It is important to note that not all condo buildings follow the same sets of rules. This is especially true when it comes to maintenance and emergency requests for your individual unit and the condo facility itself. Do you know the protocols for your building? If not, it might be worth asking about at your next condo board meeting. Even a quick email to your property manager might be able to solidify the plan that is already in place.
Regardless, it is important that you know who maintains responsibility for different types of problems so that when you come across an issue, you can promptly submit a request to the necessary party. While it is essential that you know who to call for certain types of unit or building requests, you should also know how to submit your request depending on whether it is a maintenance or emergency issue. In order to get your request solved promptly you need to reach out to the right person with the correct type of request.
Submitting Maintenance Requests to Your Condo’s Building Management
As a responsible member of your condo community it should be your priority to point out when a problem in the common area or relating to a common element needs attention. This helps your property manager prioritize work for the maintenance team and keeps issues from slipping through the cracks and spiraling out of control. If you want to maintain your condos value you should do your part!
While maintenance requests may seem dire at times, such as a clogged drain or a roof leak, your property manager will likely prioritize such a fix ASAP, but it is unlikely maintenance will address the problem in the middle of the night or during a rainstorm. Also, some issues may be the owner’s responsibility to address, so it’s important for homeowners to understand who is responsible for what.
In general, the association is responsible for repairing or replacing common, or shared, elements and owners are responsible for maintaining their own appliances, fixtures and elements that serve only their home. Owners can review the governing documents and consult the management company to determine who is responsible for what.
If the issue is not affecting the health or safety of your unit, or others within the community, and can be controlled for a short period of time, the request should be categorized as a maintenance request. Other examples of common maintenance requests include:
- Low water pressure
- Fixing minor leaks, including those coming from a ceiling, or a fixture where water can be turned off
- Clogged or slow drains
- Trash chute backed up
- Spills or messes in the common areas
When to Submit An Emergency Request To Your Condo Building Management Team
When something isn’t working properly, it can definitely feel like an emergency. However, it is crucial to remember that you live in a community of numerous units, people and perhaps buildings. Being reasonable about the urgency of your request can go a long way when you reach out to your condo building management team. And, when you follow the rules that have been set out for your entire community, you can feel confident knowing that your request has been sent to the appropriate person and will be addressed shortly.
Of course, emergencies happen. That’s why all condo buildings have an emergency request and response plan in place for how to get in touch with your condo building management team about emergencies. Reaching out about emergencies is essential, as ignoring the problem could create more critical and expensive problems to address down the road.
When you notice a problem or have an issue that demands quick action or an immediate response, please follow the emergency request protocols outlined by your condo building management team. Of course, when in doubt, please call 911. Typical emergencies that would qualify for emergency support at any hour of the day include scenarios such as:
- Water flows or flooding that cannot be controlled
- The smell of gas
- Fire or unknown smoke
- Building-wide heat or water loss
- An electricity outage not tied to a circuit issue or the power company
Your condo building management team at First Community Management works to support the well-being of each building we manage along with the health and happiness of each condo owner and their family. Let’s work together to identify issues so that they can be addressed promptly. In doing so, we hope to reduce emergency requests, while improving on the quality of life within your community.