As a building manager or owner, you are responsible for keeping your tenants safe and happy through proper property maintenance. You are in charge of providing and maintaining tenants’ living spaces. The Coronavirus and the years after the pandemic mean that responsibility comes with even more pressure. People are spending more time in their homes, working from their apartments, and are wary of the possibility of getting sick or another calamity. So, how can you keep your apartment building up and running in this “new normal?”
Inspire Tenant Loyalty with Excellent Building Care
Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, maintenance concerns were a top priority for apartment owners and building managers. After all, you want your tenants to be happy and healthy in their homes, and that means providing a functional and comfortable living space.
There’s no better way to keep your building free of vacancies than to keep your good tenants happy. Satisfied tenants pay their rent on time, they take care of their units, and they will likely stick with you for the long haul. Tenant happiness hinges on their satisfaction with how building management addresses their needs and concerns.
In the post-pandemic era, more renters are working from their homes, making them extra aware of any issues that arise. And while we aren’t quarantining anymore, your tenants are aware that catastrophe can happen, so their patience for repairs and their desire to be prepared may make your job even harder.
An excellent building maintenance plan will help your company’s reputation in the renter’s market and make your units more desirable to potential tenants. Having these protocols in place will also help you in other difficult situations like harsh weather, public health concerns, or other local crises.
So, how can you promptly address renters’ maintenance concerns and prevent emergencies in your building? Follow these five essential considerations to ensure your building maintenance protocols are top-notch.
1. Focus on Communication
Communication is critical for building management in any situation, especially during emergencies and stressful times. Even if you don’t know all the answers or aren’t sure of the best direction to take right now, simply acknowledging that you heard a resident’s concern can go a long way in building your relationship.
Send out regular emails or other communications to your renters. Let them know what they should do if maintenance concerns arise. Give them the number to the office and provide any information you have on timelines and procedures.
Of course, you should consult with your legal team to ensure your communications protect you from liability issues or concerns. It’s always important to be careful and deliberate with every interface.
2. Define What Constitutes an Emergency
Let renters know which emergencies are urgent and which concerns may wait until proper arrangements can be made. Historically, landlords and building managers follow a “blood, flood, or fire” policy as non-negotiable emergencies. These are the times when you legally have the right to enter an apartment with minimal notice.
In other situations, you may need to be sensitive in scheduling routine repairs and addressing your renters’ issues. If you had planned building maintenance on the calendar, now is the time to determine when your renters will be in or out. Consider that many of your renters are likely working from home, and a loud construction project could be disruptive. (However, if you have a high number of vacancies, it may still be an excellent time to take care of certain maintenance projects).
3. Review Emergency Plans
As you plan for necessary maintenance issues and repairs, it’s a good time to revisit and review your building emergency plans. Did the outbreak of COVID-19 take you and your management staff by surprise? Were you prepared for all emergencies?
Natural disasters, such as weather-related issues, fires, floods, and earthquakes, can happen suddenly and without warning. You must have a building emergency plan in place (and your legal team must review the plan thoroughly). If the COVID-19 outbreak has revealed gaps in your policies and procedures, take this opportunity to shore up those areas.
Several resources can help apartment owners plan. Check out resources from your liability insurance carrier, as well as:
- The National Apartment Association
- The American Apartment Owners Association
- American Family Insurance
- The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
4. Keep Workspaces Clean
It’s essential to keep maintenance areas clean and organized (and the rest of your building, too). You still must be careful of spreading illness to your more susceptible tenants, like elderly residents, infants, or those with a compromised immune system. Remember that you can’t ask your tenants for their medical diagnoses or records. However, if they have a disability, you can ask about their needs relating to the property. Be very careful here and consult with your legal team. Most likely, any tenant with concerns will tell you what they need.
An excellent way to care for your renters is to be prepared. Keep PPE supplies like masks and gloves readily available in case they are needed on the job. Maintenance areas and toolboxes should be well-stocked. Maintenance staff should organize and inventory their materials to ensure they have exactly what they need for their routine jobs.
Encourage staff to wipe off equipment regularly and keep their equipment clean and in good working order. A tidy and organized maintenance employee inspires confidence visually, which will help your tenants feel more relaxed. Of course, your maintenance personnel must also be knowledgeable and able to make repairs.
5. Train Front Office Staff
Front office staff should understand how to handle basic building maintenance calls, even if that means passing the request on to the right person. Personnel should also know how to determine which issues they can resolve by phone and which will require a maintenance visit.
Building management should always have someone on-site who knows how to turn off gas and water valves in an emergency and understands your breakers and circuits. Someone on-site should also always know important contact information and fully understand how your chain of command works during an emergency. Staff should also update renter contact information to ensure your records are up to date.
Staff should never work when ill. Maintenance staff should call in if they show signs or symptoms of Covid or any other illness. In the past, many people felt comfortable working through a cold or powering through a minor illness, but in this case, caution is about protecting everyone. Advise your staff that they should not risk infecting others if they aren’t feeling 100%.
In many ways, the challenges of the pandemic have given us an excellent opportunity to find the gaps in our systems and work to tighten operations.
