Creating an Efficient Maintenance Plan for Apartment Buildings

In apartment buildings, owners contribute a maintenance fee as stipulated in their sales agreement. Maintenance activities encompass quality inspections, periodic repairs, firefighting system assessments, and the replacement of standard components and equipment. These actions aim to minimise the risks of damage and deterioration.

A clear and well-structured annual maintenance plan serves as the cornerstone for optimising funds. It provides the basis for discussion during the Owners' Committee Meeting, allowing for additional fee contributions when the fund is depleted or insufficient for maintenance activities.  

1. Legal Regulations for Maintenance plans

Article 33 of Circular 02/2016/TT-BXD stipulates the maintenance plan for the common areas of the apartment building as follows: 

1. The maintenance plan for common areas must be approved at Owners’ Committee Meetings. 

2. The developer is responsible for making a maintenance plan to report at the first Owner’s Committee Meeting for approval; and for the next meetings, the Owners Committee must collaborate with the management agency to approve the plan. 

3. Maintenance plans for shared portions of apartment buildings shall be established and passed according to the procedures regarding the maintenance of civil works, equipment maintenance provided by the developer, and the current conditions of the shared portions of apartment buildings. 

4. Contents maintenance plans should be structured as follows according to Clause 3 and Point a, and Clause 4, Article 32: 

a) Work items that need maintenance in the year and are expected to be maintained for the next three to five years; Work items subject to unexpected maintenance in the year (if any) 

b) Time and progress of maintenance of each work in the year 

c) Expected budgets for maintenance of each work item 

d) Detail who is responsible for the maintenance, inspection, monitoring, and approval 

Experienced property management consultants help developers to create effective maintenance plans that comply with the relevant laws. For buildings that have been operational for many years, this is particularly important to ensure health, safety, and property longevity.

2. Manufacturer Guidelines   

a) The construction design contractor does the following:

• Formulates and delivers the construction maintenance process along with the construction components and design documents used after the initial design stage
• Updates the maintenance process to match any design changes that occur during the construction process (if any)

b) The contractor supplying equipment prepares and hands over the equipment to the developer and informs the developers of the required maintenance before installation 

c) If the construction contractor or equipment supplier cannot establish the maintenance process, the developer may hire a qualified consultant to develop maintenance procedures; the developer will be responsible for paying consulting costs 

d) The developer undertakes the preparation and approval of the maintenance procedures according to the law 

Besides construction and equipment guidelines provided by contractors, developers must have a deep understanding of the building’s specifications and  operating capacity to make the appropriate adjustments, and avoid depending on default instructions.

3. Features of the technical systems  

3.1. Maintenance forms: 

The technical team needs to check each item of the building and recommend the appropriate maintenance frequencies. Common maintenance includes: 

• Regular maintenance: Performing periodic maintenance of each item (daily, weekly, or monthly).  

• PPM - Planned Preventive Maintenance: Timely detecting of potential risks or problems to find early solutions. 

• Repair: Fixing errors or problems arising. In some cases, when the management board fully implements the two above maintenance types, some problems will be solved in time and there is no need for repair. 

3.2. Technical items in the apartment building 

The technical team must survey the status of the apartment building, then make reports and provide appropriate maintenance solutions to ensure all systems operate properly. Technical items include facilities and M&E systems.  

The facilities are fixed systems, including building structures (foundation, pillars, walls, and roof) and interior and exterior (doors, stairs, windows, floors, and walls). These generally last a long time, which means maintenance is usually less frequent than that of the M&E systems and is done annually.  

NM&E systems operate continuously operating and are responsible for keeping operations going. They must be maintained regularly to ensure efficient and safe operations. M&E systems include:  

• Electrical system

• Generator system

• BCMS, BMS system

• Elevators 

• Air conditioning and ventilation system 

• Firefighting system

• Water supply and drainage system

• Wastewater treatment system

• Security and surveillance camera system 

• Notification system (audio devices connected to each other to notify users)   

• Internet system

Technical teams must use their expertise, experience, and given information to determine when, why, and how equipment must be repaired or replaced. Maintenance work can be conducted efficiently and without interruption. 

Usually, technical staff will perform maintenance tasks. However, for more complicated tasks related to legal issues or requiring expertise that exceeds the scope of the technical team’s ability, the property manager can sign service contracts with specialised companies, for example, the maintenance of elevators or firefighting systems.  

Maintenance plans have five key considerations, known as the 5M model, Manpower - Money - Material -Machines – Method.  

4. Understand M&E Consumption  

Maintenance plans should clearly define costs and consumption norms. Maintenance costs depend on the condition of the building and the technical systems. Older or more degraded buildings will require a greater maintenance and care. This must also consider the costs for equipment repair and replacement. Systems with multiple machines or a high degree of complexity also require higher maintenance costs to meet the building’s equipment standards. 

Conclusion 

Creating a maintenance plan plays a significant role in ensuring the stability and sustainability of an apartment building. With Savills consultancy services for technical systems (for projects at the construction stage) or assessing current technical systems (for operational projects), Savills helps developers create detailed and effective maintenance plans throughout the project lifecycle. 

Contact Savills Property Management team for more solutions. 

Read more:  

• Backup Power & Uninterrupted Building Operations

• The Vital Role of the Technical Team in Building Operations 

• How Can Developers Ensure Fire Safety at Apartment Buildings?