Winning a maintenance contract is the easy part. The first 90 days decide whether it becomes a steady, profitable account or a slow leak of time, margin and risk. You aren’t starting with a blank building. You’re inheriting its history: services that may be overdue, defects nobody fixed, records with gaps in them, and a client who switched contractors for a reason.
Handled well, a takeover is also the best chance you’ll ever get to set a building up properly. You see it with fresh eyes, the owner expects questions, and every problem you find and document now is one that can’t be blamed on you later.
This playbook walks through the four stages of a good takeover: the documents to get before day one, the takeover survey, drawing a line under what you’ve inherited, and building a program that holds its margin, with a checklist at the end.
Why the handover matters more than it looks
- The records belong to the building. Building Commission NSW describes servicing records as forming part of the building asset, and AS 1851-2012 requires them to be kept on site and readily accessible. They don’t leave with the outgoing contractor.
- The clock doesn’t pause for a change of contractor. AS 1851 routine services have tolerances either side of their scheduled dates; a monthly service that slips past its window while contracts change hands is an out of tolerance activity, recorded as a non-conformance.
- Owners carry long record obligations. In NSW, records must be kept for at least seven years. In Victoria, owners must produce ten years of annual reports and all maintenance records, including repairs, within 24 hours of a request. In the ACT, records must be available to ACT Fire & Rescue within 48 hours.
- Your first report sets the baseline for your reputation. If it records the building’s real condition, you’re protected. If it quietly signs off on what you inherited, the history becomes yours.
What to agree before you sign
Most takeover problems are baked in before the first visit. Before the contract starts, get these settled in writing:
- The scope, as a schedule: every system, asset quantity, AS 1851 section and interval, and which measures on the building’s schedule are not yours.
- Who the responsible entity is for defect notices, and who approves quotes and up to what value.
- How the takeover survey and any overdue work will be charged, separately from the routine fee.
- Access arrangements, notice periods and who holds keys and access cards.
- Exclusions and the rates for work outside scope.
- A variation mechanism if the survey finds more assets than the tender documents listed.
If the building is being tendered, the owner will be comparing scopes as well as prices. A takeover plan in your submission (survey, condition report, program within 60 days) is a strong differentiator, and it sets expectations for the extra work the first months involve.
Before day one: get the documents
Ask for these in writing as soon as the contract is awarded, ideally as a condition of it. The owner or their strata or facilities manager should request anything held by the outgoing contractor.
| Document | Why you need it | If it’s missing |
|---|---|---|
| Fire safety schedule (NSW), occupancy permit or maintenance determination (Vic), or equivalent | Lists the measures you’re maintaining and the standard each must meet | Tell the owner; in NSW councils can correct or re-issue a schedule |
| Previous logbooks and summary records | Shows when each activity was last done, so you can schedule inside tolerance | Record it; treat last-service dates as unknown |
| Recent yearly condition reports | The consolidated condition of every measure, with outstanding defects | Your takeover survey becomes the first one |
| Open defect and non-conformance list | What you’re inheriting, and what the owner has already been told | Build it yourself from the survey |
| Block plans, hydraulic data, pump curves and commissioning records | The baseline data AS 1851 needs to verify flow and pressure results | Record a non-conformance and quote to re-establish it |
| Fire indicator panel program and cause-and-effect matrices | Needed to service, modify or replace the panel without guesswork | Ask the outgoing contractor through the owner; record it if unavailable |
| Annual statement history (AFSS, AESMR or equivalent) | Shows what the owner has certified and when the next one is due | Find the due date from the owner or council |
| Monitoring, access and isolation details | Who to call before testing, how to get in, how to isolate safely | Get it before the first visit, as you can’t test without it |
The panel program deserves special mention. In one of Building Commission NSW’s case studies, a lightning strike destroyed a residential high-rise’s fire indicator panel; the replacement went smoothly because the incumbent contractor held a copy of the panel program and the building had fire fan and full system matrices. If those only exist on a previous contractor’s laptop, get them before the relationship ends.
Days 1 to 30: the takeover survey
Before the first routine service, walk the whole building with the documents in hand. The survey is paid work (quote it as part of the takeover), and it answers four questions.
What’s actually here?
- Count every asset, system by system, and record its location. Compare the count with the fire safety schedule and the previous contractor’s reports; they rarely match.
- Record data plates, tag and label condition, and anything modified, removed or added since the last report.
- Note measures on the schedule that aren’t in your scope, and anything installed that isn’t on the schedule.
What’s overdue?
- Work out when each activity was last done from the logbooks, including the long-interval ones: five-yearly, ten-yearly and beyond.
- Anything past its tolerance is an out of tolerance activity. Record it as a non-conformance, and carry out the service as soon as practical.
- Where the records don’t show a last-service date, treat the activity as due now rather than assuming it was done.
What’s wrong right now?
Anything that meets the critical defect test (the system is inoperable and occupants are reasonably likely to be at significant risk in a fire) is reported the same way as on any other visit: to the responsible entity before you leave site, or as soon as possible, and confirmed in writing within 24 hours. A takeover doesn’t soften that. Non-critical defects and non-conformances are notified within one week.
What’s missing?
- Baseline data: record its absence as a non-conformance; the routine service still goes ahead.
- Block plans, zone block plans, spare sprinklers, logbooks and legible labels.
- A fire safety schedule that doesn’t match the building. Building Commission NSW notes contractors are often the first to notice, but a fire safety contractor shouldn’t draft a schedule unless they’re also a certifier or fire safety engineer. Your role is to identify the measures you can observe on site.
Draw a line under what you inherited
The single most important document in a takeover is the one that records the building’s condition on the day you took it on. Put everything the survey found into a takeover condition report and send it to the owner in writing:
- Every defect and non-conformance, classified, with photos and locations.
- Every overdue or out of tolerance activity, and when you’ll complete it.
- Missing documents and data, and what you recommend doing about each.
- Differences between the fire safety schedule, the previous records and what’s installed.
- A priced plan to close the gaps, with critical items first.
Keep it factual. The owner doesn’t need your opinion of the previous contractor, just an accurate picture of their building, what it means, and what it will cost to fix. That picture protects you if anything happens later, and it’s usually the start of the remedial work that makes the contract pay.
When the building has been neglected
Some takeovers arrive with years of missed servicing and a long list of defects. Trying to fix everything at once overwhelms the owner and the budget; ignoring it exposes everyone. Triage instead:
- Critical defects first: reported immediately, with interim measures for the owner to decide on and a quote for the fix.
- Overdue routine and long-interval activities next, scheduled as soon as practical and recorded as out of tolerance.
- Non-critical defects in order of risk, with a plan rather than a single enormous quote. Building Commission NSW recommends owners plan to rectify these because they may evolve into critical defects.
- Non-conformances (missing data, block plans, tags and records) last, often bundled as a single “records recovery” package.
Present it as a staged plan with dates and costs. Owners respond far better to “here’s how we get your building compliant over the next six months” than to a 40-page defect list.
The transition itself
- Monitoring: confirm who the monitoring provider is, how to put the site on test, and whose contact details the provider holds. Update them to yours on day one.
- Panel access: make sure you have the access codes and any software needed to service the fire indicator panel, and that the outgoing contractor’s remote access, if any, is closed off by the owner.
- Keys and cards: record what you’ve been issued, and what you still need for plant rooms, risers and roof access.
- Occupants: ask the building manager to tell occupants a new contractor is starting, and when testing will happen.
- Inductions: complete site inductions and any permit-to-work processes before the first service, not during it.
- Logbooks: make sure the on-site logbooks are there, and that your first entries clearly show the change of contractor and the date.
Days 31 to 60: build the program
- Set up an asset schedule for the building. Building Commission NSW recommends a model routine services program and asset schedule that records the type and quantity of each measure, lays out the full annual cycle at the AS 1851 intervals, and includes realistic time allowances for each activity.
- Schedule every activity from its true last-service date, inside its tolerance, including the long-interval work.
- Put the long-interval work into a forward plan with years and budgets, and share it with the owner.
- Quote the inherited defects and non-conformances (rectification, baseline recovery, block plans, missing tags) in priority order.
- Agree how you’ll report: who receives routine reports, who receives defect notices, and who approves quotes.
- Find out the annual statement date (the AFSS in NSW, the AESMR window in Victoria) and plan the annual work to finish well before it.
Days 61 to 90: settle in and check the numbers
- Compare actual hours on site with the hours you priced. The first two or three months tell you whether the contract is priced right while you can still do something about it.
- Check travel, access delays and return visits against your allowances.
- Track the inherited defect list: quoted, approved, rectified, retested, closed.
- Confirm the asset count and raise a variation if the building has more than you priced.
- Plan the first yearly condition report. It will be the first full-year picture under your name.
- Ask the client how the handover felt from their side. Their answer is the best early warning you’ll get.
Working with the outgoing contractor
Most handovers are routine and professional. When they aren’t, remember whose records they are: the owner’s. Route requests through the owner, ask for specific items rather than “everything”, and keep a note of what was requested and when. Be courteous: this industry is small, and roles reverse. And never put criticism of a predecessor in writing to the client; the facts in your takeover report speak for themselves.
Common takeover traps
- Starting at the previous contractor’s price without a survey.
- Trusting the asset count in an old report.
- Accepting “all compliant” without seeing the evidence.
- Missing overdue long-interval activities because nobody listed them.
- Servicing before you have monitoring, access and isolation details.
- Leaving the panel program and matrices with the previous contractor.
- Not recording the building’s condition at takeover.
- Letting inherited defects sit unquoted for months.
The 90-day takeover checklist
- Contract, scope and responsible entity confirmed in writing.
- Documents requested: schedule or permit, logbooks, condition reports, defect list, block plans, baseline data, panel program, statement history, monitoring and access details.
- Takeover survey completed: assets counted, overdue items identified, defects classified.
- Critical defects reported before leaving site and confirmed in writing within 24 hours.
- Takeover condition report sent to the owner, with a priced plan.
- Every activity scheduled from its true last-service date, inside tolerance.
- Long-interval forward plan agreed with the owner.
- Inherited defects and non-conformances quoted in priority order.
- Reporting contacts and approval process agreed.
- Annual statement date known and planned for.
- Hours, travel and asset count reviewed against the price.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the service records: us or the previous contractor?
The building owner. AS 1851-2012 requires records to be kept on site, and Building Commission NSW describes them as part of the building asset. Ask the owner to request anything the outgoing contractor still holds.
Are we responsible for services the previous contractor missed?
You’re responsible from the day you start. Record anything overdue as an out of tolerance activity, carry it out as soon as practical, and put it in your takeover report so the timeline is clear.
Should we charge for the takeover survey?
Yes. It’s real work, it protects both you and the owner, and it’s how you price the contract accurately. Quote it as part of the takeover.
What if we find a critical defect on the first visit?
Report it exactly as you would on any other visit: tell the responsible entity before you leave, and confirm it in writing within 24 hours. Then quote the fix.
What if the fire safety schedule doesn’t match the building?
Tell the owner in writing and list the measures you can observe on site. Don’t draft a new schedule yourself unless you’re a certifier or fire safety engineer. In NSW, councils can correct or re-issue schedules.
How long should a takeover take?
Plan on roughly three months to go from contract award to a stable program: documents and survey in the first month, the condition report and program in the second, and a review of hours and pricing in the third. Neglected buildings take longer to bring back into compliance, but the program itself should be in place within that time.
What should the first report to the client look like?
A takeover condition report: what you found, how each item is classified, what’s overdue, what’s missing, and a priced plan with critical items first. Keep it factual and free of commentary about the previous contractor.
Sources and further reading
- Good practice guide for the inspection, testing, maintenance and repair of fire protection systems in NSW buildings, Building Commission NSW (January 2026)
- Responsibilities of building owners under AS 1851-2012, Building Commission NSW
- FSG-05 Maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment, ACT Fire & Rescue (August 2023)
- Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), Victorian Legislation