Last updated: 14 July 2026
TL;DR — A window lock compliance certificate is independent, dated evidence that every qualifying window in your building — or your unit — met the section 118 requirements when inspected: openings restricted to 125mm or less, hardware holding 250 newtons. NSW law does not prescribe an official certificate, which is exactly why credible, documented evidence matters: it is what committees, buyers, agents and insurers ask for when they want proof rather than reassurance. Haven inspects, remediates where needed, and issues the certificate with a full photographic register behind it. Call +61 2 8000 0287.
It is a formal statement from an independent inspector that, on a stated date, the windows assessed met the requirements of section 118 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 — each qualifying window fitted with a device restricting the opening to 125mm or less, or a robust screen, with hardware verified against the 250 newton requirement. One honesty note, because this industry has its share of invented credentials: NSW does not run a government certification scheme for window safety, and no law prescribes a particular certificate.
What gives a certificate weight is what stands behind it — a genuine window-by-window inspection, force-testing, photographs and a register. That is what Haven’s certificate documents.
Owners corporations and committees want it on file as the clean answer to ” are we compliant?” — and as part of the scheme’s section 180 records. Strata managers attach it to committee packs and handover files.
Sellers and buyers’ solicitors increasingly ask during apartment sales, where a current certificate removes a due-diligence question. Landlords and agents file it with tenancy records, and insurers or brokers may request evidence of statutory compliance when reviewing a scheme’s risk.
In every case the certificate does the same job: it converts ” we believe the windows are fine” into a dated document someone independent will stand behind.
The certificate itself states what was inspected, when, against what criteria, and the result. Behind it sits the evidence pack: a unit-by-unit register of every qualifying window, the device fitted, its test outcome and a photograph; notes on any windows excluded and why; and, where remediation was performed first, the completion evidence for that work.
That structure matters because a bare certificate invites the question ” based on what?”. Ours answers it on the next page. The register also becomes the scheme’s living compliance record, updated at each reinspection cycle.
The path is inspection first, certificate second. We inspect every openable window against the s118 criteria; if everything passes, the certificate issues immediately. If windows fail, you receive a fixed per-window remediation quote — compliant REMSAFE hardware, installed and force-tested — and the certificate issues once the fixes are verified.
No provider can honestly certify a building it hasn’t fixed or tested, so treat any offer of a same-day certificate without an inspection as the red flag it is. Pricing is the standard inspection rate — the certificate is included, not an extra: a single property is $250 + GST, buildings of 2 to 10 units are $490 + GST, and buildings of 11 or more units are quoted on request — fixed before booking, with the digital compliance certificate delivered the same day.
A certificate is evidence of the building’s state on its inspection date — no law gives it an expiry, and no honest provider claims one. Its practical shelf life ends when the building changes: a renovation, a window replacement, or simply a year of wear.
That is why we pair certification with an annual reinspection cycle, so the scheme always holds a certificate less than twelve months old. For sales and refinancing, expect the other side to want a certificate dated within the last year — older documents invite the question a current one exists to close.
Window safety has quietly joined the strata due-diligence list. Buyers’ solicitors reviewing strata records increasingly look for evidence the scheme meets its section 118 duty — and a scheme that cannot produce it hands the buyer a negotiating point and the seller a delay.
A current certificate, sitting in the strata records with its register behind it, closes the line of questioning before it opens. For individual sellers, a single-unit certificate does the same job at lot level: it documents that the windows in this apartment complied on this date.
Vendors’ agents order these alongside the other pre-sale reports, and the cost is trivial against the price of a buyer’s cold feet in week five. If the strata search reveals the building has no compliance history at all, that is worth raising with the committee well before listing — it is the scheme’s problem to fix, but the seller’s timeline it lands on.
Because no government scheme regulates window safety certification, the market contains documents of very different weight. Treat these as warning signs:
No — the law requires compliant devices and record-keeping, not a specific certificate. The certificate is the practical evidence document that committees, buyers, agents and insurers ask for, backed by a real inspection.
Either. Owners corporations commission whole-building certificates; individual owners and landlords can obtain a single-unit certificate for a sale or tenancy file. The document states its scope precisely.
A single-property certificate, inspection included, is $250 + GST; buildings of 2–10 units are $490 + GST; larger buildings are quoted on request. Remediation, if needed, is always quoted separately before any work.
You receive an itemised, fixed quote to fix them. Once the remediation is installed and force-tested, the certificate issues. The certificate is never issued over known failures.
It proves the building’s state on that date, nothing more. Renovations and wear change buildings; for current decisions — a sale, a new tenancy, a committee resolution — obtain a certificate from the last twelve months.
Need dated, independent proof your windows comply? Haven inspects, fixes what fails, and issues the certificate with the full photographic register behind it. Call +61 2 8000 0287 or email admin@havencompliance.com.au.
