An NSW Lot Owner is wondering whether they should be providing access to the fuse box in their apartment building.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: We needed to check if a fuse had tripped. The strata manager confirmed the only key was unavailable. We needed to pay an electrician to gain access. Should easy access be provided for owners?
- QUESTION: For some reason, I have a key to the communal Fuse Box in our apartment building and I have been providing access for tenants who trip their fuse. I’m just trying to help. Why is this a problem?
Question: We needed to check if a fuse had tripped. The strata manager confirmed the only key was unavailable. We needed to pay an electrician to gain access. Should easy access be provided for owners?
We had no hot water and needed to check if a fuse had tripped. Our strata manager advised the only person who had the key to the locked area was their father. He was away, and we needed to call an electrician with a master key.
Should owners pay an electrician’s call-out fee because the key wasn’t available?
We understand owners shouldn’t have a key to this area for safety reasons, but shouldn’t the strata manager have access?
Answer: Owners corporation are unable to restrict access to common property unless approved by a special resolution at a General Meeting.
While it is common practice to lock up your common property electricity cupboards, the owners corporation is unable to restrict access to common property unless approved by a special resolution at a General Meeting. Under their management agreement, the strata manager may be asked to keep the common property keys on behalf of the owners corporation to access these locked areas. The first question that comes to mind is why the key is not easily accessible in the strata manager’s office within their key register and why a third party has the key offsite, which could be a security issue in itself.
If the owners corporation is unable to provide immediate access to the common property meters and switches, the responsibility to ensure this access lies with the owners corporation. As a lot owner, you should not be burdened with the cost of a locksmith to provide this access.
Many schemes provide a key to the building manager or one or more members of the strata committee who reside on site to facilitate access. This may be worth discussing with your committee.
Nathan Clarke
Hunter Strata Management
E: [email protected]
P: 02 4934 2022
This post appears in the June 2024 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Question: For some reason, I have a key to the communal Fuse Box in our apartment building and I have been providing access for tenants who trip their fuse. I’m just trying to help. Why is this a problem?
I’m based in NSW and the fuse box in our apartment building is located in the communal stairwell. It contains all of the fuses for the apartments.
This cupboard is locked and most tenants don’t have a key. I have a key – not sure how I acquired one, I think it was provided when we bought the apartment.
We have recently been opening the fuse box in our apartment building for tenants who tripped the fuse or need access.
Another person on the strata committee has advised that I’m not supposed to have a key to the fuse box and I should not be providing access to tenants. According to the Committee member, tenants should be calling the electrician who has a universal key.
Is this correct? It seems unreasonable that a tenant should have to call an electrician and pay the callout fee just so the Electrician can flip a tripped fuse switch.
Answer: Fortunately, the strata manager has issued a notice to comply with the peaceful enjoyment bylaw as the owners corporation should be enforcing the by-laws.
Dino Biordi: Off the bat, it’s not the best electrical design/installation if individual fuse boxes in the apartment building are located within a common area space albeit I have seen this on other schemes.
What needs to be established is:
- Is the room/cupboard labelled or set as a plant room? If so, residents (people without safety knowledge) should not have access into this area.
- If indeed this area is safe and suitable for the residents to enter, this needs Strata Committee approval or a By-Law to avoid neighbourly disputes (the blame game) if residents accidentally affecting other apartments power source.
These measures seem ridiculous until someone is severely injured or death occurs through electrocution.
Leanne Habib: Usually, no-one is given the key for WH&S reasons – if unlicensed persons enter into the main switch room, this can result in a wrong switch(es) etc being turned, electrocution and so on.
Technically, you do not have rights to access or grant access to the common property fuse box in the apartment building and the key belongs to the owners corporation (though you are trying to be helpful to your neighbours and inadvertently acquired the key).
We also consider it harsh to expect tenants to call out electricians merely to flip a tripped switch – however, there are liability issues you may be exposing yourself and the owners corporation to.
Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
E: [email protected]
P: 02 9281 6440
Dino Biordi
Luna Management
E: [email protected]
P: 1800 005 862
This post appears in Strata News #217.
Read next:
- NSW: Q&A Shutting Facilities and Restricting Access to Common Areas
- WA Insurance Terms with the Upcoming Strata Reforms
These articles are not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.
Visit Maintenance and Common Property OR NSW Strata Legislation.
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We have no hot water at the moment and need to get into the area where the fuses are to check if the fuse has tripped as everything else seems to work. The strata manager advised the only person that has the key is her father who is away at the moment & i will need to call out an electrician who should have a master key. I feel that I should NOT have to pay a call out fee to an electrician cause her dad has the key and is away. She said strata will not pay for a call out fee either. This is very unfair. Where do i stand with this ?
I understand we all can not have a key to this area due to safety reasons but shouldn’t she as the strata manager have access ? Help.
Hi Irene
Nathan Clarke from Hunter Strata has responded to your comment in the article above.
We have also received this comment in via email from Tyrone Shandiman, Strata Insurance Solutions:
Strata Insurance provides cover for Public Liability which is for the owners corporation if someone is injured and takes legal action against the owners corporation. The lot owner who holds the key should be careful as a legal claim can be brought against them for injury as a result of providing access – such a claim may not be covered by the Strata Insurance as the policy only covers claims against the owners corporation (not individuals). The committee should always try to manage the risk of potential claims as a large liability claim may effect the ability to get insurance into the future.
If it is constantly tripping, then an electrician should look in to it. There is a risk to the Owners Corporation if someone suffers an electric shock (legal nightmare) because they started fiddling around in the box. I would not give the key to the tenant but if an owner lives on site and is part of the Committee, then they should have the key.
Personally this should be reported to the body corporate manager who will be able to keep a log and will be able to report back to the committee that IE, an electrician has been called out more than 3 times this month.
Are we able to get an article for Qld in relation to this topic? I am currently looking into this at the moment. Thank you
Thanks Deborah
I’ll look into this and see what I can find out!
Nikki
I will be a bit more specific in my previous message. I was recently informed that the QLD legislation says that a committee member other than the building mangers should have a key to the electricity box room and the fire alarm box for emergency periods. Under our building managers contract they do not work on weekends or public holidays and I had a triggered electricity box on a public holiday. If you could please advise the Qld legislation that i could put forth to the committee would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Deborah
We have received the following reply from Frank Higginson, Hynes Legal:
To me, this is more about a body corporate acting reasonably. There is certainly nothing in the BCCM legislation about the rights of committee members to access infrastructure, but if it is going to fail (no matter what it is), then the body corporate needs to put in place appropriate mechanisms to allow access if the sole holder of access is not around.