Question: How can a body corporate confirm which units have installed deadlocks when insurers request this information?
I am seeking insurance quotes for our small complex of 8 units. Insurers want to know if we have deadlocks fitted. The body corporate manager stated that, as deadlocks would have been considered ‘improvements’, any units with deadlocks should have been approved. How can I confirm whether each unit has them without having to door knock?
Answer: You could always approach your neighbours directly, however, there are other options.
Installed deadlocks may not necessarily be improvements, as they could have been part of the original construction. Start by examining your own door lock and make an informed guess about whether it was part of the original construction. If it looks original, all other units were likely fitted the same way, and you can respond to the insurer confirming that deadlocks have been fitted.
If there’s evidence that deadlocks weren’t original and were installed later by individual owners, technically, they should have been approved as improvements to common property. In most cases, if the scheme is registered as a building format plan, the entry doors are on the lot boundary and therefore form part of the common property. You can check the schemes community management statement registered with the QLD Titles Office to determine the regulation module that applies.
A record of any approved lot owner improvements to the common property should be kept in the body corporate records as a Register of Common Property Authorisations. You can read more on keeping body corporate records here: Records a body corporate must keep | Your rights, crime and the law.
If no records exist, the committee may consider writing to all owners to ask whether they have installed deadlocks. Where appropriate, the committee can grant retrospective approval and update the records accordingly. This will make it easier to respond to future insurance queries and clarify who is responsible for maintaining any improvements made by lot owners.
The Queensland Government has a good outline of the common property improvement approval process here: Improving common property and lots.
Another consideration where retrospective approval is required for deadlocks is whether or not any fire regulations will be affected by the installations. This will depend upon the building classification. The approval should include conditions to satisfy any fire compliance requirements specific to the property, particularly if the door is a fire door. More can be read on fire compliance here: Building occupiers, owners, lessees and bodies corporate | Queensland Fire Department
And yes, you could always approach your neighbours directly if you prefer. This may even be a nice opportunity to introduce yourself if you haven’t already, and let them know you’re helping to organise the insurance renewal, which might be of interest to them.
Grant Mifsud Archers the Strata Professionals grant.mifsud@abcm.com.au
This post appears in the October 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.