Lot owners are wondering how to reduce the cost of their lift maintenance contract and other lift related issues.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: We are advised that due to NBN the lift emergency phone lines will have to be switched over and the quotes to do this have been huge. We feel lift companies are taking advantage of the situation.
- QUESTION: We totally replaced our 2 lifts 3 years ago. Now we have a lift maintenance contract. Due to many breakdowns and maintenance visits, we’ve spent about $400 000 over the past 3 years. Does this sound reasonable?
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Question: For the last three years, I have been asking our NSW strata committee to carry out a lift refurbishment or replace our old, noisy, unsafe lift.
For the last three years, I have been asking our strata committee to carry out a lift refurbishment or replace our 1983 old, noisy, unsafe lift. Nothing has been done about this and at the latest AGM, it was voted against any work be done on it. The meeting was, unfortunately, dominated by non-resident owners. There are 36 lots in our building.
As I am now on the Strata Committee and have no choice but to go to NCAT regarding the lift refurbishment. Can I go there against the committee?
Answer: It is important that the cost of lift upgrades is included into any Capital Works Fund Assessment, after taking advice from a qualified professional.
The answer is that lifts normally require major maintenance at around the 20-year mark. It is important that the cost of lift upgrades is included into any Capital Works Fund Assessment, after taking advice from a qualified professional. With a 36-year-old lift, it is not surprising that the lift is experiencing some problems.
I would recommend that the Strata Committee/Strata Manager report the noise issue to their lift servicing company to check and hopefully repair to make sure that the noise is not just a minor fix. If the works required to address the reported lift problems are of a major nature – I would then obtain a professional opinion on the condition of the lift from a lift consultant. The company I have worked with in the past is Thomson Elevator Consultancy Services – although there are many other experts in this field.
The difficulty for Strata buildings is that the cost to complete the 20 year capital works cycle on lifts is often very expensive – usually in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is why many strata buildings allow their major lifts works to be delayed from year to year.
The brief from Strata to the consultant should be a request to provide a condition report on the lift, outlining suggested recommendations to improve reliability, reduce noise and improve safety. Also, the consultant should identify what capital works are required to the lift, the estimated timeline to complete the works and likely costs for these works. This report normally costs a few thousand dollars however this is money well spent.
This report then should be discussed by the Strata Committee with a view of addressing the reported items. Owners Corporations have a legal responsibility to repair and maintain common property under section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
If the Strata Committee ignores the recommendations, it sadly may mean that they put the Owners Corporation in breach of the strict requirements of Section 106. I would recommend that the owner request for a motion to be placed on the agenda of the next General Meeting for consideration by all the owners.
If the Strata Committee accepts the recommendations, they then should appoint the consultant to prepare a tender specification and run a competitive tender with leading lift companies to complete the works. This should then be discussed with the owners in the context of how to fund the works – capital works funds held, special levy, capital works fund loan or a combination of all three.
Rod Smith
The Strata Collective
T: 02 9879 3547
E: rsmith@thestratacollective.com.auThis post on appears in Strata News #165
Question: We are advised that due to NBN the lift emergency phone lines will have to be switched over and the quotes to do this have been huge. We feel lift companies are taking advantage of the situation.
We have a new lift and yet the emergency phone has never been working!
We are advised that due to NBN the lift emergency phone lines will have to be switched over and the quotes to do this have been huge to date plus they want to charge a monthly fee to check the battery!
It sounds like the lift companies are taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade and people’s lack of knowledge on the topic.
Answer: As an alternative, you may wish to obtain quotes from a telecoms provider rather than the lift company.
As an alternative, you may wish to obtain quotes from a telecoms provider rather than the lift company that installed and now maintains the lift. The only company we know that operates nationally is VoIP.
Rex Henning
Equity Elevator Consultants
P: 0450 927 909
E: rex.henning@equityelevator.com.auThis post appears in Strata News #252.
Question: Can the lot owners decommission common property in QLD? A lift only goes to the first floor and is never used by the owners, but costs a lot to maintain.
Is there anything stopping the owners from decommissioning common property?
The apartment complex was built in 2000 and one of the lifts is never used by the owners and costs a lot maintain. Recently the entire years sinking fund contributions were spent to totally overhaul it because the previous onsite manager used for transporting items.
The lift is not available for all owners/residents to use. It only goes to the first floor where approx 35% of apartments are located. Also, owners/residents do not have a key to access the service lift. If you want access to the lift, you have to request the onsite manager to give you the key for a limited period. I don’t even know if anyone has ever requested use.
The original Development Authority from BCC when the complex was built in 2000 mentions there is a lift in the general description of the complex, but it is not included in the schedule of items ‘to be maintained’ after development is completed.
I am unable to find any legislation stating our building would need to maintain the unnecessary service lift. The building is too old to apply new building design regulations. Can you please point me to any legislation that would stop us from decommissioning the lift?
There must be a lot of ageing apartment complexes with old infrastructure that is no longer applicable but requires maintenance. Hopefully, others will find this information useful.
Answer: The body corporate can decommission the lift as long as it is properly approved which will need certain motions passed at a general meeting.
The body corporate can decommission the lift as long as it is properly approved which will need certain motions passed at a general meeting.
Without decommissioning it properly, the body corporate would still have a statutory obligation to maintain the lift in good condition, irrespective of its use.
A town planner would be able to advise if it needs to stay from a DA perspective but would need to review the terms of the DA.
Frank Higginson
E: frank.higginson@hyneslegal.com.au
P: 07 3193 0500
W: Hynes LegalThis post appears in Strata News #323.
Question: We totally replaced our 2 lifts 3 years ago. Now we have a lift maintenance contract. Due to many breakdowns and maintenance visits, we’ve spent about $400 000 over the past 3 years. Does this sound reasonable?
I live in a 28 year old, 17 level apartment block in Sydney.
We totally replaced our 2 lifts 3 years ago. Now we have a lift maintenance contract. Over the last 4 month, we’ve had about 7 break downs in our lifts. Sometimes people have been stuck in the lift. Over the last 8 months we’ve had about 17 lift maintenance and repair visits. We’ve spent about $400 000 over the past 3 years on the new lifts. Does this amount sound reasonable?
I am considering becoming a committee member to keep a closer eye on these expenses relating to the lift maintenance contract and other maintenance of the building.
Answer: We strongly recommend the owners seek an independent/professional opinion.
Considering the lifts were recently replaced, there should be no ongoing costs from the lift service company, other than the fee for carrying out routine maintenance. The costs mentioned and break-down rates described sound horrendous, and are significantly outside industry norms.
We strongly recommend the owners seek an independent/professional opinion on:
- the type of contract in place and why the ongoing maintenance and repair costs are so high and
- what is technically wrong with the lifts that is causing the very high breakdown rates.
In circumstances like these, engaging a professional lift consultant is likely to save the owners a substantial amount of money in both the short and long term.
Rex Henning
Equity Elevator Consultants
P: 0450 927 909
E: rex.henning@equityelevator.com.auThis post appears in Strata News #242.
Question: Is it possible or practical to reduce our annual lift maintenance contract costs by increasing the periods between services calls from three months to possibly four or even six months?
I would like to have some light shed upon our lift maintenance contract and our Strata’s obligations for regular maintenance.
One of our strata’s more costly maintenance overheads is the regular (and essential) lift service. Our Sydney building’s single lift services the basement carpark and ground floor entry only (two floors). We have had an ongoing quarterly scheduled maintenance contract with the lift’s manufacturer since its installation 12 years ago. We display the lift’s obligatory NSW Worksafe Registration and Scheduled Maintenance Certification on our community notice board.
Our current contract lists the task completed as follows:
- Buttons, Indicators, Fire Service – Test/ Repair
- Car Door Operation – Check, Lube, Replace as required
- Car Op. Panel & Indicators – check, replace
- Complete Job Hazard Analysis
- Contact site representative, Ride, Floor Level, Noise, Aesthetics
- Door Operator – Clean, Lube, Adjust, Parts as required
- Door Protection – Clean, Test, Adjust
- Emerg. Lighting, Alarms, Communication Check
- Engineering Performance Enhancement
- Hoistway Doors – Clean, Lube, Adjust, Parts as required
Plus filling out the maintenance Log book.
Is it possible or practical to reduce our annual lift maintenance contract costs by increasing the periods between services calls from three months to possibly four or even six months? Or can reducing the number of line items on every other service help to reduce costs?
Answer: Rather than reducing service frequency, it may be worthwhile getting an independent review of your service contract (and current pricing levels).
Your lift is a highly sophisticated piece of machinery and as with any electromechanical device (aircraft, trucks, cars etc), good quality preventative maintenance is essential for ongoing safety, reliability and of course the longevity of the components. Inadequate maintenance will significantly shorten the lift’s life-span, not to mention compromising safety and reliability.
In an average strata apartment building, quarterly maintenance is appropriate, although larger complexes will require monthly service visits.
Rather than reducing service frequency, it may be worthwhile getting an independent review of your service contract (and current pricing levels); lift companies often include tricky escalation clauses that continuously increase service fees above published inflation rates. Over a 12-year period, this could mean that your current quarterly fee is almost double the current market rate.
To protect their position, we recommend Strata Owners consider an independently drafted maintenance contract; in addition to excessive escalation clauses, lift company contracts can be one-sided, low on deliverables and absent of meaningful KPI’s!
Rex Henning
Equity Elevator Consultants
P: 0450 927 909
E: rex.henning@equityelevator.com.auThis post appears in Strata News #178.
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Read next:
- NSW: Q&A Strata levy increases – how much and how often?
- QLD: Q&A Body corporate spending limits – What are they and when do they apply?
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