Information Bulletin – Building Owners and Managers Requirements

National Building Regulatory Consultants (NBRC) believe that building owners and managers need to be aware of their relevant statutory obligations in order to develop appropriate compliance and risk management strategies.

Where an owner/manager is responsible for buildings whether it be in one or numerous States or Territories, they must be familiar with the statutory obligations applicable in each State or Territory.

A common practice in which an owner and/or manager may address their statutory obligations with respect to essential services is to delegate this function to people with the expertise in the reporting and maintenance of all essential services.

Commercial leases too often have general clauses with obligations relating to fire safety, however, unless drafted to comply with specific State/Territory jurisdictions, these clauses have been found to be too general.

If existing facilities management or essential service maintenance contracts do not accurately cover the relevant State/Territory legislation requirements, then property owners/managers may need to revise existing contracts or enter into new more comprehensive legislative specific contracts.

NBRC believes that the most effective means of providing evidence that essential services are being maintained thoroughly and accurately is to utilise a personalized Essential Services Compliance Assessment (ESCA).

NBRC is of the firm belief that through the provision of its ESCA reporting system it can provide the building owner/manager with the relevant procedures and documents as evidence of complying with State/Territory legislative essential services maintenance requirements.