Our Services
Ongoing Routine Maintenance
Routine maintenance is what residents judge a development on: whether the hallways are clean, the grass is cut, the lights work and repairs happen when they are reported. We build a maintenance plan for each development rather than applying one template to all of them.
A plan built around the development
A small converted house with four flats and a shared path needs almost nothing beyond periodic cleaning and a tidy garden. A modern estate with communal lighting, gates, a lift, pumped drainage and shared grounds needs a proper schedule with servicing dates attached to it. Charging both the same way makes no sense, and neither does servicing both to the same specification.
So we set out what each development needs, what it costs, and how often it happens — then that becomes the basis of the service charge budget rather than a round figure carried over from last year.
- Communal cleaning of hallways, stairs, entrance areas and glazing
- Grounds maintenance: grass, hedges, beds, weed control and seasonal tidying
- External and internal window cleaning where the lease provides for it
- Communal lighting, door entry, gates, pumps and lift servicing
- Gutter clearance, drain clearance and roof checks
- Reactive repairs to communal areas as they arise
Reactive repairs and emergencies
Residents can report a communal repair by phone or email and get a reply within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours at weekends. Anything genuinely urgent — a water leak, a failed door entry system, loss of communal lighting, an unsafe structure — is dealt with sooner and does not wait for an office day.
For repairs above a modest value we obtain competitive quotes, and for larger works we follow the statutory consultation process where the lease and the Landlord and Tenant Act require it.
Keeping quality honest
Contractors are checked on site rather than trusted on invoice. If the cleaning has slipped or the grounds have been cut badly, we take it up with the contractor, and if it does not improve we replace them. Continuity matters, but not at the expense of standards residents are paying for.
Ongoing Routine Maintenance: common questions
Who pays for communal maintenance?
It is funded from the service charge, apportioned between the flats or houses in the shares set out in the leases or transfer documents. Individual flat interiors remain the leaseholder's responsibility.
How do I report a repair?
Call or email the office. Give the development, the location within it and, if you can, a photograph — it usually saves a visit and speeds up getting the right contractor out.
Can we keep our existing contractors?
Often yes, and where residents are happy with them we prefer to. We will review price and insurance cover, but there is no benefit in changing a contractor who is doing a good job.
Related services and guides
- Local ContractorsHow we choose, check and manage local contractors for residential estates: insurance and competence checks, competitive quotes and no commission on works.
- Regular Site VisitsRegular site visits and property inspections from an Abingdon-based managing agent: what we check, how often we attend, and what residents get from someone being on site.
- Major Works & Planned MaintenancePlanned rather than reactive maintenance: long-term maintenance planning, reserve funds, specifying and tendering major works, Section 20 consultation and monitoring work on site.
Get a maintenance plan that fits your development
We will set out what your block or estate actually needs, what it should cost and how often it should happen.