Property maintenance refers to the care of a property, residential or commercial, through an individual, a company or an agency that owns a residential, office, rental property, or business and is involved in a property management company, an employer of an individual who rents a residence, office or commercial property, or a self-service facility for instance self storage or day-to-day maintenance. It involves managing, maintenance, construction and operation of buildings, residential and commercial properties and their interiors and also their equipment, structures and fittings.
A property maintenance person acts as a liaison between the owner of a residential or commercial property and the tenants’ owners, the tenants’ occupants, other tenants or persons responsible for maintaining the condition of a property. It includes all the activities that are related to maintaining a property, the property owner and tenants and the public at large. The person has to coordinate all the maintenance and activities related to it by considering different aspects such as the building structure, the functioning of the plumbing system, the roof, doors and windows, the grounds, landscaping, and other elements such as pools.
For all commercial properties, property maintenance can include all the maintenance activities that involve the maintenance of roads, walkways, parking structures, sidewalks, fences, signs, roofs, and entrances and exits. Apart from maintaining a building, it can also include maintenance activities related to buildings owned by non-profit organizations. Some examples of such non-profit organization properties include museums, zoos, libraries, art galleries and others.
In residential properties, property maintenance includes maintenance of houses, apartments, condominiums and townhouses, which are usually rented out. This also includes maintenance of gardens, lawns, trees, shrubs and other plantings, mowing of grasses and other lawns, maintaining the landscaping, etc. In a townhouse, it also includes maintenance of gardens, lawns, plants, fences, gates, etc. It also includes maintenance of the interiors of the house or of its garden and yard, lawns and the interiors and maintenance of outdoor patios, decks and porches and other parts of outdoor structures. These types of properties are usually owned by people who have their own businesses, who live in townhouses and who do not own residential properties outright.
Apart, from residential properties, a property maintenance business includes maintenance of commercial properties in commercial buildings, like warehouses, garages, repair shops and auto auctions, and many others. These commercial properties can be real estate, retail stores, restaurants, shopping centers, industrial parks and other such establishments. Apart from maintaining commercial properties, they also deal with commercial buildings owned by non-profit organizations, like museums, zoos, libraries, schools, hospitals, colleges, and others. It also includes maintaining the construction and functioning of buildings, like office buildings and other institutions, the interiors, and the grounds of those buildings. It also includes maintenance of facilities like fire alarms, security systems, elevators, heating systems, water heaters and electrical equipments, computers and other similar equipment.
In order to run a business involving property maintenance, an individual, a firm or an agency must have a license from the government. In certain cases, property maintenance companies are also required to obtain licenses and registrations under state and federal laws.