Pandemic guidance provided for apartments

By Meg Hill

Long-awaited guidelines have been released for residents and owners’ corporations (OCs) to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in multi dwelling buildings.

The new guidelines were released on July 18 following two roundtable meetings conducted by the Department of Job, Precincts and Regions in July, which included Victoria Police, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Department of Justice, City of Melbourne, as well as resident groups and student and community leaders.

“Residential multi-dwelling developments with shared facilities represent a risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission between neighbouring residents, compared to single dwelling or lower density residential buildings,” the document reads.

The 14-page document, now available on the DHHS website, provides recommendations, actions and checklists on how to manage the likes of common property such as lifts and stairwells, visitors and deliveries, resident welfare and compliance.

Southbank Residents Association (SRA) president Tony Penna said SRA had been involved in the round table discussions and was happy with the outcome.

“The situation before was confusing because you saw different buildings doing different things, so residents rightly so would question why a building next door still had its tennis courts open while theirs was closed, for example,” he said.

“Decisions were made by OCs, and they were limited to the information available to them and their interpretation of that, and of course they would interpret them differently.”

“So certainly, I think this is a step in the right direction. I’m relatively pleased with them and am looking forward to working with City of Melbourne to tweak the information even further to our buildings and residents.”

The guidelines recommended the closure of all non-essential communal areas, the establishment of hygiene stations with hand sanitiser at entrance points and communal areas, cleaning schedules for all high touch surfaces and communal areas, and the consideration of processes for deliveries, contractors and visitors.

The guidelines also acknowledge that “each property is unique and should develop a tailored plan based on the information contained in this guide”. 

‘Multi dwelling buildings’ includes, but is not limited to:

Low, mid and high-rise residential apartment buildings;

Student accommodation;

Long term accommodation rentals;

Townhouses with shared facilities;

Single room occupancy properties with shared facilities; and

Mixed use properties where there is residential component with shared facilities.

CEO and Principal Lawyer of Strata Title Lawyers Tom Bacon said the guidelines were welcome, but overdue.

“For much of the pandemic, OCs and committees have been left to fend for themselves and to take ad hoc advice and guidance about what to do in relation to closure of communal facilities, and advice regarding the closure of short-stays and guest accommodation,” he said.

“There has been an abundance of privately sourced information that has got out into the public domain, and this advice has at times been inconsistent and contradictory. I am aware of at least one VCAT case between an owner and an Owners Corporation regarding the blocking of security access swipes for short-term stays which may or may not have been lawful.”

“This case might have been avoided if the Victorian government had come out with advice at an earlier juncture. “

“Nevertheless, the DHSS guidelines document is a really good initiative. The information is clear and concise, and sensible and practical. My advice would be that all Owners Corporations should simply ignore any previous advice given from any other source, and simply follow this document.”

As of August 3, there were 684 cumulative cases in the City of Melbourne, including 300 active cases, emphasising the need for locals to stay at home, wear a mask and socially distance where they can.

While there had been around 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in Southbank at the time of publishing, most were understood to be linked with returned travellers in hotel quarantine •