Office and commercial buildings: clear access for every tenant, clear responsibility in the common areas
In a let building, security technology is not one company’s business. Tenants have their own premises, their own opening hours and their own staff, while the common areas belong to the building operator – as do the building services, the garage, the bin store and night-time security. A good system follows this split: everyone gets in where and when they need to, the common-area cameras operate lawfully, the operator is the first to hear about a building services fault, and the garage and EV charging can be billed tenant by tenant. This is the layer we provide – tenant access control, cameras, condition monitoring and energy data – without taking over the existing central building management system.
Sound familiar?
- When a tenant moves out, keys and cards have to be collected – and they never all come back.
- A tenant brought in their own security company – now there are three systems in the building, and none of them talk to each other.
- The common-area cameras have been up for years, but there is no data protection documentation for them – and tenants keep asking who is allowed to view the footage.
- Something broke in the plant room over the weekend; you found out on Monday from a tenant’s complaint.
- Anyone who was ever given a remote can get into the garage – including people from tenants who moved out long ago.
- Heating and cooling run on a timer: empty meeting rooms are kept at temperature, the vacant floor is heated, and the tenant still feels cold.
- The energy bill can’t be split by tenant, so the service charge is disputed every year.
- At night and at weekends there is nobody in the building, yet tenants expect “some kind of security”.
Solutions
Tenant and common-area access control – one system, separate permissions
The problem In a let building, access works on two levels: into the building and into the tenant’s premises. If this is handled by keys and a mix of systems, nobody knows what needs to be collected when a tenant changes – and the lift, the stairwell, the bin store and the roof terrace become no man’s land.
How do we solve it? One shared access control system for the whole building, in which each tenant manages the permissions for their own premises – the tenant’s administrator issues and revokes their staff’s credentials, while the operator manages the common areas and sees traffic broken down by tenancy. Credentials can be a card, a phone or a code; lift floor selection – in cooperation with the lift maintenance company – and the garage can be linked to the same credential. A change of tenant is a single step: the tenant group’s permissions expire, and no locks need changing. Cleaners, maintenance staff and suppliers get time-limited access, with every entry logged.
What you get Tenant changes without collecting keys, a log broken down by tenancy – and a building that doesn’t run three parallel systems.
Common-area cameras – with managed access, handed over with documentation
The problem The cameras are running, but tenants and their staff ask who can view the images, how long they are stored and why – and the operator has no documentation to show them.
How do we solve it? We install cameras where a security purpose justifies them: entrances, lobby, lift lobbies, garage, bin store, plant room doors, loading bay. Not inside tenants’ premises from the shared system – the tenant decides on that, and we give a separate quote for it. We hand the system over with privacy masking and the necessary data protection documentation; we set the retention period on the recorder, and only designated people can access the footage, with every access logged. If a tenant asks for footage of an incident, a documented release process handles it – not a USB stick.
What you get Usable footage of the common areas with managed access – and a clear answer for tenants when they ask who can view the images.
Building services and technical condition monitoring – be the first to know about a fault
The problem A cooling system that has shut off, a leaking pump, a stopped air handling unit or a tripped circuit comes to light through a tenant’s complaint – by which point it is already unpleasant, and under the lease it is the operator’s responsibility.
How do we solve it? At the critical points – plant room, server room, heating substation, lift motor room, washrooms and around roof drains – we monitor temperature, humidity, water and power supply, with delayed thresholds and a notification chain: the operator is alerted first, then the back-up contact. The data is logged, so you can also prove to the tenant what happened and when.
An important boundary: we receive fault and status signals from the building services; we do not replace or take over an existing central BMS, and we do not touch the own controls of the boiler room, the chillers, the fire alarm or the smoke extraction – but we are happy to work together with the building services engineer. The fire alarm, smoke extraction and evacuation guidance are separate systems regulated by law, which we neither replace nor control.
What you get A technical fault comes to light within the first hour, not from a tenant’s email – and a log shows that you acted in time.
Garage, barrier, loading bay – broken down by tenant
The problem Over the years the garage remotes have been scattered, tenants use more spaces than their lease provides for, and anyone can drive up to the loading bay.
How do we solve it? The barrier and the garage door become part of the access control system: the tenant’s staff drive in with their own credential or by licence plate recognition, the number of permissions can be matched to the lease, and visitors get a time-limited code. The loading bay and the bin store have separate permissions and separate time windows. A gate that is stuck open raises an alert, and traffic is visible per tenant – a useful argument when parking spaces are renegotiated.
What you get A garage where the spaces go to whoever pays for them – and data on who uses how much.
EV charging in the garage – billed to the tenant, the employee or the visitor
The problem First one tenant asks for a charger, then they all do. The garage supply was designed for lighting and ventilation, and billing is an open question: who pays – does it go on the service charge or on the tenant’s invoice?
How do we solve it? We install several charging points on a shared supply, with dynamic load sharing: the chargers share the available capacity among themselves and together with the building’s consumption, so an immediate grid upgrade is typically not needed – and the system can be expanded charging point by charging point as tenant demand grows. We identify every charging session and measure it with a certified (MID) meter: the tenant’s employee charges with their own credential, and consumption is totalled per tenant in the monthly statement; visitors charge with a separate code or pay by bank card. This way, what one tenant’s cars consume doesn’t land in the service charge.
What you get Tenant demand met, typically without a capacity upgrade – and a kWh statement nobody can dispute.
Heating and cooling: the biggest cost item, currently run by the calendar
The problem In a let building, heating and cooling make up the larger part of the energy bill, yet they are usually controlled by a timer: Monday to Friday it starts at six in the morning and stops at six in the evening, and the weekend settings were put in by someone years ago. The result: half the building is kept at temperature for empty meeting rooms and vacant floors; one tenant is being heated while the neighbour is being cooled; the fan coil next to an open window runs at full power; and when a tenant is too cold or too warm, there is no data, only an argument. The building services could often do more – they just don’t know who is actually in, and where.
How do we solve it? We give the building services what they are missing: occupancy, window opening and the real temperature. We put occupancy and window-opening sensors in the meeting rooms, in typical zones of the tenancies and in the common areas. We also measure the temperature room by room, so that the return temperature in the plant room isn’t the only data point. Based on this, the fan coil, the split unit, the heat pump or the radiator valve can be controlled: it turns down in an empty meeting room, stops when a window is open, the vacant floor is only kept at a background temperature, and we set the heating–cooling deadband so the two modes don’t work against each other. Each tenancy gets its own schedule based on its opening hours – if a tenant’s day ends at six, their premises shouldn’t stay heated just because the neighbour’s shift runs until eight. In the common areas, lighting and ventilation follow occupancy, at a reduced level at night and at weekends. Tenants can adjust the settings in their own premises within a sensible range – so they don’t call reception when they feel cold.
This is not a BMS replacement. Where there is a building management system, we don’t replace it or take it over: we add the occupancy and status data, then agree with the building services engineer what should happen based on it. Where there is no BMS – in most small and medium-sized buildings – control is built on the existing fan coils, split units and valve actuators, without replacing them. If an old air handling unit or boiler can’t be controlled in a meaningful way, we tell you so and don’t promise savings on it.
What you get Heating and cooling savings that can reach double-digit percentages – we estimate the likely amount during the site survey – fewer tenant complaints, and, what counts for more in negotiations: data on where and when the energy goes, broken down by tenant and zone.
Energy data per tenant – a report instead of a shared cost
The problem Splitting the service charge and the energy bill causes a dispute every year: the tenant can’t see their own consumption, and the operator can’t show them.
How do we solve it? We fit sub-meters on the electrical supply to the tenancies and the common areas – MID-certified versions for tenant billing – and measure the large consumers (air handling, cooling, lighting, chargers) separately; the data appears on one interface and is exported as a monthly report. Where lighting and heating/cooling can be controlled, common-area consumption can also be reduced: lighting based on opening hours and occupancy in the stairwells, the garage and the washrooms, and night-time setback in unused zones.
What you get A service charge backed by figures – and common-area consumption that doesn’t run at maximum day and night.
Order at night and at weekends – alarm, monitoring, response
The problem In the evening and at weekends there is nobody in the building, yet tenants expect some form of security – and if something happens, nobody knows who to call.
How do we solve it? An alarm system divided into zones: the common areas, the plant room, the server room and the loading bay belong to the operator, each tenancy to its tenant, with its own code and its own arming routine. The whole building or just the common areas can be connected to alarm monitoring with a response team; each signal comes with a zone name and an action plan, so the dispatcher knows where to send the patrol. Tenants can also receive the signals for their own premises without seeing anyone else’s.
What you get Night-time and weekend monitoring without a reception or security desk – and a clear answer to the tenant’s question: “what if something happens at night?”
One overview for the operator
The problem Access control on one interface, cameras on another, building services alerts in an email, energy in a spreadsheet – and in the morning nobody knows what happened overnight.
How do we solve it? At handover we put together an operator view in which statuses and alerts can be seen in one place: entry and alarm events, building services notifications, temperatures, energy, chargers and a to-do list. Two things deliberately stay in their own systems: the live camera view and recording management, and the certified billing of charging. The view links to these, because for video and for invoicing a dedicated, auditable interface is the right solution.
What you get In a few minutes each morning you can see what happened overnight and what needs dealing with today.
Why MindzenSmart?
- A police-registered security systems company and a building automation integrator in one. MindzenSmart (Mindzen Direct Kft.) is a security systems company registered with the Hungarian police. We hand over access control, cameras and alarm systems with full documentation; energy and condition monitoring come from the same team.
- We think in terms of tenants. Permissions, logs, reports and costs broken down by tenancy – because that is how the operator has to account for them.
- We know where our scope ends. We are not a general contractor for mechanical or electrical works, and we don’t touch the fire alarm: we work together with the mechanical and electrical trades, not in their place.
- One maintenance contract. Access control, cameras, alarm, condition monitoring and chargers under one framework, with an SLA – instead of five different providers.
Frequently asked questions
What size of building does this make sense for?
From a few tenants to a few dozen, across one to three buildings – that is our size. This is where it pays off most that access control, cameras, condition monitoring and charging all come from one provider. For larger portfolios requiring full building management, we work as a partner or subcontractor, and we tell you so up front.
Will you take over the building management system (BMS)?
No. In small and medium-sized buildings without a BMS, we set up the control of fan coils, split units and valves, and the reception of fault and status signals from the building services; we do not replace or take over an existing central BMS, and we do not touch the own controls of the boiler room, the chillers, the fire alarm or the smoke extraction. Where there is a BMS, we add the occupancy and status data in cooperation with the building services trade.
Can a tenant keep their own system?
Often, yes: if it has an open interface (for example OSDP or ONVIF), the tenancy’s own system stays in place and connects to the shared system where needed. We check compatibility model by model and also tell you what we can’t integrate with a guarantee.
How much can be saved on heating and cooling?
Potentially double-digit percentages, because today’s control is timer-based: it keeps empty meeting rooms and vacant floors at temperature, keeps running next to open windows, and heating and cooling sometimes work against each other. The savings come from occupancy, window and room temperature data that the building services don’t receive today. We estimate the actual amount after the site survey, once we know the building services system and the tenants’ opening hours – and we tell you if an old air handling unit or boiler can’t be controlled in a meaningful way.
Can EV charging and energy be billed per tenant?
Yes. We bill charging with a certified (MID) meter and identified start, with a statement totalled per tenant, and energy with sub-meters on the supply to the tenancies and the common areas, and a monthly report.
Can it be installed while the building is in use, without disturbing tenants?
Yes. We do the common-area and building services work outside working hours, and work in the tenancies at times agreed with the tenant. We replace access control in stages, floor by floor or entrance by entrance – the old system keeps working for as long as possible.
