For those who live in strata and are still unaware - the deadline to complete window lock compliance in your apartment is 13 March 2018. It is time to speak with your strata committee to instruct your strata manager to have a professional window assessment completed as soon as possible, with the view of supplying a quotation and an action plan for your building.
Consider the following:
- The deadline to complete installing window locks is 13 March 2018.
- The Strata Collective estimates half of the buildings in Sydney have not started work to ensure compliance. This would equate to 250,000 to 500,000 windows that require attention.
- It is going to be difficult to engage trades and certification people (your windows all need to meet a force test - which is 250 newtons of horizontal force) when there will be such a last minute high demand. The time to become compliant is now.
Not all windows are affected by the changes. Solutions in Engineering have created an excellent illustration which helps to clarify which windows are impacted by the changes.
Following are the relevant legislation you need to be aware of. Section 118 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Regulation 30 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016.
Our office does not believe it will be satisfactory to arrange for your local handyman to install child window locks. The certification required after installation will be a major component of the risk management strategy for Owners Corporations.
Unfortunately it is unlikely a local handyman will have the suitable testing equipment to grant any certification so best to stick with the professionals and avoid fines.