There are mountains of legislation surrounding the construction of, or extension to, buildings. But what about ongoing maintenance to homes, shops and offices?

All buildings need it, yet it seems it is not something authorities are always required to check. There is no formal reminder for you to look after what you own.

One local Gold Coast family paid a very high price to remind us all of the importance of this.  See this ABC news article  describing the fatal results caused by the collapse of a shop awning over a footpath in a popular street in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.

A recent Coroners report into the incident, as described in the article, recommended awnings over footpaths urgently require an inspection regime.  This may help to reduce the risk of another family losing a loved one.  What can we do, as land owners?

Most of us do not know where to begin in looking after the buildings we spend our lives in.  How often do you need to paint, and WHAT do you need to paint?  How close do you live to the beach, and why does this matter?  Do you need to wash down your building, what does this do anyway?  Should someone inspect your building periodically?  What for? (termites, structure, etc).

If you don’t know where to start: you could talk to

Perhaps we should have service schedules for buildings like we do for cars.  Perhaps we should not wait for legislation forcing us to look after what is ours – before we act to protect that which is not ours.