These Q&As are about the Master Key System.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: Is the Building Manager authorised to give tradies a master key and unsupervised access to apartments?
- QUESTION: What steps should we take to ensure our master key processes are adequate in our large Qld strata scheme?
- QUESTION: We own a holiday let managed by the onsite managers. All keys must be kept in their key safe and we must ask for access when we arrive. Why can’t we have our own set of keys?
- QUESTION: Can our body corporate enter our lot for a fire safety check whether we are home or not?
- QUESTION: If a master key is held by a responsible body corporate member will this effect our insurance for either the body corporate or the individual owners?
- QUESTION: Should our building manager have access to all apartments with a master key? What about owner-occupied lots, in case of emergency?
- QUESTION: I’m concerned about our Master Key System. Should all committee members have their own master key?
Question: Is the Building Manager authorised to give tradies a master key and unsupervised access to apartments?
We believe that the Building Manager has been giving the master key to tradies so that they can access unattended units to carry out work. Recently, during pest control at the building, a number of lot owners came home to find unsupervised works in their apartment, that someone has been in the apartment or were in the apartment when a pest controller walked in. In all cases, no notice of the work or request to access the lot had been provided.
There is an obvious security issue here. Is the Building Manager authorised to give tradies a master key and unsupervised access to apartments?
Answer: The only instance in which the body corporate may enter a lot without permission is in the event of an emergency.
Unauthorised access to a lot is a significant concern and may even be a criminal matter. If you feel strongly enough about the situation you, could report it to the police. At the least, I would engage the Committee and your body corporate manager and move to have the practice stopped. You could also write directly to the building manager advising that they are not permitted to enter your lot.
The only instance in which the body corporate may enter a lot without permission is in the event of an emergency. Those occasions should be rare, and it should be clear why the body corporate has acted when it did.
Otherwise, the conditions under which the body corporate may seek entry to a lot are well-regulated. As a minimum, a notice of entry would usually be required. Even if provided it is unusual to seek entry without owners granting permission and in most circumstances this wouldn’t be a recommended practice.
You can read more about the regulations here: Entering a lot or exclusive use area
Your by-laws might also contain information about circumstances about when the body corporate can enter your lot.
If a lot is refusing access for some reason the body corporate can seek a forced entry, but there is a legal process around this and due notification has to be supplied.
Is there a reason why the manager is extending their authority in this way? Perhaps it is an ongoing practice that has never been challenged? Maybe they are misinterpreting the law? Or are they just used to overstepping and pushing people around? It would probably be helpful to find out why they think it is OK.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
This post appears in Strata News #619.
Question: What steps should we take to ensure our master key processes are adequate in our large Qld strata scheme?
Answer: It is common for a person/corporation engaged to provide caretaking and/or letting services to a scheme to be provided with the master keys and tasked with the job of keeping the keys safe.
The safe custody of master keys is incredibly important as loss or theft of a master key may threaten the safety of the Scheme and lead to the body corporate incurring significant costs to have all locks replaced. In larger schemes, the costs of having all locks replaced may be tens of thousands of dollars. Furthermore, the body corporate’s insurance policy may not provide adequate coverage in the event of loss or theft of master keys.
Given the above-mentioned consequences, it is crucial that bodies corporate:
- check the insurance policy in respect of coverage resulting from loss or theft of a master key;
- ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to reduce the risk of master keys being stolen or lost; and
- undertake regular audits of the master keys. This is particularly important when caretaking/letting rights are being assigned to a new person or corporation as otherwise, it may be impossible to determine who lost the master keys and who should pay for the resulting costs.
Alanna Hill
Mathews Hunt Legal
E: alanna.hill@mathewshuntlegal.com.au
P: 07 5555 8000
This post appears in the December 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Question: We own a holiday let managed by the onsite managers. All keys must be kept in their key safe and we must ask for access when we arrive. Why can’t we have our own set of keys?
We have an apartment in Noosa in a block of 25 units. The onsite managers manage the holiday let of our unit and we holiday in the lot every Christmas. The onsite managers have informed us that, in future, we will not have access to a set of keys to our own unit! All keys must be kept in their key safe and we need to ask for access when we arrive. They claim it is now legislation. Is this correct?
Answer: The manager’s approach is a sensible one for the protection of everyone concerned.
I don’t think it is as much legislation as it is good practice and contract.
The letting appointment with the owners may well give the manager the exclusive right to let and manage the unit. That inevitably includes control of access, which is the keys.
It also makes sense otherwise to only have one set of keys to prevent guests from being interrupted. From a guest’s perspective, imagine how unsafe you might feel knowing there are two sets of keys lurking around out there that could be used when you were not in the room? Also imagine the issues that might arise if the room was entered without the guest’s knowledge and things were stolen. If there were two sets of keys out there who carries that risk? If there is only one, it is the managers.
I think the manager’s approach is a sensible one for the protection of everyone concerned. The owners can get their keys – they just need to do it through the manager. I cant think of any other reason the owners would need keys if they don’t want to interrupt guests?
Frank Higginson
Hynes Legal
E: frank.higginson@hyneslegal.com.au
P: 07 3193 0500
This post appears in the September 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Question: Can our body corporate enter our lot for a fire safety check whether we are home or not?
As a lot owner, we’ve been informed that fire safety checks will be carried out in our building on a particular day. We cannot refuse entry to our apartment or change the date or time. They will knock before entering but will enter, whether we are at home or not.
Most owners were surprised to find that the body corporate has keys and supposedly the right to access our properties without our permission when we are away. Is this legal?
There could be kids home alone. Last time these checks were done, someone’s wife was asleep in bed and was woken by random people wandering through her bedroom.
Answer: Routine maintenance is mandatory under the legislation and how compliance is achieved differs between Body Corporates.
Without the information about the equipment that is meant to service it is difficult to comment.
However, in most apartment buildings, this relates to Fire Doors or it could be the buildings Fire Detection System if installed to AS1670.
In regards to access to the units for testing smoke detectors, this can not be avoided as 50% of smoke detectors and 25% of thermal detectors must be tested each year. This is usually arranged by testing odd unit numbers one year and even the next.
In respect of the fire door maintenance, this should not require access to the internal part of the unit i.e. bedrooms etc as this only requires the inspection of the entry door and should not take more than a few minutes.
We can not comment on the legality of the Body Corporate having keys to an apartment or demanding access. However routine maintenance is mandatory under the legislation and how compliance is achieved differs between Body Corporates.
Stefan Bauer
Fire Matters
E: sbauer@firematters.com.au
P: 07 3071 9088
This post appears in the November 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Question: If a master key is held by a responsible body corporate member will this affect our insurance for either the body corporate or the individual owners?
Could you please explain if a master key is held by a responsible body corporate member will this affect our insurance either for the body corporate and individual owners?
Answer: It will depend entirely on the policy you are seeking cover for.
Frank Higginson: If there are multiple master keys out there, it is very hard to pinpoint who has misused it if that ever occurs.
Tyrone Shandiman: It will depend entirely on the policy you are seeking cover for.
In a review of the strata insurance policies we offer clients we are not aware of any conditions which are less favourable where the master key is held by a body corporate member. Notwithstanding, there are limits that apply for re-keying (for example $5,000) if the keys are stolen in certain events.
Contents insurance may have a requirement that there are visible signs of forced entry in the event of theft.
Frank Higginson
Hynes Legal
E: frank.higginson@hyneslegal.com.au
P: 07 3193 0500
Tyrone Shandiman
Strata Insurance Solutions
T: 07 3899 5129
E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au
This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances and the specific coverage afforded under their policy wording. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisernet Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.
Question: Should our building manager have access to all apartments with a master key? What about owner-occupied lots, in case of emergency?
Should our caretaker / building manager have access to all apartments with a master key? What about owner-occupied lots, in case of emergency?
We suspect our caretaker of using unoccupied apartments (he lives off-site) when it suits him.
We want to change the lock on our fireproof door. Can we do this to ensure our privacy, and do we need body corporate approval?
Answer: No. There is a specific notice and authorisation procedure that needs to be followed.
No – access can only be on behalf of the body corporate or on behalf of the owner in their capacity as letting agent. In both cases, there is a specific notice and authorisation procedure that needs to be followed.
Yes, you would need approval by the committee to change the lock and you need to ensure that any changes meet the relevant fire safety requirements for your building.
Frank Higginson
Hynes Legal
E: frank.higginson@hyneslegal.com.au
P: 07 3193 0500
This post appears in Strata News #280
Question: I’m concerned about our Master Key System. Should all committee members have their own master key?
Recently, our committee chairperson resigned to become an ordinary member and another person was elected to the chairmanship. At the time, the former chairperson handed over to the new chairperson a master key which, via the Master Key System, allowed access to all parts of the building including owner apartments. At the time, the former chairperson mentioned to everyone at the meeting his having the key(s) was the source of concern for a number of owners.
In the very next meeting, the former chairperson proposed that ALL committee members be issued a master key(s) on the basis, despite us a having a full time on-site manager, they might need to get into an apartment or anywhere else in the building to assist someone who might have fallen over in the shower or equally odd reasons.
As a non-committee member attending the meeting, I wasn’t allowed to speak about this until the meeting closed and a final motion had been passed to update the Master Key System and grant a master key(s) to the Chairperson and one other committee member – surprise, surprise, that key went to our former chairperson who’d originally held such a key and handed it in.
I’ve since written to our committee advising I’d believed they’d stepped over the mark passing a motion that involved significant security and privacy considerations for owners without owner consultation. I also advised if anyone but the building manager entered my apartment without my express permission will have trespassed on my property.
Answer: Do you want people you do not know to have access to your lot?
An oldie but a goodie.
My take on the Master Key System is that it is best that only one person has a master key. Usually, that person is best being the building manager, but if the committee wants to, then it should be one committee member only. The reality is that in a building with a manager, he or she is the one that will need it to get around to do whatever with it. A committee member usually doesn’t have the same need to get into common property facilities.
The reason that only one person should have it is that a single person is accountable for the use of it. If there are several master keys floating around, anyone holding one of them can get in anywhere. If something untoward was to happen (i.e. theft etc) there would be no ability to hold anyone accountable for that. If there was only one master key, it is pretty obvious who used it – or allowed access to it for use.
In addition, if a master key is lost, the cost of rekeying can potentially be large. With more master keys lurking around, the prospects of losing one increase.
There is almost never going to be a need to access a lot urgently. There is a mechanism under the Act to allow access for bodies corporate to lots. If there is a fear that someone has fallen over in the shower etc, that is what the police are for. No one should ever enter a lot without the permission of the owner. A committee member has no right to do so at all, and a resident manager may have a right to do so for lots they manage for the owner under a proper letting authority subject to the tenancy arrangement that is in place. But for owners who do not rent their units through the manager, there is no right for anyone associated with the body corporate to just access their lot.
As an aside, my parents live in a unit and at one stage they were quite sure someone used a master key to access their lot. They installed an additional lock in their door which then required another key to open it which ensured that only they could access their lot. Leaving aside the fact that the door was common property, and whatever fire safety issues they then might not comply with, they feel much more secure. The circumstances described which we are responding to would only drive them to be happier with their decision.
To me it comes down to a pretty simple question – do you want people you do not know to have access to your lot?
Frank Higginson
Hynes Legal
E: frank.higginson@hyneslegal.com.au
P: 07 3193 0500
This post appears in Strata News #107
Have a question about your Master Key System or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
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We are under Building format. Each unit has the screen door and the entry door. Locks are the same to be opened by the same key. After reading Qs and As I would like to understand, wheter the screen door and the door to the unit are the common property?
If yes, would be the cleaning the screen door and the door /not a part of the door inside if the unit/ responsibility of the body corporate?
The screen and entry door are likely to be body corporate but you should ask your manager to confirm this. In terms of cleaning, in building format plans the body corporate is usually responsible for cleaning the hallways. Vacuuming carpets and perhaps occasional washing of walls. I don’t suppose many cleaners would specifically clean screen doors as generally, it would seen as owner’s responsibility. Maybe you could argue that’s boy corporate responsibility but you also have to think about the costs – are owners happy to pay for this service? They might also ask why the door needs specific cleaning – are you talking about anything more than an occasional wipedown. Maybe raise the issue with the Committee and see what they think.
My apartment is in a small block of 8 units. In Brisbane. There is a 4 member strata committee and no on-site management. There is a master key for all the common areas kept in a key box by the front door for cleaners and gardeners and the like. On completion of the development the developer handed over 2 master keys which allow access to all areas including into every apartment. The 2 keys are held by strata committee member in a drawer or cupboard in her apartment. I can’t see the need for these keys and I’m not happy that when we are away we can lock up but our apartment is not really secure at all. I have been told we cannot replace the front door lock with another one which is off the system without strata approval. Is the strata committee compelled to hold a master key to allow entry to everyone’s apartment?
Kim
There is no compunction to have a master key. In fact, the BC is not permitted to have a master key to your front door WITHOUT your consent. The security of your property is paramount. Have a look at Trafalgar Towers [2004] QBCCMCmr 153 on austlii.edu.au. (This decision has been consistently followed by the Adjdrs, but enthusiastically ignored by most BCs unless challenged by an owner.).
NB: The BC may be permitted to have a key – as distinct to a master key – to your front door without your consent. It depends on who owns your front door. If your Scheme is registered under the Building Survey Format, the BC is entitled to a key because the door ‘belongs” to the BC.
But having a key, any key, does not give them a right of access.
You may have to negotiate some cost sharing arrangement with the BC if you want to have your lock deleted from the master key ?
We have had three instances where plastic water pipes linked to refrigerators have failed and flooded the Lot. On one occasion, that happened in the late evening while the Lot Owner was “out on the town” and the Building Manager away for the weekend. Leak was discovered when water began to flow over the Lot’s balcony onto to the common area. No one on site at the time had a master key. Lot Owner was called but took over half an hour to get back to the Lot. By that time the leak had penetrated three Lots below the leaking Lot. Insurance Claim and consequent disruption was enormous.
A second Mater Key held by a Committee Member would have increased the possibility of providing access to the Lot to stop the leak but there was no guarantee the Committee Member would.have been on site.
Lesson learned? Don’t install refrigerators that require a water supply!
Could you please explain if a master key is held by a responsible body corporate member
will this effect our insurance either for the body corporate and individual owners.
Sincere thanks in advance.
Hi Gary
Frank Higgins from Hynes Legal has replied to this question in the article above.
Hi Gary
We have replied to this question in the article above.
Our caretaker gives a master key to contractors and cleaners when work needs to be done in a unit. On at least two occasions recently two different persons have entered a unit belonging to resident owners. Other owners now wish to install deadlocks to ensure privacy. Does the BCC need to be informed, and are the doors common property as is suggested above. What can the BCC do to stop the caretaker being so casual with master keys.