Just Legal
TrusteesRisk
Must be Aware of
The health and safety buck stops
with the property owner
B
ody-corporate trustees and managing agents
in sectional title schemes do not escape
liability for on-site injuries according to
the new construction regulations contained in
the Occupational Health and Safety Act. These
regulations have increased the responsibilities of
all property owners when appointing building
contractors to do any work on a building.
New regulations hold trustees of body corporates
responsible if a worker is injured within a sectionaltitle or home-owners’ association complex – even if
the trustees themselves have not been informed that
work is being undertaken on-site.
In fact, the construction regulations apply to
all properties and all owners. In sectional-title
properties, apartments, business complexes and
multi-tenanted office buildings, the trustees form
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Issue 7 2015
another layer of authority that is held accountable
for any accident occuring on the property.
To alleviate the risk to trustees and owners, make
sure your sectional-title property has a Baseline Risk
Assessment which becomes its Health and Safety
File. When a property owner wants to do repairs,
renovations or maintenance on a building this file
must be provided. Trustees must have a copy of
this file, which must be given to any contractor or
worker quoting on a job or before commencing any
work. Thus, prospective contractors are fully aware
of any hazards or risks the work entails. How many
property owners actually do this? The answer, only
about 2% of owners of existing properties.
It is difficult to give an accurate indication of the
cost of such a document because it depends on the
size and complexity of the actual building. An initial
Just Property Magazine