The strata paperwork, translated
Your building manager's move-in pack mentions a COC, common property, a protection plan and possibly a bond. None of it is complicated once someone translates, and most of it turns out to be our homework, not yours.
First, the one-line glossary
- Common property: everything in the building the owners share rather than own individually. Lobbies, lifts, corridors, driveways. A move travels through common property, which is why the owners corporation gets a say in how.
- Owners corporation: all the owners in the building, collectively, as a legal body. It makes the by-laws.
- By-laws: the building's own rules, which commonly include how and when moves happen.
- Building manager: the person employed to run the place day to day, including the lift calendar.
- Certificate of currency (COC): a one-page document from an insurer confirming a policy is currently in force.
The legal framework behind those words lives on the NSW Government's strata hub; the day-to-day consumer version is on NSW Fair Trading's strata pages.
The documents, one by one
| Document | What it actually is | Who supplies it |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of currency | Proof the removalist's insurance is active, so an uninsured crew never touches the building's lift. One page, issued by the insurer. | Us. Sent to your manager before they ask; chasing a mover for a COC is a job you should never have. |
| Move booking form | The building's own form: unit, date, window, vehicle, contacts, sometimes a signature accepting the moving by-laws. | You, with us. It's about your tenancy or ownership, so it's yours to sign, but we fill the logistics half and sanity-check the rest. |
| Protection plan | How common property gets protected during the move: curtains in the lift, runners on lobby floors, door padding. Some buildings want it in writing, most just want it done. | Us. The gear lives on the truck; it goes up before the first item moves. |
| Move bond | A refundable amount some buildings hold against damage to common property, returned after a post-move inspection. | You pay it, we protect it. Our padding is what stands between your bond and a scuffed lift door. You hear about the bond from us early, never as a surprise. |
The pattern worth noticing: of the four documents, the only one that's genuinely your job is a form about your own tenancy. Everything else is evidence about your removalist. Choose a crew that produces it unprompted and the "strata paperwork problem" stops existing.
The timing that makes it painless
Paperwork delays moves more often than trucks do. The order that never fails: lift window requested first (see the lift-booking guide), COC and forms lodged within a day or two of the window being pencilled, and everything confirmed in writing before the week of the move. Our standard sequence sends the COC with the very first email to your manager, because a request that arrives complete gets approved fastest.
Renting? Two extra lines
If you're moving out at lease end, your paperwork chain has a second branch: the agent's key handback and final inspection. Tell us the deadline and we plan the run sheet backwards from it, so the flat is empty with time to spare for the vacuuming. It's the most common shape of move in this postcode and we treat the date as immovable, because it is.
What to do with all this
Nothing, ideally. Book the move, name the building, and let the paperwork be our problem: that's the service. If you're comparing movers, one honest test: ask each one who sends the COC, and how fast. The answer tells you how the rest of the move will go.
Make the paperwork our problem
References. Strata by-laws, common property and owners corporations are governed in NSW under the strata schemes legislation summarised on the NSW Government strata hub and NSW Fair Trading. Your building's own by-laws and move-in pack are the final word on its process; this guide describes the common shape we see across North Sydney buildings.
Ready when your building is
Tell us the building. We arrive with the plan made.
Two minutes on the form: where you're moving, roughly what's coming, and the week you're aiming for. We call you back, talk to your building manager if there is one, and lock the window.