Residentsline
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Flats Insurance
MINI MONTHLY MAGAZINE
ISSUE ONE... MAINTENANCE Want an electronic copy? email: magazine@residentsline.co.uk
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MINI MONTHLY MAGAZINE Residentsline Flats Insurance
We are pleased to introduce the first edition of our Mini Monthly Magazine. We are taking Flat Living’s monthly feature and issuing to you as a hard copy guide for you to pass to your team. This month’s issue is all about maintenance. Next month, we will be looking at Section 20, and will include the most useful articles from the September edition of Flat Living. If you need further copies for your team, please email us at magazine@residentsline.co.uk with the names and details of who to send them to. To read a full copy of the latest magazine please visit www.flat-living.co.uk To contribute in future issues please contact Rebecca Kelly on rebecca@flat-living.co.uk
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CONTENTS Block and Estate Maintenance from Nirvana Maintenance
4
Advice for Employing Safe Contractors from 4Site Consulting
5-6
First Impressions Count from JM2 Support Services
7
Planned Preventative Maintenance from Lamberts Chartered Surveyors
8-9
How would failing to maintain your block affect your flats insurance? from Residentsline Flats Insurance
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ABOUT RESIDENTSLINE Residentsline's sole focus has always been insurance for flats. Our team of dedicated, friendly insurance experts are passionate about delivering superior products and excellent customer service, making life easier for you. With a close-knit team, a name you can trust and your call answered in person, we know we have a business people enjoy dealing with whether you manage 10 blocks or 1000 we promise to deliver sustainable service levels across all products and services, ensuring you can do the same for your customers too.
DISCLAIMER
Published by Residentsline Limited Tel: 0800 281 235 Email: info@residentsline.co.uk Website: www.residentsline.co.uk
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in Flat Living Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors or advertisers. Contributors must accept full responsibility for the material they submit for publication to ensure that they do not infringe copyright, intellectual property rights or trademarks. Copyright for all materials published in Flat Living Magazine remains with the publishers. Any business advice given is for guidance only and readers must consult relevant bodies before acting on any advice given in the magazine.
OUR BRANDS Residentsline Flats Insurance
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS L I A B IL I T Y .C O.UK
ManageYourBlock
PropertyManagementPortal
THE REAL COST OF BLOCK AND ESTATE MAINTENANCE: DARREN WAITSON FROM NIRVANA MAINTENANCE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW AND HIS TIPS Maintenance isn’t an area of the insurance industry which should allow itself to become commoditised. Commoditisation, in its very nature, forces quality to be reduced in favour of lower costs - this approach can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, being reactive with repairs, and in turn being reactive in who you choose to carry out those repairs leads to increased expenditure and reduced satisfaction amongst residents. In my opinion, working with a select few specialists over a longer period of time is invaluable. So, getting to know your suppliers before emergency strikes means you have already forged a strong relationship for when it is needed most. A truly committed supplier will provide their time and advice in advance of being instructed, and will want to work with you to maximise your budgeting and planning. Maintenance, of course, plays a major role in the satisfaction of those living in developments. This shouldn't be underestimated. Those could range from a lack of reliable service to frustration at having to walk through a neglected communal corridor day after day.
Darren Waitson is CEO and Founder of Nirvana Maintenance. For more information, please call 01689 835 635
When purchasing equipment or a service, care must be taken to ensure any purchases meet the specification and take into consideration total cost of ownership, not just the purchase price. Avoid the age-old practice of making purchases based solely on the lowest price; low prices rarely translate into lowest cost of ownership. Take time to look into the quality of the service, as well as supplier support. Ask suppliers to provide you with references and check those references out. Case studies and relevant references showing experience in block and estate maintenance are a quick and easy way to verifying their suitability. Industry-recognised accreditations also demonstrate a willingness to invest in their staff and maintain the highest possible standards. Defects created by improper selection of equipment, low quality components and poor supplier performance inevitably result in downtime and unnecessary work throughout the life of the asset - heavily escalating the true cost of maintenance. I’m a big advocate for building long-term relationships between residents, suppliers and managing agents, as this allows all parties to have complete trust in their respective roles in the maintenance and upkeep of a property.
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EMPLOYING SAFE CONTRACTORS Written by Shaun Lundy of 4site Consulting. All blocks require maintaining: this type of work is essential in ensuring everyone's health, safety and welfare. In this article, however, I want to discuss the health and safety obligations you have when appointing contractors. People often believe that "health and safety is the responsibility of the contractor, right?" Wrong! Both you and the contractor are responsible for upholding health and safety laws. So, let's look at your responsibilities when appointing contractors to maintain your blocks. Identify the job The first step is to be clear about what you want the contractor to do. You should provide the contractor with as much information as possible and make sure they understand the performance you expect of them. Contractors need to know the time-frame of any work so that they can plan resources accordingly. They also need to be made aware of any areas of risk, such as asbestos materials, work-at-height restrictions or other work going on at the same time.
This is sometimes referred to as 'contractor vetting' or 'reasonable enquiry into competence. Do they have the right combination of skills, experience and knowledge? The degree of competence required will depend on the level of risk and complexity of the work, as will the level of enquiries you make. The HSE provide advice on the types of questions you could ask contractors.
POTENTIAL QUESTIONS INCLUDE You will also need to consider whether the work is routine maintenance or construction work, in which case the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) will apply. Basically, where the activity involves construction processes, requires construction skills and uses construction materials, it is most likely to fall under the term 'construction work' and CDM will apply. General maintenance adjustments, tree work, cleaning, lift maintenance, testing of services and minor repairs are not considered construction work, and therefore CDM would not apply. More advice can be found on the HSE website.
• What arrangements will you have for managing the work? E.g. who will be responsible, how will the work be supervised, what checks will you use for equipment and materials etc.? • Will you be using subcontractors? If so, how will you check that they are competent? The level of competence for subcontractors will depend on the risk and the complexity of the work. • What is your recent health and safety performance? E.g. how many accidents and cases of ill health have you had? Has the HSE taken any action taken against you? • Do you have a written health and safety policy? (This is only a requirement if five or more people are employed).
• Can you provide existing risk assessments done for similar jobs? (Again, written risk assessments are only required if five or more people are employed).
• What qualifications, skills and experience do you have in this type of work?
• What health and safety information and training Selecting the right contractor Regardless of whether the work falls under CDM or not, one of your key responsibilities is to be ensure that the contractor you select is capable and competent enough to complete the job safely and without any risks to health.
do you provide for your workers?
• If required, do you have Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance?
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Sometimes, contractors may have already been through a scheme that provides an independent assessment of their competence - this can be used to provide the necessary reassurance you need. Alternatively, you may wish to use the services of an independent health and safety consultancy to do these checks, as well as review the risk assessment and method statement, and help plan the works on your behalf. Your decision on how to approach selecting your contractors will depend on you existing resources and knowledge of health and safety requirements. If in doubt, get some advice from a competent health and safety consultancy with experience of the property management industry. They can advise you on the best approach to take without creating an unnecessary burden for you or your contractors. They can also tell you whether CDM applies and how to comply.
Keep residents informed It is a good idea to tell residents when and where contractors will be working, especially if they could be affected by the work. Planning when the work takes place can avoid any issues such as construction noise or the disturbance of school/home time. You should advise residents of the actions that are being taken - this will allow you to control or reduce any risk to them and allow you to dictate what actions, if any, they will need to take. Depending on the complexity of the work it can also be good idea to monitor the contractor to ensure they comply with their risk assessment and method statement. It is also advisable to record that you have done this.
Information, instruction and training You will need to ensure that the contractor has the necessary information on any risks they may face in the block, i.e. asbestos, and the measures in place to deal with those risks. They may also need to know the emergency procedures and fire arrangements for the block so they can take the correct action in the event of an emergency. Any information you provide should be in a format that is easily understood by the contractor. In some circumstances where the work is more complex or there are multiple jobs occurring, onsite training and instruction may be needed.
One of your key responsibilities is to be ensure that the contractor you select is capable and competent enough to complete the job safely and without any risks to health. Cooperation and coordination It is important that you and the contractor cooperate and coordinate on any matters that may affect your residents or the contractor's health, safety and welfare during the work. This may involve regular communications either by meeting in person or by phone if this is more practical. Contractors will also need to know how to raise concerns about the work to avoid, for example, unsafe conditions leading to accidents further down the line - this should be agreed before any work commences.
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Remember: cheapest isn't always the best! It can be a mistake to go with the cheapest bidder. A cheap contractor may not resource the work sufficiently, take short cuts and possibly create significant health and safety risks either during the work or by leaving the building in an unsafe condition. A sensible approach to selecting the right contractor will ensure the work is done to an acceptable standard; safely and without any risk to health.
For more information, please call 4site Consulting on 01376 572 936
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT: HOW KEEPING YOUR BUILDINGS LOOKING CLEAN AND FRESH CAN INCREASE REVENUE You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. That's why cleaning and garden maintenance are vital to ensuring a presentable property, explains Jeff Whiley from JM2 Support Services. It’s even more important for residents to see that their service charge funds are being put to good use. Promoting pride inside and outside of your building is an effective way of drawing in more clients. This is mainly due to the fact that most leaseholders will be searching for properties that are well-maintained and offer little hassle.
"Overall, JM2 have always found that a clean communal living space and a well-maintained garden leads to a long-lasting impression on residents and improved relationships with their managing agent and/ or Residents Management Company.” Jeff Whiley, Managing Director of JM2 Support Services
Through ensuring a high level of cleanliness within your property, you are portraying how much you value your residents. Providing your residents with a multitude of cleaning options will also ensure their properties are kept in a presentable condition - this should include daily communal cleaning and waste removal services. It would also be wise to supply monthly high-level window cleaning, annual gutter clearance and carpet cleaning.
All of these areas will promote pride within leaseholder’s homes, and will ensure the block or development has a welcoming and ‘looked-after’ feel. When you create a garden maintenance plan, make sure to include: flower beds, lawns, shrubberies, borders, hedge trimming, weeding, and moss and leaf control. If there is a sports ground or tennis court on the grounds this will also need consideration. A well maintained garden will ensure you offer a nice clean outdoor area to relax in - especially when it is kept weed-free!
For more information, please call JM2 Support Services on 0845 618 7220
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PLANNED PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE THE PROACTIVE PROPERTY MANAGER Adam Wells writes, there are two main elements of repair maintenance for the property manager to consider: preventative and corrective. Both are unavoidable in the day-to-day running of managing property, but the more that can be foreseen and dealt with, the easier it becomes to find time to react to corrective tasks. Purpose The purpose of a planned preventative maintenance schedule (PPMS) is wide and varied, ranging from preserving the value of a building to satisfying legal obligations - of which there are many. The main obvious objective is to keep a building in good condition to preserve it for current and future use - buildings form people’s homes, their workspaces and places of recreation. All materials used in the construction of buildings throughout time have a life expectancy, nothing lasts forever, and buildings and their materials wear out. Planned maintenance is an asset, a tool to not only prolong the life of the materials in place but replace or renew materials before failure. A PPMS will ensure the building continues to serve its purpose to the individual or community that uses it. A product of the PPMS is being able to see where expenditure is required on a building over a certain period. This is usually ten years, but can be up to twenty depending on the requirements of the property manager. The schedule is laid out in such a way to highlight the priority maintenance items and those that should be considered but are not urgent. It does this by the way of a timeline, starting in the first year, indicating those elements of the building that require immediate attention. The timeline will continue through the subsequent years highlighting the year in which certain elements may need to be considered for inspection and subsequent repair or replacement.
Planned maintenance is an asset, a tool to not only prolong the life of the materials in place but replace or renew materials before failure.
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Timeline For those items appearing early in the PPMS, the timeline will continue to provide information regarding repeat maintenance and how often that item should be maintained in the future. Undertaking maintenance at the correct intervals and ensuring materials are maintained before being allowed to fail has a positive monetary effect, saving money in the long term as planned works can be properly specified and tendered. For example, failing to undertake external decorations to a building with timber windows and doors would lead to decay – this would mean the windows and doors will need to be replaced much earlier than if regular maintenance had been undertaken. The timeline serves to provide an inspection so that the windows and doors are regularly checked, allowing smaller repairs to be made before the item falls into disrepair. The compiling of a PPMS is a multifaceted exercise and takes specialist knowledge of many different building materials and their life expectancy, an understanding of building defects and knowledge of costing exercises. Setting up the PPMS is often the first hurdle for the property manager - this includes handling the upfront costs and organising for it to be completed. PPMSs are often loaded with costs in the early stages for the building, not only the fee for the PPMS itself. The result of the inspection will begin the process of maintaining the building, tackling the areas that require the most immediate action first. Effectively, planned maintenance begins with a reactive year(s) of
refurbishment works. The first year is often the most extensive and most expensive and there may be a requirement to stretch out high priority works over the first few years. This leads us to another advantage of the PPMS - they are flexible. A Comprehensive Guide The PPMS is often seen as a strict set of rules that cannot be changed, often leading people to suggest that maintenance can be carried out whether the building needs it or not – this would be wasting money. The PPMS is merely a comprehensive guide, a tool to ensure that inspections and subsequent work is carried out and items are not forgotten about. Before the maintenance work is carried out, the inspection takes place to confirm the amount of works required and to produce a specification. If, after the inspection, it is deemed that an item is still serving its purpose, this can be noted in the PPMS and rescheduled. The point here is that the item has been inspected and not forgotten about, leaving it to deteriorate to the point of failure, which could result in further damage and higher repair costs than if the item were repaired before failure. The result of these inspections is to increase the life expectancy of items and materials within the property, thus creating a safer environment for residents.
The PPMS is, however, by no means fail-safe, and in no way puts an end to reactive maintenance. Unplanned maintenance will still be required, as accidents and emergencies cannot be avoided. Whether it’s a plumbing leak or a break-in, the property manager cannot rely solely on the PPMS to protect the building in the future. What the PPMS should do is reduce the occurrence of failures and, in the long run, save money on the higher costs of emergency repairs versus planned and properly tendered repairs. The PPMS supplies the information about the costs required to fund the planned repairs, yet funds must still be collected in an emergency or contingency account in order to be able to react to emergencies. Managing the accounts of the building in line with the recommendations of the PPMS will ensure that the building is actively collecting enough money. The constant fluctuation of the costs in the building trade serve as good reason to have the PPMS revised every few years. Even though the timeline may serve far into the future, it is almost impossible to forecast accurately the costs in ten to twenty years’ time. Whilst the maintenance elements should be accurate, increases in the costs of building materials and labour can affect the accuracy of the PPMS over time.
Anthony Wells is a Building Surveyor at Lamberts Chartered Surveyors Building Consultancy Department. For more information, please call 020 7278 8191
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HOW WOULD FAILURE TO MAINTAIN YOUR BLOCK AFFECT YOUR FLATS INSURANCE? BELINDA THORPE, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF RESIDENTSLINE, ADVISES There is a covenant within a lease or TP1 stating that the freeholder, Property Managing Agent or Residents' Management Company (RMC) will have to ensure the property is in a 'good state of repair'. In addition to this, most insurance policies will not pay for any loss or damage that is caused by the tenants’ failure to maintain the property in a reasonably good state of repair. This means that the RMC must ‘take all reasonable precautions to prevent or minimise loss, destruction, damage, accident or injury and maintain the premises, machinery, equipment to a good state of repair’.
THINGS TO CONSIDER: • Claims can be repudiated and cover can be reduced (or even removed) if properties are poorly maintained.
On a positive note, significant discounts can be secured from insurers where you can prove that maintenance has been completed, i.e. ground maintenance, IEE Tests and Fire Risk Assessments.
• Insurance surveys will comment on the general state of the building and may also suggest which areas of maintenance need to be completed. Some insurers may remove or reduce cover until such works are finished. • If there are any flat roof areas to the property and the original coverings (or any replacement materials) are over 10 years old, then your insurer may ask for a report to be produced. This report should confirm the condition of the flat roof area, as well as any repairs that may be required once it has passed its guarantee period. • When you start or renew your insurance policy, most ‘Statement of Fact’ documents will ask you to state that your property is, and will be, maintained in a good state of repair. If you answer incorrectly then claims could be repudiated.
It may be convenient to overlook any maintenance issues, even for a short period of time. But what would happen if you experienced a major loss? You should remember that when making a claim, loss adjusters will have to pass comment on the general condition of your property and whether they believe the property to be adequately maintained. Also, if a property is in a poor condition and somebody is injured due to a decision made by the RMC, this could give rise to a personal claim against the RMC.
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What are the main responsibilities of a Residents' Management Company? There isn’t an exhaustive list of exactly what a Residents’ Management Company (RMC) must legally do and what the tenant’s responsibility is, but there are some rules. You should always err on the side of safety and try to go above and beyond the bare minimum of legal requirements. If anything should happen to either the property or your occupants, you need to be able to prove that you’ve been diligent and taken reasonable steps to keep both safe and secure.
You could prepare a maintenance schedule for the property/properties you own, detailing what needs to be carried out and when.
AREAS TO CONSIDER: • An electrical installations check should be carried out by a ‘Part P’ registered electrician at least every 5 years. In Scotland, this is a legal requirement. • Fire safety and Health and Safety risk assessments should be carried out. You may feel you’re either qualified or responsible enough to complete this yourself. However, there are many companies who can fulfil this role for you; they will make sure that you obtain a thorough, educated and independent report. • If you have any communal water tanks, you must carry out a Legionella assessment to show whether there is any risk of stagnant water that could harbour this lethal bacteria. • Gutters and drains should be regularly cleared. • Banisters and railings should be checked to ensure they are tightly fixed and suitable for purpose. • Pavements, slabbing and communal area flooring should be in good order to ensure there aren’t any trip hazards. • Slipped or damaged roof tiles should be replaced or repaired. • All portable electrical appliances should work and be maintained in a safe condition.
Normally, anything internal to a flat (i.e., not part of a communal area) is the responsibility of the leaseholder or owner. Anything that serves a communal purpose should be maintained by the RMC; the full details should be contained within your lease, but this will normally include the exterior fabric of the building (the building's roof, floor slab, walls, windows, and doors), the pruning of trees and paths being safe.
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How quickly should a Residents' Management Company make a repair? You should try and keep as much under your control as possible. Simply blaming a leaseholder for negligence won’t help when you’re trying to make an insurance claim. If you’re keeping on top of your maintenance schedule then you shouldn’t have too many unexpected repairs. But when things do need fixing, you should arrange for the issue to be inspected and any necessary repairs to be carried out as soon as possible. It is very much in your own interest to respond to any required repairs as quickly as possible. You should also make sure to keep a complete written record and audit trail of all reports and checks you have completed in case of any situation arising which relates to the maintenance of the property. If you need to complete a repair, it should be completed in a ‘reasonable’ amount of time. If you are notified of a required repair or Health and Safety concern, then try to respond within 24 hours and, unless it is an emergency, aim to have the issue resolved within a few days. Whenever repairs and maintenance need completing, it is good practice to communicate this to all of your residents and keep record of your communications. Summary It is in everybody’s best interest to maintain your block. This is vital for insurance requirements, for residents’ and visitors’ safety, to ensure your property retains its value, and for your enjoyment!
Why wouldn't you? Belinda Thorpe is the Managing Director of Residentsline, whose exclusive Residential Buildings Insurance policies are designed specifically for blocks of flats and apartments.
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