The duty stays with the trustees. The work does not have to.
The perimeter fence, the entrance gate and the cameras are common property, and the body corporate has to keep them working. In practice that falls on a handful of volunteer trustees with day jobs, who only hear about a fault when a resident complains, or after a break-in.
A maintenance contract changes that. We check every system twice a month, fix what we find, and leave a job card that shows exactly what was tested. The trustees get security they can depend on, a fixed amount to put in the levy budget, and a record that answers the owners’ first question after any incident: was it being maintained?
Why complexes need a schedule, not a phone number
In most complexes the security systems are looked after by whoever a trustee knows. The fence goes to one contractor, the gate motor to another, the cameras to a third. Nobody looks at anything until a resident complains, and then the trustees are approving an emergency call-out from someone they have never met, at a price they cannot compare.
A maintenance contract changes who notices the fault. We see every system twice a month on fixed days, so the tired battery, the worn gate wheel and the fence zone that trips in the rain are found on our visit, not by a resident at eleven at night.
What the trustees get
- One fixed monthly fee for twelve months, quoted after we have walked the complex, so security maintenance has its own line in the levy budget.
- Two planned visits a month covering the electric fence, the gate motors and booms, the cameras and the intercom or access control.
- Two office-hours emergency call-outs a month included, attended within 48 hours.
- A job card after every visit listing what was tested, what was found and what was fixed. File them with the minutes; they answer the question every AGM asks.
- Written quotes before any extra work, so nothing is spent without the trustees’ approval.
- A 72-hour put-right. If we have not delivered what the contract says, tell us in writing and we fix it within 72 hours, or the body corporate holds back that month’s payment.
Common property, kept in a serviceable state
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act requires the body corporate to maintain the common property and to keep a maintenance, repair and replacement plan. The perimeter fence, the entrance gate and the camera system are usually the most expensive moving parts on that plan.
Regular servicing is what keeps them off the replacement list for longer. Gate motors are oiled and their batteries tested, rollers greased and tracks cleaned, fence strands tensioned and insulators replaced before they crack, camera lenses cleaned and night images checked. The job cards give the trustees a running record of the condition of each item for the plan.
Taking over from another contractor
Most complexes come to us with systems someone else installed. We start with a full assessment and a written report on every system, so the trustees know exactly what they are taking on before the contract starts. Anything we repair after that carries our 24-month workmanship guarantee.
If your scheme is run by a managing agent, we work through them and copy them on every job card. See how the contract works for managing agents.