Strata Manager vs Building Manager: What’s the Difference?

If your building has both a strata manager and a building manager, it is easy to be unsure who does what. Both help look after the scheme, and both may be involved when something needs repairing. Their responsibilities, however, are different.

The simplest way to understand the distinction is this: a strata manager helps administer the strata scheme; a building manager helps look after the building and its common property. The exact tasks each performs depend on their agreement with the owners corporation.

What does a strata manager do?

A strata manager, also called a strata managing agent, helps the owners corporation carry out tasks it has delegated to them. These may include organising meetings, issuing levy notices, keeping financial records, arranging insurance, maintaining strata records and coordinating common property repairs.

A strata manager also helps the committee understand the processes required to make and record decisions. They may communicate with owners, obtain quotes or arrange for an approved contractor to carry out work, depending on the authority they have been given.

The owners corporation remains responsible for the scheme. Appointing a strata manager does not mean the manager can make every decision for owners. For example, a strata manager cannot independently set levy amounts, change by-laws or appoint a building manager.

What does a building manager do?

A building manager focuses on the practical operation of the building and its common property. Depending on their agreement, this could include monitoring the condition of shared areas, coordinating access for tradespeople, overseeing routine services and reporting maintenance or safety concerns.

In a larger building, the building manager may be the person a contractor meets on site. They may know where equipment is located, provide access to common areas and check whether an issue has been attended to.

A building manager is not simply any contractor working at the property. Hiring a cleaner, gardener or plumber to perform a particular service does not, by itself, make that person the scheme’s building manager.

How do they work together?

Imagine a resident reports water leaking through the ceiling of a common hallway.

The building manager may inspect the area, identify any immediate access or safety concerns, take photographs and help a plumber gain access. They should bring the issue to the owners corporation’s attention and propose how it should be addressed.

The strata manager may then assist with the administrative side: checking the scheme’s records, communicating with the committee and affected owners, obtaining quotes or arranging approved work within their delegated authority. If a decision or additional funding is required, they can help put the matter before the appropriate decision-makers.

Throughout the process, the owners corporation or committee makes the decisions that sit with it. Clear communication between all three helps prevent a repair from stalling because everyone assumes someone else is handling the next step.

Who should owners contact?

For a building issue, the best contact can depend on how your scheme is set up. A building manager may be the quickest person to alert to an issue on site, particularly if access or safety is involved. The strata manager is usually the contact for levies, meetings, records and formal strata processes.

If you are unsure, report the issue through your scheme’s usual contact channel and provide the location, photographs and any details about urgency. The important thing is that the concern reaches the people responsible for acting on it.

A well-run scheme gives each role a clear scope of work. The building manager brings practical knowledge of what is happening on site; the strata manager supports the scheme’s administration and decisions.

Working together, they help the owners corporation stay informed and look after its property.