Neglecting Facilities Maintenance in Vacant Buildings Comes at a Cost

Many people erroneously believe that vacant buildings require no facilities maintenance. Even if the windows are boarded up and the doors are locked, the need for consistent maintenance continues. In fact, neglecting maintenance of these buildings has the potential to cause structural damage (with sometimes very high repair costs), put off potential tenants, or delay occupation (which also causes financial losses).

In this blog, we look at the top 5 reasons why you should commit to ongoing maintenance in unoccupied commercial buildings. We also briefly examine the benefits of working with a reputable facilities maintenance provider for this purpose – and how digital innovation like the technologies used by Voltix Services stand to simplify maintenance and streamline costs.

 

Vacant Building Insurance Differs From Occupied Building Insurance

Some insurance companies simply refuse to cover vacant buildings. More commonly, however, they are stricter around security requirements, apply different underwriting requirements, and limit cover to Fire, Lightning, Earthquake, and Aircraft. Factors from what is considered to what is covered differ from company to company.

Underwriting considerations often include factors such as fire safety measures, whether the utilities mains will be turned off, security provisions, and frequency of manual inspections. Together with the age and construction of your building, these provisions affect your premiums.

If your insurance company covers vacant buildings, common exclusions are wear and tear resulting from no maintenance and the damage caused by vermin.

Bad weather is also a consideration for building owners to consider during times of no occupation. Structural damage caused by poor weather conditions can cause rapid deterioration between manual inspections – again, with expensive costs of repair.

Live monitoring for vacant buildings from Voltix Services mitigates risk on many fronts for insurance providers – and the existence of these solutions can have a bearing on your premiums.

 

Facilities Maintenance Providers Can Assist With Security

Ensuring security in unoccupied buildings protects your interests in various ways. Vacant buildings are a soft target for trespassing, vandalism, squatting, and arson. There were half a million cases of criminal damage and vandalism reported in the UK in the period between 2022 and 2023 – and the cost to repair vandalised properties or restore stolen property within the building creates a heavy financial burden on any property owner.

 

Minimise Fire Safety Concerns in Vacant Buildings

Building owners have a statutory responsibility to ensure fire safety in their buildings. The Home Office has reported that around 60 fires per day occur in unoccupied buildings in Britain. Ongoing maintenance serves a fire prevention role, but also ensures that early warning systems and fire equipment are at the ready should a fire occur.

 

Reduce Worries Around Water Systems Management and Legionella

Stagnant water systems pose a heightened risk of structural failure, but there is more to consider on this point. Legionella bacteria thrive in stagnant water systems, which can lead to sometimes fatal Legionnaires’ Disease. This makes regular and professional legionella testing vital to the ongoing monitoring of water systems – especially on reoccupation.

 

Avoid Unnecessary Occupancy (and Rental) Delays

In its simplest form, professional maintenance services secure your interests your commercial real estate investments. The above points are only some of the impact areas around maintenance and unoccupied buildings. However, the net effect of these risks is the same: they have the potential to affect tenants taking occupation and for you to receive rentals on your properties. Where severe structural damage occurs, this may even affect resale value and cause notable financial losses.

 

Work With a Trusted Facilities Maintenance Provider for Live Monitoring and Maintenance of Vacant Buildings  

At Voltix Services, we partner with you to ensure your maintenance requirements are achieved to the highest standards. Get in touch with us today for advice and optimised maintenance processes for your commercial buildings.