Broll Ghana Limited (BGL), a property services company, has asked property owners to conduct periodic audits of their premises to correct any defects and to ensure the structural integrity of the buildings.
Tony Sekyere, Properties Portfolio Manager, Broll, told a press conference that property owners needed to adhere to international best practices adding that an audit was not the periodic painting of the buildings but rather professional checks by qualified individuals.
He said while there were existing rules and regulations guiding the built environment, they were not being properly enforced to ensure compliance.
In this direction, Mr Sekyere said the call for a regulatory body to police the industry was important as it would help sanitise the industry and ensure that building contractors adhered to the provisions of the building permits they had been issued with and also ensure that high rise buildings were architecturally sound.
Mr Sekyere explained that though the Municipal, Metropolitan and the District Assemblies had regulations for the building industry, a regulatory body would add further impetus to help boost the property industry.
He said because Broll takes issues of safety in the properties it manages seriously, the company had instituted as part of its take-on procedure to conduct an audit to ensure that the properties they manage were safe for habitation.
''In conducting safety analysis of the buildings, we consider the architectural designs and also ensure that fire equipment such as fire alarms are installed and emergency exit are provided,'' he said.
Mr Sekyere assured the clients that Broll’s properties were safe for use, saying the company conducts monthly, quarterly and yearly audits to ensure that all their buildings were safe for occupation.
In addition, he said, Broll had structural engineers who promptly produced structural reports on the company's properties to ensure that all their buildings were strong and fit for habitation.
The Portfolio Manager appealed to investors in the property industry to seek professional advice before putting up high rise buildings.
Operations Manager of BGL, Emmanuel Caulley for his part entreated property owners to conduct regular maintenance of their properties.
Property maintenance, he said, was not only about painting and changing of air conditions, but also conducting structural audits to check the structural integrity of a building to ensure they were safe for occupation.
Mr Caulley advised tenants and corporate bodies to critically scrutinise the structural designs and building certificates before renting them for use.
Chief Executive Officer of Broll Ghana Limited (BGL), Kofi Ampong in a statement enjoined players in the property industry in the country to put safety measures in place to ensure that their buildings were safe for habitation.
BGL, jointly owned by Broll South Africa, SIC and SSNIT, is a leading property management services company in the country. The company manages high rise buildings in Accra and Tema and Takoradi with the intention of expanding to Kumasi.