Living in a world of apartments is complex, ask a building manager a question

Inside every building is a story that is told from many different perspectives. Life within apartment living is complex, so join us as we answer all your questions so we can better understand that world a little bit better.

Mark asked us: I am about to purchase a RAM 1500 pickup truck which is 5.8 metres long. The car spaces in my building are 4.9 metres long. How will I go about parking my new pick-up truck in the basement, and how would you approach it from a building manager’s perspective?

A: From a building management perspective, we would ask you the following questions relating to car park management and maintaining common property:

• Will the car protrude from your car park and affect residents parking/driving in and out?
• Will your car hit the height limit sign when entering the car park/basement(s)? This one is particularly important noting that there are major essential service assets like sprinklers and ventilation ducts overhead in basement areas.
• Will your parked car affect your neighbour’s ability to get in and out of their vehicle?

If your answer is yes to any of the above, then there is a risk that you will need to find alternative parking arrangements for your new pick-up truck. I would refer you to obtain a copy of any rules that may exist for your building to see if there is any further guidance within those. Ultimately, I would suggest your choices may be limited to working with your building manager early so they can proactively assist you with a solution onsite such as swapping your dedicated car space with possibly a loading area, visitor car spaces or even approach other residents to arrange an internal swap with a tandem car space or any other available solutions within the building.

Elijah asked us: Can I leave my apartment keys and access devices with the building manager to pass onto a friend and/or relative?

A: Building managers should typically not hold possession of any residents’ keys and/or access devices. Building management should handle new key and access device orders however post-delivery, the responsibility should rest with the resident or property manager. This is for security and efficiency purposes. Managing access devices after delivery becomes an additional liability concern for a building manager as they can get misplaced (we are human after all) and it can be an inefficient process noting building managers can sometimes be only onsite during certain hours. Residents and property managers should be responsible for the handling of their own access devices.

Luca asked us: Do building managers hold keys to my apartment if I was to lock myself out?

A: Typically building managers should not hold any master keys to access your apartment. If you are a renter, you will need to contact your property manager to obtain an emergency spare. If you are an occupant and have no spare keys, the building’s incumbent locksmith will need to attend. It is advisable to have a backup plan in the event of locking yourself out of your apartment such as arranging spares kept offsite.

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