Living on the Estate » Homeowner Security Procedures

1. General Procedures
2. Security Contact Numbers
3. SMS Visitor Verification System - A Quick Guide
4. Access Cards
5. Domestic Employees
6. Domestic Alarm Systems

1. General Procedures

Access by card to the Estate is limited to residents, registered domestic staff and other authorised and security-cleared persons. It must be remembered there are many persons other than residents who, of necessity, have to be on the Estate, eg: gardening workers, building contractor staff, delivery people, repair service personnel and others. It is therefore obvious that security consciousness should still be maintained at all times. Security is a shared responsibility. Security starts at home.

This is your Estate. If you wish security to be maintained at the highest level possible, the co-operation of every resident is absolutely essential, via strict individual compliance with requirements and sensible awareness at all times. Residents must report to security any suspicious or unlawful occurrences immediately after they are seen or perceived.

Casual workers are not encouraged on the Estate but, should they occasionally be required, they must be registered with the Association. Workers, domestic and casual, are not permitted to wander around the estate.

When owners are away from their houses for more than 48 hours, as an added precaution, they should notify Security of their departure and return dates, so their property may be put under surveillance.

Residents should notify security in advance of pending visitors, to allow speedy access. When visitors arrive unannounced, security is under instruction to telephone the resident being visited, via the Control Room, in order to seek permission for the visitor's access to the Estate. If the resident is unavailable the visitor will not be allowed in.

2. Security Contact Numbers

3. SMS Visitor Verification System - A Quick Guide

1. Create a new SMS
2. Add name and surname of visitor for e.g. John Smith (your visitor's details will be added on the system for the same day only)
3. Send to 082 384 9177
4. Send SMS
5. Wait a few minutes
6. If your name and cellphone number is on our database, you will receive a SMS confirming receipt and update of your visitor on the system "Visitor: John Smith has been confirmed For: 2007/06/25 Reference No: 900"
7. If you do not appear on our database, you will receive a SMS stating "Your number is not recorded. Please phone 032 946 8373 /4 /5 for Visitors Confirmation. Your reference No: 900"
8. When you receive the confirmation SMS, your visitor's details will have been communicated to the relevant gates.
9. Your visitor must quote the reference number at the security gate to gain access.

1. Create a new SMS
2. Add name and surname of visitor, followed by the date your visitor is expected, separated by a comma. Use the following format: dd/mm/yyyy (20/01/2007), eg: Paul Erson, 20/01/2007
3. Send to 082 384 9177
4. Send SMS
5. Wait a few minutes
6. If your name and cellphone number is on our database, you will receive a SMS confirming receipt and update of your visitor on the system "Visitor: John Smith has been confirmed for: 2007/06/30 Reference No: 900"
7. If you do not appear on our database, you will receive a SMS stating: "Your number is not recorded. Please phone 032 946 8373 /4 /5 for Visitors confirmation. Your reference No: 900"
8. When you receive the confirmation SMS, your visitor's details will have been communicated to the relevant gates.
9. Your visitor must quote the reference number at the security gate to gain access.

4. Access Cards

An access card issued to an individual is for the use of that individual only. Any card lent to, or used, by any person other than the owner thereof, is a breach of clause 7.6 of the Simbithi Conduct rules, and the lender / user will be liable to sanctions. No cards will be issued to children under the age of 12 years and SEEHOA will not be responsible for any child exiting the Estate. Cards will only be issued to residents. Only 2 residents are allowed per bedroom, in terms of the Town Planning Act.

5. Domestic Employees

1. Domestics must use recognised roads or paths to get to their place of employment and are not permitted to wander around the Estate, or across the golf course or private land.
2. Domestics are not allowed to receive visitors on the Estate.
3. Only one domestic per household is permitted to reside on the Estate. They are to be accommodated in the house of the employer. They are not to wander around the Estate after dark.
4. Non-resident domestic employees are only allowed to be on the Estate between 6am and 6pm.
5. Where additional domestic assistance is required, during evening functions or the like, permission from SEEHOA security is required and arrangements must be made to transport the employee off the Estate at a reasonable hour.
6. Domestic employees must wear, or have their access cards in their possession, whilst on the Estate.
7. When applying for an access card, the employer must be present and the domestic employee must be in possession of an original identity document.
8. The non-refundable fee for each access card is R 65.00. No cash payments will be accepted. Payment should be made by cheque or proof of payment marked "Access Card" to SEEHOA, Standard Bank, Savings Account, No. 050 194 771, Branch 40026. Payment by credit card will also be accepted.
9. The domestic may only be employed by the owner and address indicated on the access registration. If the domestic is shared with other residents on the estate, the employer must also register the domestic for the days employed.

6. Domestic Alarm Systems

The minimum requirement for each residential unit on the estate is a panic button system for medical or security emergencies. That said, it is recommended that residents install a full intruder detection system, which would be compliant with SAIDSA (South African Intruder Detection Services Association) Bylaw 25 standards. The minimum system therefore is a TX-Pack 6500 from RDC (Radio Data Communications) the cost of which is R 1 545.00 and R 350.00 for installation and commissioning, plus VAT, being a total cost of: R 1 895.00 exclusive of VAT. (Prices quoted as at 1 June 2008.)

The cost of a full SAIDSA compliant intruder detection system will be considerably more and would be subject to individual quotations against the specific individual homeowner's requirements. It must be noted that alarm transmission on such systems must be by radio data on the estate frequency as supplied through the estate. All costs relating to the ICASA licence and other network fees for the individual radio transmitters used on the estate will be covered by the monthly levy paid by homeowners to the Homeowners Association with no additional charge for homeowners.

All alarms will be monitored in the Simbithi Control Centre, from where armed response activities will be despatched and coordinated. The total cost of alarm monitoring and response services are included in the estate's monthly security levy is therefore as such free of additional charge to residents.

It must be noted that while residents may, at their own additional cost, engage the services of an outside alarm monitoring service, no outside response service will be allowed onto the estate in response to an alarm, as the estate has engaged such a service or services to cover all response requirements on the estate.

Gremick Security has been contracted by Simbithi Eco-Estate to man and operate the Control Centre and provide armed response services to both fence and domestic alarms.

Where the supplier of a panic or alarm system to a homeowner is not the current preferred supplier, such a supplier must obtain the radio transmitter through the preferred supplier and budget for a once off system commissioning cost of R 280.00 exclusive of VAT (as at 1 June 2008.)

The approved suppliers are SAIDSA accredited and local to the Ballito area: