---
id: KB-CN-007
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/construction/works-in-premises-that-stay-open
idioma: en
categoria: sector-construccion
subcategoria: noresidencial
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CS-006, KB-CN-003]
citadoPor: [KB-CN-019]
---

# Works in premises that stay open

_Refurbishing a shop, hotel or plant without closing: time-slot permits and people entering every night._

**Responde a:** shopping centre fit-out documentation · night work permits in open premises · refurbishment without closing paperwork · contractor access to an occupied building

Refurbishing something that stays open adds a layer a normal site does not have: every entry is limited to a slot, the landlord has its own rules, and whoever comes in tonight may not be who came in yesterday. Documentation stops being a prior requirement and becomes a daily condition of access.

## What changes versus a closed site

| Aspect | Closed site | Premises in use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Access | Checked at the start | Checked at every entry |
| Hours | A working day | Slots, often overnight |
| Rules | Yours | The landlord's, plus yours |
| Personnel | Stable | Rotates by night |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The fourth row breaks manual control. If the authorised personnel list is updated by email, it will always lag behind whoever actually turns up at the service door at ten at night.

## How to organise it

1. **One file per unit or per phase** — With the landlord's rules inside, so nobody hunts for them in an email.
2. **Authorisation per person and per slot** — Who may enter, in which hours, and until when.
3. **A fast lane for the last-minute replacement** — Because it will happen, and the alternative is entry without checks.
4. **And the day's work permit, if the landlord requires it** — Tied to the specific night, not to the project as a whole.

> [!WARNING]
> What causes friction with landlords is their own rules: noise hours, lift usage, access routes, waste removal. Held inside the file and signed by each company, they stop being an argument and become a checkable requirement.

## What you must be able to show afterwards

**En corto**

- Who entered each night and under what authorisation.
- That they held current training and equipment that day.
- That slots and landlord rules were respected.
- And the condition it was handed back in each morning, if that is agreed.

The last prevents most claims: a photo of the condition at shift end, in the file, closes the conversation about damage that surfaces two days later.

> [!NOTE]
> It applies equally to industrial maintenance without stopping the line, hospital works and hotel refurbishments floor by floor. The vocabulary and the slot change; the mechanism does not.

**What if the landlord has its own access system?**

They coexist: theirs controls the door, yours controls whether whoever asks may enter.

**How do I handle a replacement at nine at night?**

With fast onboarding from a phone; without that route, people will enter unchecked.

**Does it suit small one-night jobs?**

Yes, and that is where it shows most: there is no time to set anything up by hand.

## Ejemplos

**A shopping centre fit-out works at night with personnel changing weekly.**

- Authorises per person and slot from the unit's file
- Enables fast onboarding for replacements

→ Nobody enters unchecked and the landlord stops receiving emailed lists that arrive late.

**Work happens with the premises open to the public.**

- Records the condition of what is not being touched

→ Other people's damage is not inherited.

**The occupier asks for documentation to allow entry.**

- Checks per person and per machine beforehand

→ Access is not discovered blocked.

**The working window is short.**

- Closes the documentation days in advance

→ The window is not lost over a paper.

**An area is closed and its condition is not recorded.**

- Captures the condition at the end of each day

→ The boundary with what follows is clear.

**The occupier complains about something from the last day.**

- Checks what was captured that date

→ The dispute closes by looking.