THE ESSENTIALS OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

Who is Responsible?

As the owner, property manager, or facilities manager, you are
responsible for your commercial property maintenance.
However, that doesn’t mean you need to be the one doing
the manual labor. You have three options: Do the work
yourself, hire a service provider, or make your tenants
responsible for maintenance (if applicable).

What Does it Consist of?

There are a few things that the owner is responsible for when
it comes to commercial property maintenance. Below are the
necessary requirements of what the owner is responsible for
taking care of, unless other arrangements have been made:

1. Rodent and insect control
2. Plumbing
3. Electrical
4. HVAC installation and repair
5. Trash disposal
6. Cleaning of common areas
7. Landscaping
8. Outdoor cleanup
9. Roof gutter and repair and maintenance
10. Safety checks for emergencies (making sure systems such as fire extinguisher, alarms and sprinklers are maintained and operational)

The Importance of Quarterly Check-ins

This could look like doing quarterly check-ins in order to
evaluate and make sure things are working properly in terms of commercial property maintenance.
Having a seasonal walk through to identify any damage and
complete any repairs needing to be done is essential.
Doing this will save you from spending more money on
a larger fix in the future.

Here’s a quarterly check-in list you can go through:

Seasonal Focus Areas

For more specificity, we have broke down some seasonal
focus areas below:

Spring

For the spring you’re going to want to focus on cleaning and
polishing up for summer. This will also entail checking to make
sure your HVAC unit is working and adding a new filter at this
time. In addition to this you’ll want to slowly open the system’s
main water valve that was turned off for the winter. Lastly,
change your fire alarm batteries, have your gutters cleaned,
and perform your visual outdoor, and roof inspections.

Summer

During the summer you’ll want to check for any rodents or
large insects that may have made their way into the building.
You want to make sure to check the sidewalk on your property
to see if there are any cracks or hazards that must be
addressed. This sums up a short list of summer focus areas for your commercial property maintenance

Fall

As the summer heat is dissipating, you’ll want to check your
pipes and make sure they are ready to withstand the cold
weather that’s coming. Also, you want to clear off the debris
from your roof after storms and before snowfall begins.

Winter

Lastly, for commercial property maintenance during the winter you want to make sure you are plowing and
shoveling snow quickly so as not to cause snow build up and
hazards. You’ll also want to make sure you have sand or salt
for walkways and a place to properly clean off shoes when
employees and customers go inside the building.

Repairing Damages Right Away

It is essential to fix damage as soon as you find out there is a
problem for your commercial property maintenance. Even if the broken appliance or small maintenance
problem doesn’t seem like a big deal, it is better to get the
issue resolved soon to avoid bigger problems in the future.
The longer you wait, the more likely it is that you will have a
larger amount of repairs needing to be done (and the cost of
repairs will reflect this).

Staying Up To Code

The following are the basic requirements every
property manager should know about commercial property maintenance:

Water Testing

Most water-borne diseases are caught in the commercial
workplace. This is because the water may remain stagnant
for longer periods of time and have the ability to rise and
fall in temperature in commercial properties if not
maintained. For this reason it is beneficial to do water
temperature checks monthly, or at least quarterly.

Emergency Lighting

There must be a clearly displayed fire safety system.
Emergency lighting is vital. In the case of emergencies you
want people inside to clearly see the exists and make the
evacuation process safe and easy. You do not want to find
yourself in the midst of an emergency without clear
instructions to follow.

Air Conditioning

Air conditioning keeps the building cool and also
contributes to energy efficiency.

Conclusion

Ultimately it’s crucial to maintain your property for the
welfares of your tenants, your business and to save
yourself money in the future. With proper maintenance
you can keep the value of your property and increase
revenue while mitigating costs all simply by proactivity. It
can be challenging to handle property maintenance on
your own, so many people choose to contract out the
work that needs to be done. Get your commercial property maintenance covered! Needing some work done? Check out what services we offer to commercial properties:

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