This article discusses who bears the cost when emergency services damage a unit door after a lock change.
Question: An owner changed the door lock. When an emergency occurred, the Fire Department gained access by breaking down the door as they could not use the master key. Who pays to replace the door?
In a body corporate building where unit locks are part of the security system, a unit owner changed the door lock. The key is no longer part of the body corporate system.
In an emergency situation, the Fire Department broke down the unit door because access was not available. The Fire department has a master key to the building for emergency use.
Who is responsible for the door replacement cost? Is it the Body Corporate or the unit owner?
Answer: In a genuine emergency situation where a lot owner’s property has been damaged, the costs to replace/fix the property will be borne by the lot owner.
In a genuine emergency situation where a lot owner’s property has been damaged, the costs to replace/fix the property will be borne by the lot owner.
In Burleigh Beach Tower [2009] QBCCMCmr 163, the Adjudicator held that the body corporate is not permitted to master key the locks to each lot in order to be able to exercise its emergency access right under section 163 of the BCCMA. This case affirmed the decision in Trafalgar Towers [2004] QBCCMCmr 153 where the Adjudicator relevantly held (our emphasis):
“It goes without saying that if there were an emergency and access was required to a lot that was not master keyed, then if the owner or occupier of the lot in question was not at home, access would have to be gained by other means, whether by a locksmith or by an emergency service such as the Fire and Rescue Service. The applicant acknowledges such a possibility. Provided it could be shown that it was a genuine emergency and access to the lot was in fact necessary, then the cost of gaining access by such alternative means would most likely be payable by the owner or occupier in question.”
This post appears in the October 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753