Apartment Bathroom Renovations: What Strata Properties Actually Require
Renovating a bathroom in an apartment is a different job to renovating one in a house. Not marginally different — structurally different. Strata approval has to come before anything else. The waterproofing liability extends beyond your own lot. A concrete slab substrate changes the cost of any plumbing relocation. And access logistics in a strata building are real cost variables, not line items a contractor can absorb.
This page covers what apartment bathroom renovations actually cost in NSW, how the strata approval process works in practice, what compliance requirements apply — including the ones people miss — and what a realistic project timeline looks like from the moment you decide to renovate through to handover. Figures reflect active NSW quote activity for 2024–25.
Why Renovating a Bathroom in an Apartment Is Different to a House
The cost and timeline data for house renovations doesn’t transfer cleanly to apartment renovations. The differences aren’t cosmetic — they show up in the quote, the approval process, and occasionally in disputes between lot owners. Understanding them before you start is what separates a well-managed project from one that stalls at approval or blows the budget on demolition day.
Your owners corporation’s by-laws may restrict tile type, wet area modifications, or structural changes. These need to be checked before a contractor prices the work — not after they’ve submitted your application and it comes back with conditions attached.
A waterproofing failure in your bathroom doesn’t stay in your bathroom. Water ingress to the apartment below or beside yours is your liability as the lot owner who commissioned the work — not the contractor’s, unless you can prove defective workmanship.
Lift bookings, loading dock restrictions, rubbish removal constraints, and parking for tradespeople aren’t things a contractor can work around. They add hours. A quote that doesn’t price these in is either optimistic or incomplete.
Apartment bathrooms sit on concrete slab, not timber frame. Moving a toilet or shower waste point requires a licenced plumber to cut the slab. That adds cost and lead time that doesn’t show up in a cosmetic quote. If layout changes are on the table, confirm the saw-cutting cost before you sign anything.
Tile and vanity deliveries in a strata building require coordination with building management. Some buildings have strict delivery windows. In a busy block, this can add days to a project that otherwise wouldn’t need them. It’s not a contingency — plan for it as a certainty.
Most strata schemes impose permitted working hours, and many restrict noisy work — such as tile cutting and demolition — to specific windows. Check the by-laws before the contractor schedules the work. A start delayed by a noise complaint costs everyone time.
Related: For broader NSW renovation market context, including apartment and strata activity by region. See the NSW State Report ›
How Strata Approval Works — and What Can Delay It
Strata approval has to happen before any work begins — not as a formality you complete while the contractor is on site, but as a prerequisite to commencing. Any renovation involving wet areas, waterproofing, or structural changes in a strata building requires owners corporation approval under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Work started without it is an illegal alteration. Rectification orders can require the work to be undone at your cost.
The approval process typically requires a written application to the owners corporation that includes: a scope of works description, your contractor’s licence details, waterproofing method and product specifications, certificate of currency for the contractor’s public liability insurance, and an HBC certificate if the contract value exceeds $20,000. An incomplete application goes back. When it goes back, the clock restarts.
Obtain and review your strata by-laws
Before pricing anything, request the current by-laws from your strata manager and check for any conditions relating to wet area renovations, approved materials, or structural modifications.
Engage a specialist and get a scoped quote
This can run parallel with the approval process. The quote and application can be prepared concurrently — you just can’t start work until approval is in writing.
Submit a complete application to the owners corporation
Include scope description, contractor licence details, waterproofing spec and product, public liability certificate of currency, and HBC certificate (if applicable). Missing any of these is the most common source of delays.
Await OC determination — allow 4–12 weeks
The timeline depends on how frequently the committee meets and whether your strata uses a manager. Some committees sit monthly, some quarterly. Having a contractor ready to go does not accelerate this process.
Approval granted and documented — then work commences
The OC may grant approval with conditions — typically around working hours, waterproofing standards, or waste removal method. These need to be reflected in the final scope before the contractor starts.
Don’t accept a contractor who proposes to start before approval is documented
If work is commenced without written OC approval, it’s an illegal alteration. The liability for rectification — which can mean demolishing and redoing the work — rests with you as the lot owner. The contractor’s willingness to start doesn’t change that.
What a Bathroom Renovation Costs in an Apartment — NSW 2024–25
The ranges below already account for the access and logistics premium you’ll see in an apartment quote. They’re not direct carry-overs from house renovation data. The two main variables within each scope are substrate condition — which you won’t know until demolition — and tile specification, which you choose. Labour is the largest line item, and it’s more exposed to site conditions in an apartment than in a freestanding house.
A quote that sits noticeably below the lower end of the relevant range is worth querying before you sign. The items most commonly absent from low quotes are waterproofing (full membrane strip and replacement vs a surface patch) and a provisional sum for scope found on demolition. Both tend to show up as variations mid-project.
The +10–25% labour premium versus a detached house isn’t padding — it reflects real time. Booking the lift, working within permitted hours, coordinating rubbish removal through a loading dock, and navigating a building where other residents are coming and going all add hours to a job that would be unconstrained on a standalone site. If your quote doesn’t reflect that, it either hasn’t accounted for it, or the contractor is planning to absorb it somewhere else in the scope.
Related: For a full breakdown of NSW labour rates by trade and what drives cost variation across scopes. See our bathroom renovation cost guide ›
Compliance Requirements That Apply to Every Apartment Bathroom Renovation
In NSW, a bathroom renovation in an apartment sits under the same compliance framework as any residential building work — plus the additional layer of strata obligations that comes with multi-lot buildings. The requirements below aren’t optional depending on project value or how the scope is described. They apply.
HBC Insurance — mandatory over $20,000
Any residential building contract exceeding $20,000 — including labour and materials — requires the contractor to hold Home Building Compensation insurance in the homeowner’s name before starting. A contractor who can’t produce that certificate is not legally permitted to proceed. Request it before you sign.
Licenced waterproofing contractor required
All waterproofing in a NSW residential wet area must be carried out by a contractor holding the relevant licence category from NSW Fair Trading under the Home Building Act 1989. This is separate from a general builder’s licence. Verify it through the public register before work starts.
AS 3740 wet area waterproofing standard
Domestic wet area waterproofing must comply with AS 3740 — the standard referenced in the National Construction Code. In a strata building, this matters beyond compliance: non-compliant waterproofing that causes water ingress to another lot creates personal liability for you as the lot owner.
Separate plumbing licence required
Plumbing work requires a separate licence category. A standard bathroom renovation often involves a waterproofing specialist, a plumber, and a tiler — each with their own licence obligations. Verifying who holds what is the homeowner’s responsibility.
Related: Full breakdown of AS 3740 wet area requirements and what they mean for apartment renovations specifically. See our AS 3740 waterproofing compliance guide ›
What a Realistic Apartment Bathroom Renovation Timeline Looks Like
The on-site construction phase of a bathroom renovation typically takes 10–18 working days. That’s not where the time goes. In an apartment, the elapsed time from deciding to renovate through to handover is typically 12–20 weeks — and almost none of that is slow tradies. It’s strata approval waiting on a committee that meets quarterly, it’s waterproofing cure time you can’t compress, and it’s material lead times that don’t respond to urgency. Understanding the sequence is the only way to plan the project honestly.
Elapsed calendar time, not working days:
Strata approval application submitted and determined
4–12 weeks
Must happen before anything else. Work cannot start until approval is in writing. You can prepare quotes and select a contractor during this window — but you cannot commit a start date.
Quotes, contractor selection, HBC certificate issued
1–3 weeks (runs parallel with Phase 0)
If the contract exceeds $20,000, the HBC certificate must be issued before work starts. Confirm this alongside signing the contract.
Material procurement and scheduling
2–4 weeks
Standard tile and fixture lead times have largely normalised. Imported large-format tiles and custom fixtures are the exception — confirm lead times before finalising the spec.
Demolition and substrate inspection
2–5 days
This is where substrate condition becomes visible. Waterproofing failure and corroded waste pipes behind old tiling are more common than not on concrete slab apartments. Your quote should include a provisional sum for scope found here.
Waterproofing — including mandatory AS 3740 cure period
3–5 days
The cure period is mandatory. It cannot be shortened. Tiling cannot start until the membrane has properly cured. This is the most common source of frustration for owners expecting things to move faster.
Tiling and fixing
3–7 days depending on tile format and area
Large-format tiles take meaningfully longer to lay than standard 300×300. Factor this in when choosing the tile specification — it’s a real cost and time difference, not an estimate.
Fit-off — tapware, vanity, shower screen, accessories
1–2 days
Final plumbing connections are completed at this stage. Confirm all fixtures have arrived and been checked for damage before scheduling fit-off — a missing shower screen delays handover by days, not hours.
Inspection, defect rectification, and handover documentation
3–7 days
A competent contractor conducts a defect walk before asking for final payment. Get the waterproofing inspection certificate and any other compliance documentation in writing before the project is signed off.
Mistakes That Cost Apartment Owners the Most
Most of these aren’t obscure. They’re the same mistakes that show up repeatedly in strata renovation disputes, insurance claims, and variation invoices that arrive after demolition. Worth knowing before you start.
Starting work before OC approval is in writing
The most expensive mistake on this list. An illegal alteration can result in a rectification order requiring you to undo the work at your own cost. The fact that a contractor was willing to start doesn’t transfer the liability.
Accepting a quote with no provisional sum for demolition findings
Concrete slab apartments regularly turn up corroded waste pipes and failed waterproofing membranes when walls come down. A quote without a provisional sum for this isn’t conservative — it’s incomplete. You’ll still pay for it; it just appears as a variation.
Not verifying the contractor’s waterproofing licence
NSW Fair Trading’s register is public. Two minutes online tells you whether the contractor holds the relevant licence category. In a strata building, unlicensed waterproofing that leads to water damage in another lot is your problem, not theirs.
Specifying a layout change without confirming saw-cutting cost
Moving a toilet or shower waste point in an apartment means cutting the concrete slab. That requires a licenced plumber and adds $800–$3,000+ to the cost depending on what’s involved. If layout changes are in scope, get this confirmed in writing before you sign.
Ignoring strata access logistics in the project calendar
Lift bookings, dock restrictions, and building management notice periods don’t flex around a contractor’s schedule. If these aren’t built into the project calendar from the start, they become the reason the project runs late.
Commencing without HBC insurance in place
If the contract value exceeds $20,000 and no HBC certificate exists, the contract is not legally valid. If the contractor becomes insolvent mid-project, or if defective work appears after they’re gone, you have no recourse.
Have a specific project in mind? We connect homeowners, investors, and property professionals across NSW and ACT with vetted bathroom renovation specialists who understand the strata context.
Lifestyle Bathrooms is a referral and connector service, not a licenced contractor. Request a Free Consultation ›
Common Questions
Yes, and it has to happen before any work starts. Any renovation involving wet areas, waterproofing, or structural changes in a strata building requires written approval from the owners corporation under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
The approval application typically needs: a description of the work, your contractor’s licence details, the waterproofing product and method, a certificate of currency for public liability insurance, and an HBC certificate if the contract exceeds $20,000. An incomplete application comes back. When it comes back, the clock restarts.
Approval windows vary widely — from four weeks to three months depending on how often the OC committee meets and whether they use a strata manager. The point is to apply early and to apply with a complete pack. You cannot commit a contractor start date until approval is in writing.
The same spec costs more in an apartment. Access and logistics in a strata building — lift bookings, loading dock coordination, parking constraints for tradespeople, rubbish removal through building management — add real hours to the job. That typically translates to a 10–25% labour premium versus an equivalent detached house renovation.
For a standard full renovation in NSW in 2024–25, expect $16,000–$35,000 at mid-specification. A cosmetic refresh — vanity, tapware, no tiling — sits at $5,000–$10,000. The cost table above covers the full scope range. What moves the number most within any scope is substrate condition on demolition — which you won’t know until the walls come down — and tile specification, which is your choice. A good quote includes a provisional sum for the former.
For a full labour rate breakdown by trade, see our bathroom renovation cost guide.
You are, as the lot owner who commissioned the work. In a strata building, a waterproofing failure in your bathroom that causes water ingress to an adjoining or below lot creates personal liability for you — not automatically for the contractor, unless you can demonstrate defective workmanship under the contract.
This is why AS 3740 compliance and a licenced waterproofing contractor aren’t optional considerations in a strata renovation. They’re the primary mechanism through which you establish that the work was done correctly. Waterproofing done by an unlicensed contractor, or that doesn’t comply with the standard, removes that protection entirely.
A contractor doing waterproofing work in NSW without the relevant licence from NSW Fair Trading is not permitted to do it. Verify before they start through the public register. See our AS 3740 waterproofing guide and HBC insurance overview for more detail on how the compliance framework works in practice.
From the moment you decide to renovate, allow 12–20 weeks to handover. The on-site construction phase typically runs 10–18 working days — that’s genuinely not where the time goes.
The elapsed time is driven by strata approval (4–12 weeks, and it has to come first), contractor scheduling windows (1–3 weeks), material procurement (2–4 weeks for standard items, longer for custom or imported products), mandatory AS 3740 waterproofing cure periods that can’t be compressed, and inspection stages at the end.
The common frustration is starting the project calendar from when the contractor arrives on site. That’s not when the project starts — it starts when you submit the strata approval application. Everything else runs from there.
Technically any contractor with the relevant licence categories can do the work. In practice, strata experience matters in two areas that a generalist often gets wrong.
First, the approval application. A poorly prepared application — missing the waterproofing product spec, or the wrong licence details — comes back and adds weeks to the project. A contractor who has done strata work before knows what an OC approval pack needs to contain.
Second, the liability context for waterproofing. A contractor who doesn’t understand that waterproofing in a multi-lot building carries personal liability for the lot owner is more likely to cut corners on the spec. The difference between a surface patch and a full AS 3740-compliant membrane isn’t visible under tiles — but it becomes very visible when the apartment below has water damage on their ceiling.