When it comes to maintaining your property, putting off jobs until the COVID-19 crisis has passed may lead to more costs down the track.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Strata property owners have been urged not to cancel maintenance jobs in the face of the pandemic.
StRata Community Association (SCA), Australia's peak body for strata title properties, warned of the long-term impact and expense if maintenance or any planned work is not carried out.
More than two million Australians live in strata and SCA National President Andrew Chambers said cancelling any maintenance work would have a severe impact on the workflow and budgets of strata ecosystems.
"If strata communities cancel ongoing maintenance or planned work, they impact not only on the workflow of strata ecosystems, they can cause long-term effects on the building and amenities and will cost far more money to fix in the long run," Mr Chambers said.
"With more people self-isolating at home, we're hearing cases of blocked drains or toilets. You can't ignore issues like that which only get worse and can create bigger problems - not to mention more expense - if ignored."
On top of further damage and expense, Mr Chambers said livelihoods could be affected by the cancellation of work.
"It's important for any ongoing maintenance or planned work to continue because cancelling any of this has a disastrous effect on our workforce at this unprecedented time,'' Mr Chambers said.
"As Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, we have to keep Australians in jobs to tackle the significant economic impact from Coronavirus to ensure Australia bounces back.
"People who provide services to strata, like painters, electricians, garbage collectors, gardeners, are the people on the front line taking us through this crisis and rely on regular payment for their services. They are making sure we can survive, even risking their health to do it. We can't let them down."
Taking extra precautions
Tradies are adopting extra safety measures to handle the COVID-19 crisis. Before they come over they will need to check if anyone at your property has been diagnosed with COVID-19, is a suspected case, has been in contact with a suspected or confirmed case, has recently returned from overseas or has flu-like symptoms, such as fever or a cough.
Extra precautions you should take include:
1. Avoiding handshakes
2. Paying online rather than in cash
3. Asking workers to wash their hands as the first and last thing they do if they're working inside your home. You can also provide hand sanitiser.