Apartments make up a large share of homes in Coogee, Bondi, Maroubra and Kingsford. They range from 1960s red-brick walk-ups with original timber doors to new buildings with fobs, intercoms and fire-rated entry doors. Apartment security is different from house security: there are shared doors, strata rules, fire requirements and more people holding keys. This guide covers the practical steps that make the biggest difference.

Understand the three layers of an apartment

Almost every apartment building has three layers of security:

The building perimeter: front entry doors, car park gates, bin rooms and stairwells. These are common property, controlled by the owners corporation.
Your unit entry door: the most important layer for you. It may be lot property or common property depending on the building's by-laws and strata plan.
Inside the unit: balcony doors, windows and internal doors.

Knowing which layer a problem sits in tells you who can fix it and who needs to approve changes.

The unit entry door

What a good entry door setup looks like

A solid door in good condition.
A deadlatch so the door is always latched when closed.
A deadlock, or a deadlatch that can be deadlocked, for when you leave or sleep.
Keyless exit from inside, via a thumb turn or handle, for fire safety.
A strike plate firmly fixed into the frame.
A door viewer or intercom so you can see who is there.

Fire-rated doors: check before you change anything

In many buildings, unit entry doors are fire-rated. They are designed to hold back fire and smoke for a set time. Drilling extra holes, fitting non-compliant hardware or removing a door closer can compromise that rating.

Before adding or changing a lock:

check your building's by-laws;
ask your strata manager whether the door is fire-rated;
use hardware that is compatible with fire-rated doors.

We check these points before working on unit doors. Our door lock installation page explains how we assess doors.

Older walk-up unit doors

Many older blocks across the eastern suburbs still have their original doors and locks. Common problems:

only a basic latch with no deadlock;
worn cylinders that are stiff to turn;
thin strike plates fixed with short screws;
doors that have dropped and no longer line up.

Adding a deadlock, reinforcing the strike and adjusting the door are often the most valuable upgrades. Our security locksmith page covers these.

Balcony and sliding doors

Ground-floor and first-floor sliding doors are a common weak point. Many original sliding door locks are light and easily worn, and near the beach they corrode quickly.

Improvements to consider:

A keyed sliding door lock rather than a simple hook latch.
A secondary lock or bar at the base of the track.
Anti-lift blocks, which stop the door being lifted out of its track.
Regular servicing for coastal corrosion.

Upper-floor balconies are lower risk for entry, but sliding door locks still matter for wind, child safety and peace of mind.

Windows and child safety

In NSW, strata buildings are required to have safety devices on certain windows to limit how far they can open, to help prevent children falling. Even where not strictly required, restrictors are worth fitting wherever young children live or visit.

Window restrictors let air in while stopping a window opening wide. They can usually be overridden by an adult in an emergency. Our window locks page explains the options.

Keys in apartment buildings

Restricted key systems

Many buildings use a restricted key system for the entry door, car park and sometimes unit doors. Keys can only be cut by an authorised locksmith on the written authority of the registered holder, usually the owners corporation. This is good for security, because random copies cannot be made, but it means:

you cannot get a copy cut at a key kiosk;
lost keys must be replaced through the proper channel;
a lost master key may affect the whole building.

Counting keys

In apartments, keys pass between owners, tenants, agents, cleaners, pet minders and visiting family. It is worth knowing exactly how many working keys exist for your unit. If you are unsure, rekeying resets the count. See our lock rekeying page.

Fobs and swipe cards

Electronic fobs are managed by the building, not by a locksmith. If a fob is lost, report it to the building manager so it can be cancelled.

Getting strata approval

For anything that changes the outside of your unit door or affects common property, you may need approval from the owners corporation. Keep it simple:

Ask your strata manager what approval is needed.
Describe the change clearly: for example, "add a deadlock to unit 4 entry door, hardware compatible with fire-rated doors".
Get approval in writing before work starts.

If you rent, you also need your landlord's consent. Our article on NSW landlord and tenant lock change rules explains this.

Common apartment security problems we see

Entry doors left propped open. Removalists, deliveries and visitors often prop doors. A door that is regularly left open defeats every other measure. Faulty door closers are often the cause and can be adjusted.

Unit doors that do not latch. If the latch does not catch when the door closes, the unit is effectively unlocked. Usually an alignment issue, and quick to fix. See our lock repair page.

Short-stay keys going missing. Buildings with holiday rentals see a lot of lost keys. Owners should rekey regularly.

Corroded hardware. Beachside buildings in Coogee and Bondi see salt damage on locks, sliding doors and window catches.

Spare keys under the mat. Common, and a bad idea in a building where many people pass your door.

Simple habits that help

Do not let strangers follow you through the entry door.
Report faulty building doors to the strata manager promptly.
Keep your unit door deadlocked when you are away.
Do not label keys with your unit number.
Keep a spare with someone you trust rather than hiding it.
Check balcony doors are locked before you leave.

For owners and investors

If you own an apartment you rent out:

rekey between tenancies;
fit locks with keyless exit inside;
keep window restrictors in good order;
respond quickly to security repair requests;
record keys issued to tenants and agents.

For strata committees

Committees can improve security for everyone by:

servicing door closers on entry doors regularly;
keeping a register of restricted keys;
checking car park gates and bin room doors;
reviewing window safety devices;
choosing a local locksmith who can respond to common-property issues.

Our commercial locksmith page explains how we work with owners corporations.

Moving into an apartment: the first week

The first days in a new apartment are the best time to sort out security, before habits form and before keys spread further.

Day one: count the keys. Ask the agent or seller exactly how many keys, fobs and remotes exist for the unit, the building entry, the car park, the mailbox and any storage cage. Write the answer down. If nobody knows, assume there are more than you were given.

Check the unit door. Close it and see whether it latches on its own without being pushed. Turn the deadlock and make sure the bolt throws fully. From inside, check you can get out without a key. Any problem here is worth fixing before anything else.

Check the balcony and windows. Make sure sliding doors lock, that they cannot be lifted out of their tracks, and that window restrictors are present and working where children will be.

Ask the building manager about the rules. Find out whether the unit door is fire-rated, what by-laws apply to locks, how restricted keys are ordered and who to contact if a building door fails.

Decide about rekeying. If the unit lock is not part of a restricted system and you are not sure who holds keys, rekeying is the simplest way to reset the count. If it is part of a restricted system, ask the building how keys are cancelled or replaced. Owners should get strata approval where needed; tenants should get the landlord's consent.

Save the right numbers. Keep the building manager's number, your strata manager's details and a locksmith's number in your phone, so a lockout or a failed door is a phone call rather than a search.

A week of attention at the start saves years of uncertainty about who can open your door.

The honest summary

Apartment security works in layers: building, unit door, and inside the unit. The unit entry door matters most, but it may be fire-rated and subject to strata rules, so check before changing anything. Balcony doors, window restrictors and key control are the next priorities.

For apartment locksmith work in Coogee and nearby suburbs, call Local Coogee Locksmith Service on 02 5023 1337, open 7 days, 7:00 AM to 12:00 AM. You can also request a quote or contact us.

Apartment Security Guide for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs