cannot commission cleaning of the corridor outside their door, however strongly they feel about it, and the body corporate cannot commission cleaning inside a section. The same structural problem exists in commercial buildings with landlords and tenants, see who pays in a multi-tenant building, but sectional title adds trustees, levies and an AGM to the decision, which slows it considerably, see getting trustee approval.
So: split the quote along the boundary from the start. One quote for common property addressed to the body corporate through the managing agent. Separate quotes for any owners who want their own units done. Both can happen on the same day, which is where the saving is.
The areas nobody has cleaned
Common areas belong to everybody, which in practice means nobody notices them declining. There is no facilities manager walking the building with a budget and an eye, and the trustees are volunteers with day jobs.
Corridors take every resident on the floor, several times a day, plus deliveries and moving-in traffic. They are narrow, which is the crucial part: there is no field for traffic to spread across, so the entire width is a traffic lane taking lane-level abuse, see why corridors wear differently to open floors.
Lift lobbies are the worst carpet in the scheme. A few square metres that every resident on the floor crosses and stands in several times a day, pivoting on the spot while they wait, which grinds harder than walking does.
Stairwells combine heavy use with slow drying and a genuine slip hazard, so they need controlled moisture and proper signage, see why carpeted stairs are difficult. They are also escape routes and can never be fully blocked.
The entrance foyer is where all the grit enters, and Gauteng supplies plenty of it, see how Joburg dust affects carpets. Matting here protects every corridor above it, and it is the cheapest decision the body corporate can make, see how to specify entrance matting.
Access, which needs arranging in advance
Complexes have more moving parts than a standalone building, and every one can stop the work on the night:
- Security and the gate. Contractor access needs authorising in advance, and the guard on duty needs to know we are coming. This is the single most common cause of a wasted trip.
- Lifts. Which one may be used, is it on a timer, does it need booking.
- Noise rules. Most schemes have them, and they usually rule out the small hours. Unlike an office, people are asleep in this building at 02:00, so common areas are generally done in the early evening or during the day rather than overnight.
- Parking and access for the vehicle, and the distance to the furthest corridor.
- Notice to residents, which is the trustees' job and worth doing. People need to know why the corridor is damp.
Drying is 2 to 6 hours, so an early evening clean is dry well before the morning, see how long carpet takes to dry.
The argument that works at a trustee meeting
Not appearance. Asset protection and levies.
Recarpeting the common areas of a complex is a large special levy, and special levies are the thing owners hate most and trustees fear proposing. Grit ground into corridor carpet is what brings that date forward, because abrasion is what physically wears carpet out, see how grit abrades fibre. Regular cleaning out of the normal levy defers a special levy, which is an argument every owner in the room understands, see replacing versus cleaning.
There is a property value argument too. Buyers and tenants walk through the foyer and the corridor before they see the unit, and a tired common area sets the frame for the whole viewing, see how presentation affects property value.
Common questions
Who pays for common area carpet cleaning in a sectional title complex?
The body corporate, out of the levies every owner already contributes. Corridors, stairwells, lift lobbies, the entrance foyer and clubhouse are common property, so no individual owner pays for them directly. Everything inside a section, generally from the front door inward, is that owner's own cost. Exclusive use areas vary by scheme, so check your registered rules. This is general practice, not legal advice.
Can an owner arrange cleaning of the corridor outside their unit?
No. Common property is the body corporate's responsibility and only it, through the trustees and usually the managing agent, can commission work there. Equally the body corporate cannot commission cleaning inside a section. Quotes should be split along that boundary from the start, since a single quote spanning both cannot be approved by anyone. Both can still be done on the same day, which is where the saving is.
Which common areas need cleaning most?
Lift lobbies first, since they are a few square metres every resident crosses and stands in several times a day, pivoting while they wait, which grinds harder than walking. Then corridors, which are narrow so the entire width is a traffic lane with no field for traffic to spread across. Then the entrance foyer, where all the grit enters, and stairwells, which combine heavy use with slow drying and a slip hazard.
When can common areas in a complex be cleaned?
Usually early evening or during the day rather than overnight, because unlike an office people are asleep in the building and most schemes have noise rules. Drying is 2 to 6 hours, so an early evening clean is dry well before morning. Arrange contractor access with security in advance, since the guard not knowing we are coming is the most common cause of a wasted trip, and give residents notice.
For a common property quote addressed to your body corporate, contact our commercial team or see the industries we serve.