What is Property Maintenance?

May 17, 2013

In its simplest terms, property maintenance is the overall upkeep of a building and the property around that building. Often confused with property management, property maintenance is actually a highly specialized professional service that involves a range of tasks related to maintaining a wide range of facilities from apartment complexes, office buildings, and even rented houses. If you don’t have the time, energy, or motivation to maintain the condition of your property, you should consider hiring a property maintenance expert. These services are especially useful for busy landlords or land owners who are responsible for the upkeep of multiple commercial, residential, or industrial properties.

Regardless of the size of your facility, property maintenance is critical. Professionals in the field essentially act as caretakers of your facility and their primary responsibilities include repairing damage, replacing equipment, and restoring supplies that re used throughout the facility. Some examples of tasks that a property maintenance firm may offer included, but are not limited to

Cleaning
Landscaping
Painting
Carpentry
Snow removal
Exterior cleaning
Window cleaning
Power washing
Graffiti removal
Plumbing services
HVAC services
Electrical services
Façade maintenance

Indeed, property maintenance involves a wide range of tasks and services that essentially keep your building or facility in tip-top condition. In an apartment or residential facility, your property maintenance service provider cleans shared spaces and repairs equipment in these spaces. S/he would be responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of laundry equipment, replacing light bulbs, arranging servicing for elevators, and removing snow and ice from sidewalks and parking lots in the exterior of the building. While your property maintenance professional may not have the skills required for all tasks, s/he would hire the necessary tradesperson to keep up with repairs.

With respect to office buildings, the tasks completed by a property maintenance firm range from cleaning and upkeep of equipment (as with apartment maintenance), but they would also clean individual suites, maintain the exterior of the building, and may even perform some administrative duties. For example, a property maintenance professional may be responsible for collecting payments and security deposits, getting signatures on leases from tenants, and distributing communications relating to ongoing works in the building.

When hiring a property maintenance firm, you will want to negotiate the terms of the contract including which tasks need to be completed and the fees associated with these tasks. Professional property maintenance services give land owners piece of mind knowing that their property will be kept up by trained and experienced professionals. More importantly, these professionals can save you considerable time and effort so that you can manage all your residential, commercial, and industrial properties efficiently and effectively.