To start at the beginning…
When you first acquire the site, it’s your responsibility at that point there’s only land but you should have insurance coverage anyway !
Then, you hand the site over to your Builder and so the site is their responsibility. So make sure you check they have the required insurances and licences in place as part of your due diligence and photos of roads etc for damage. Always have someone in the industry go over your contract and show you what has been LEFT OUT ! and the IMPLICATIONS of some terms and outcomes, as well as a lawyer get a builder friend to check and explain from the builders view !!!
When materials & appliances arrive on site, the site is the Builder’s responsibility, so any theft is covered by the Builder’s insurance, so make sure its clear in the contract !
The grey area is once the supplies have been fitted or installed to the building. There are Builders who will try to say that once you’ve paid for the items and they’re in place, they’re now yours. so make sure the fine print in your contract spells it out , generally this isn’t the case. As a general rule, the site remains the Builder’s responsibility until it is handed back to you upon completion (after final inspection, fixes & handover). So beware that many Builders will think otherwise, and if a theft occurs, you potentially will be in a situation where the Builder tries to get you to pay under threat of work stopping on your development if you don’t. That’s getting into the worst case scenario, sure, but it does happen sometimes. So make sure site security is an issue that’s been covered clearly in the contract and you can access the site as the owner for security purposes !
Onsite security cameras are becoming much more common, and while some Builders are still reluctant to have one on site, more and more are accepting it’s a necessary addition.
There are companies that specialise in providing cameras which can be setup on site and even moved around as building progresses. You can also use your own camera or cameras, mounted on a pole, to overlook the site or mounted in your neighbours yard with consent.
A camera’s not much use if the battery goes flat, or a thief cuts a power lead to disable it. Security services often use solar powered batteries, and if you’re using your own cameras, then check & replace the batteries regularly.
Security services can have a back-to-base service, where either the footage is monitored or the cameras are motion sensitive and set off an alert if activated outside of regular work hours. Then they send out someone to check the site if anything untoward is observed – often too late so response time is critical ! They may have a patrol car to go past the site regularly.
If you have your own cameras you can use the internet to monitor the site from home and even receive alerts, so requires to spend your time and attention keeping an eye on things. As well as being a visual deterrent, if a theft occurs you will have videos which could help catch the thieves.
Critical is the camera location and direction. There are plenty of videos in which you can see the footage get shaky, and moments later black paint is sprayed across the camera lens. So you should have more than one camera on site, providing complete coverage with no blind spots. You could also use a fish-eye lens to give a broader width of vision than a regular lens.
A benefit of using your own camera on site for security is that the footage can be used as a great time lapse video for marketing purposes! You may even choose to set one up in addition to cameras monitored by a security service. Often when appliances are fitted – last someone sleeps over and alarm systems are active 24/7 !
