Apartment buildings: shared entrances, shared responsibility – in a transparent system
In an apartment building it isn’t enough that a device can be installed: the community has to decide on the purpose, the cost, who gets access, how data is handled and who will run the system later. We help prepare that decision – with a quote containing options that can be taken to the general meeting of owners – then carry out the work, from notifying residents to handing over each apartment, and maintain the whole system under one contract. The building manager (the common representative appointed by the owners in Hungarian condominiums) has one contact, not four.
Sound familiar?
- The intercom is thirty years old, there are no spare parts for it, and half the apartments can’t hear it ring.
- Every week someone “has lost their key” – and nobody knows how many copies are in circulation.
- The front door doesn’t close properly, and anyone can walk in at night.
- The tenant who moved out took the garage gate remote with them.
- One resident wants a camera in the stairwell, another says it’s not allowed – and they’re both a little bit right.
- One resident put up a video doorbell outside their own door, and ever since, the neighbour keeps calling the building manager.
- Everyone agrees a camera is needed, but there isn’t a single lockable room in the building where the recorder would be safe.
- Two residents want an EV charger in the garage, but you don’t know how the costs could be split.
Solutions
An intercom replacement that meets today’s needs
The problem The ageing intercom can’t be repaired, and replacing it means the risk of rewiring the stairwell, weeks of installation work and unhappy residents.
How do we solve it? At the site survey we test the existing riser cabling with instruments: if the condition and type of the wiring are suitable, two-wire systems can run on the old wire pair, so no rewiring is needed. The quote is ready for the owners’ meeting, with options per apartment: a wall unit, a mobile app or both. Once the decision is made, we notify the residents, schedule the installation apartment by apartment, hold a catch-up day, and finally check and hand over every apartment.
What you get A video intercom that can also be answered from an app, yet is simple for residents who don’t use a smartphone – and a project the building manager doesn’t have to run.
Access control at the entrance: blockable credentials instead of key copies
The problem Anyone can have a key copied, people moving out don’t return theirs, a “lost key” is the most common report from residents – and when the lock is changed, everyone needs a new key.
How do we solve it? We fit an electric lock and a reader to the entrance – so that it can still be opened from the inside without a key and during a power cut. Residents open it with a code, a card or their phone; tenants, cleaners and service providers get their own time-limited permissions. The building manager can block a lost credential with one click – remotely, with no lock change. At handover we record who may issue new credentials and who keeps the records.
What you get An entrance where you know who has access – and the whole building never has to change keys again.
Garage gate and pedestrian entrance – tenants, residents and service providers kept separate
The problem Garage remotes can be copied, people moving out take them with them, couriers and refuse collectors can’t get in – or far too many people can.
How do we solve it? We add an access control unit to the existing gate motor: residents open it from their phone, with a code or – where justified – by number plate; service providers get time-window permissions. The gate’s status is visible, and a gate stuck open triggers an alert. Opening by remote control is either discontinued or becomes logged.
What you get A garage that only people with a parking space there can enter – and records that keep up with residents moving in and out.
Cameras in shared areas – lawfully, not “we just put them up”
The problem The stairwell camera is the most common subject of dispute: one resident wants protection, another worries about their privacy – and the building manager doesn’t know what is allowed.
How do we solve it? We provide the technical side: entrance, garage, storage rooms, bike store – shared areas only, with the apartment doors and neighbouring properties masked out. The community makes the decision by a resolution of the general meeting; we hand the system over with the necessary data protection documentation, set the retention period on the recorder, and only designated people can access the footage, with every access logged. We follow the conditions set by NAIH (the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information) for cameras in apartment buildings.
When a resident wants a camera outside their own door. This is the other common case – and it isn’t up to the individual resident: the stairwell, the corridor and the outside of the front door are common property, where devices can’t be installed without the community’s consent. The same applies to popular video doorbells if they watch the corridor. At the site survey we show you what can be done well technically.
Instead, there is a good solution that residents accept too: the shared system’s camera monitors the entrance and the corridor as part of the building’s system, and the resident receives the video intercom image on their own indoor unit and phone – so they can see who rang. If they’re worried that someone might tamper with their door, opening and vibration sensors and a smart lock log can raise an alert, without a camera. And if several residents in the building want cameras, it’s a good opportunity for the community to get a proper system confirmed by a general meeting decision – so instead of one problematic camera, everyone is protected, lawfully.
If there’s nowhere to put the recorder: cloud recording. The most sensitive part of an apartment building camera system is often not the camera but the recorder. There’s no lockable, ventilated room with power where it would be safe; the building manager has nowhere to put a machine and no wish to run one; and a recorder left in the stairwell gets taken by exactly the person the camera was put up for. In this case, footage can also be stored with a cloud recording service. The cameras stay on site, and the footage is stored over an encrypted connection, at a storage location and on terms agreed in advance, for the retention period set out in the decision; access is personal and logged. The building manager or the designated person can search the footage from a browser and hand an extract of an incident over to the authorities. Local and cloud recording can also be combined: continuous footage stored locally, alarm clips in the cloud. At the site survey we check the upload bandwidth and the number of cameras, because that decides what works – and we’ll also tell you if a local recorder is the better choice after all.
What you get A camera system that stands up to scrutiny; an owners’ meeting decision backed by proper documentation; and footage that is kept even if there’s no room in the building for a recorder.
EV charging in the underground garage – with billing
The problem More and more residents want a charger, but the building’s supply is limited – and nobody knows how to share it out and bill it fairly.
How do we solve it? We install several charging points on a shared supply with dynamic power sharing, with MID-certified meters for billing between residents; load management works even without an internet connection. Each resident charges with their own card, and consumption can be billed per user. The system can grow one charging point at a time. In an underground garage, we take fire safety aspects into account already in the design – emergency shut-off and, where necessary, consultation with the fire and disaster management authority. We help with a written description for the general meeting resolution and the operating rules.
What you get Charging for residents, typically without upgrading the power supply – and billing nobody in the building argues about.
One maintenance contract, one contact
The problem The intercom from one company, the cameras from another, the gate from a third – and when something doesn’t work, each blames the others.
How do we solve it? All systems under one maintenance contract: annual inspection with a written report, guaranteed response time, remote troubleshooting and management of residents’ permissions. The building manager calls one number.
What you get Predictable costs and one responsible party who knows the whole system.
Why MindzenSmart?
- A quote ready for the owners’ meeting. With options, clearly explained, based on the condition of the cabling – so the community can decide rather than guess.
- A police-registered security systems company. MindzenSmart (Mindzen Direct Kft.) is a security systems company registered with the Hungarian police. We hand over access control and cameras with documentation, privacy masking and the necessary data protection documentation.
- We run the project. Notifying residents, scheduling, catch-up days, handover apartment by apartment – none of it is the building manager’s job.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an intercom replacement in an apartment building take?
Depending on size, two to five working days, scheduled apartment by apartment with advance written notice; where we can’t get in on the agreed day, we hold a catch-up day. The old system keeps working for as long as possible during the changeover.
Does the stairwell need to be rewired?
Often not: two-wire systems also work on the existing riser wire pair if the condition and type of the wiring are suitable. We check this with instruments at the site survey and record it in the quote – it’s the biggest factor in the cost.
Can the building put a camera in the stairwell?
Yes, in shared areas, with an owners’ meeting decision, a defined retention period and restricted access. The camera must not be pointed at apartment doors or neighbouring properties. We hand the system over with privacy masking and the necessary data protection documentation.
Can a resident put up their own camera or video doorbell outside their apartment?
They can’t decide on it alone: the corridor and the outside of the door are common property, where devices can’t be installed without the community’s consent. Good practice is for the shared areas to be monitored by the building’s system, while the resident sees who rang on the shared video intercom – so they have visibility too, and the building avoids a dispute.
There’s nowhere to put the recorder – does that rule out a camera system?
No: in this case footage can be stored with cloud recording as a service, over an encrypted connection, in a Hungarian data centre, for the retention period set out in the decision, with personal and logged access. That way there’s no machine in the stairwell that can be taken, and footage is searched from a browser. We check the upload bandwidth and the number of cameras at the site survey, because that decides whether cloud, local or combined recording is right.
How do residents who don’t use a smartphone open the gate?
With a fob, a card or the traditional wall-mounted intercom unit – this can be decided per apartment. The system handles all of them at the same time.
Who manages residents’ permissions later?
The building manager or the caretaker, on a simple interface – or we do, under a maintenance contract. At handover we record who may issue and who may block credentials.
Can EV charging in the garage be solved without upgrading the building’s power supply?
In most buildings, yes: the chargers share the available power dynamically, adjusting to each other and to the building’s overall electricity consumption. At the site survey we review the supply and the billing method together.
