How a New 140-Lot Development Made the Most of Its Defect Period With One Partner for Building Management, Cleaning and Gardening

Key facts

• Client: Owners Corporation of a new residential development
• Building: 140 lots in four five-storey buildings over two basement levels · North-west Sydney
• Services: Strata building management · cleaning · gardening

Results at a glance

• Defects: recorded with photos, locations and dates, and followed up with the builder
• Maintenance contracts and schedules: none, as a new building → planned schedules and service contracts in place
• Common areas: one partner for building management, cleaning and gardening
• Owner satisfaction: 9 out of 10 in PlaceHQ's 2022 client review

The challenge

The Owners Corporation needed a building manager who could find, record and follow up building defects while the builder was still responsible for fixing them.

A new committee was also setting up its maintenance contracts, schedules and records from scratch, across four buildings and shared basements.

Why they chose PlaceHQ

PlaceHQ offered a building manager focused on defect recording, and cleaning and gardening teams on site every week to report issues early.

The first 90 days

• First: inspection of common property across all four buildings, with defects recorded and reported to the Committee and Strata Manager
• Then: cleaning and gardening programs started across the development
• Then: planned maintenance schedules and service contracts for essential services set up

The results

• Cost: Defects reported while the builder was responsible were fixed at the builder's cost, not the owners'.
• Compliance and risk: Essential services moved onto planned schedules from the building's early years.
• Residents and owners: Common areas were cleaned and gardens maintained by one team, accountable for how the development looked and worked.
• The Committee's time: The Committee dealt with one partner for three services, and received defect reports it could act on.