Condo Security: Responsibilities, Innovations, and You

Everyone wants to feel secure within their home. In fact, one of the many reasons that people choose condo living is the built-in communal safety that comes with the territory, especially for folks living on their own without roommates or family. Having a community of residents to help keep an eye on things is a great deterrent – but break-ins and thefts still happen, and it’s important to safeguard against them. To that end, we’ll be using this space to discuss the overarching topic of condo security: who’s responsible, what’s being done to keep condo communities safe, and what it all means for you.  

Building Security and Safety

When it comes to overall building security, your condo board is responsible for keeping things on the up-and-up. Any common areas or pieces of property fall under the board’s purview – but when it comes to maintaining the security of your own individual unit, that falls to you as owner. This isn’t to say that in the event of an individual unit break-in or security problem that the board can’t be held responsible, but it does mean that the onus is on you to prove that it was through negligent building upkeep that the break-in was made possible.

That said, one of the biggest security issues that has recently cropped up doesn’t have to do with ill-maintained lobby security, but rather, with traditional lockboxes and keys. These are being ripped off or pried open by ne’er-do-wells to gain entry to units while everyone else is away, allowing troublemakers easy access to all the goodies and valuables inside. Luckily, recent advancements in security are making crimes like this tougher to commit.

Innovations and Advancements

Crooks are always learning and getting smarter – but luckily, so are the folks who work tirelessly to keep you and your condo safeguarded from trouble. One unique advancement that’s been made to combat the problematic lockbox situation we described earlier is the implementation of a building-wide fob system to avoid the issue of lockboxes altogether. While it can be a bit costly to implement, this solution offers a fairly iron-clad system that works brilliantly to remove lockboxes from the equation altogether in the interest of building and resident safety. For a more economical fix, consider implementing lockboxes with unique identifiers instead; these lockboxes maintain a log of who accessed the keys inside last, keeping track of who’s been coming and going – particularly helpful for when realtors are popping in and out of a building and a key happens to go missing!

In addition to these steps, it helps to improve safety and security within a building by embracing simple grassroots techniques. Put up posters, reminders, and bits of information throughout the year detailing concerns, best practices, and building policies regarding safety and security – the more you can keep these topics front-of-mind for residents, the more proactive behaviour you’ll see as a result.

When it comes to keeping your condo safe and secure, it’s just as important to be pre-emptive in building maintenance and innovative advancements as it is to keep those lines of communication open with residents and owners. If you feel like your building’s security could use a bit of a once-over, we’re happy to help – get us a call for Condominium Management, and we’ll be glad to share some ideas with you about what you can do to keep your condo and its residents safe from any dastardly villains who might be plotting its downfall!