As a property manager or someone responsible for building maintenance, you’re juggling asset protection, tenant satisfaction, compliance with UK regulations, and cost control. Get it right, and your building performs well. Get it wrong, and the consequences can range from reputational damage to regulatory fines or major repair bills.

Here are five common mistakes we see in UK property maintenance management and how you can avoid them.

1. Neglecting Preventive Maintenance and Relying on Reactive Repairs

The mistake: Waiting until something breaks or goes wrong—like a leak, HVAC failure, or fire safety issue—rather than spotting and servicing issues early. This leads to higher costs, tenant disruption, and accelerated deterioration of assets.

Why it matters: UK buildings face unique challenges. Older stock, changing regulatory frameworks (e.g., fire safety, cladding remediation, damp/mould issues), and rising contractor/materials costs all play a role. When maintenance is left until a crisis arises, you often see major cost escalation.

How to avoid it:

• Develop a maintenance calendar: Schedule regular inspections (quarterly, annually) of key systems (heating/ventilation, fire doors, electrical installation condition reports, EICR, gas safety, roof drainage, cladding, etc.).

• Track assets with a digital system or spreadsheet: Record the last service date, next due date, condition notes, and cost history.

• Allocate a budget for maintenance so you’re not caught short when a major issue arises.

• Use trusted contractors you’ve vetted (see mistake #4) so you’re not paying premium ‘emergency’ rates.

• Communicate with the building’s owner or board about the value of staying ahead of breakdowns. Sometimes, cost avoidance is less tangible than cost incurred, so making the case helps.

  
  

2. Poor Documentation & Compliance Oversight

The mistake: Letting paperwork, licences, safety certificates, inspection records, or service logs fall behind, and having no clear, centralised system for tracking deadlines, compliance tasks, or vendor credentials. In the UK, a compliance failure is more than just an inconvenience; it may lead to fines or even criminal liability.

Why it matters: Regulations such as the Housing Act (for HMOs), the Building Safety Act, fire safety legislation, landlord licensing (in some local authorities), deposit protection schemes, and electrical and gas safety checks—all pose risks if overlooked. For instance, one case in the UK involved a landlord fined £66,000 for failure to renew a selective licence. lightwork.co

How to avoid it:

• Create or adopt a centralised compliance register, listing each property/component, what certificate or licence is needed, when it’s due, last inspection date, next due date, and who is responsible.

• Store digital copies of all certificates, vendor invoices, and inspection reports, accessible by you and perhaps a deputy.

• Review the register monthly or quarterly and flag impending deadlines.

• Make sure vendors/contractors provide proof of insurance/certification and that the job is signed off properly.

• When onboarding a property or asset, perform an audit/‘as-is’ review of all existing documentation so you start with clarity.

• Review internal workflows: Ensure that when a certificate is submitted, it is uploaded, the compliance register is updated, and any outstanding items are followed up.

  
  

3. Inadequate Communication with Tenants

The mistake: Failing to maintain clear, timely communication with tenants or occupants. This includes not responding promptly to repair requests, not informing occupants of planned maintenance, or neglecting to set expectations. Poor communication often leads to dissatisfaction, higher turnover, increased complaints, and reputational damage. Multiple sources list “poor communication” as a major failure. otsnews.co.uk

Why it matters: Tenant rights and expectations in the UK are increasingly emphasised. Delays in repair and poor living conditions (such as damp/mould) can lead to enforcement by local authorities and penalties. Good communication helps mitigate risk, builds trust, and often prevents small issues from becoming big ones.

How to avoid it:

• Set up clear channels: Designate how tenants should report issues (e.g., via portal, email, phone call) and what your expected response times are.

• When a repair is logged, send an acknowledgement, estimated timescale, and updates if delays occur.

• Inform tenants in advance of planned maintenance, inspections, or disruption.

• Provide a “tenant handbook” or welcome pack explaining their responsibilities, how to contact you, and what to expect.

• After major works, follow up with the occupant to ensure satisfaction and capture feedback—this can help identify improvements.

• Track communication metrics (response time, satisfaction, repeat requests) so you can demonstrate performance.

  
  

4. Hiring Unvetted or Inappropriate Contractors / Cost-Cutting Service Providers

The mistake: Selecting contractors purely on price, without verifying credentials or insurance. Allowing “cheap” maintenance to lead to repeated repairs, liability issues, or sub-standard work. One article says: “hiring a contractor with the cheapest rates … you’ll pay to fix their mistakes in the future.” Eworks Manager - Job Management Software

Why it matters: UK building and safety standards (e.g., fire doors, EICR, gas safety, cladding) require competent, certified contractors. Using sub-standard vendors may result in failed safety checks, non-compliance, voided insurance, or dangerous conditions. The remediation cost could far outweigh any initial savings.

How to avoid it:

• Maintain a panel of approved contractors by verifying their references, certifications, insurance, and past work.

• For each hire, confirm: valid public liability and professional indemnity, required trade qualifications/regulations (e.g., for electrical work, gas work), membership of trade associations, and experience with the UK regulatory environment.

• Use written contracts or purchase orders specifying scope, timescale, deliverables, and warranty.

• After job completion, inspect the work, obtain a completion certificate or sign-off, and keep records (photos, invoices) for audit/tracking.

• Review contractor performance regularly (cost vs outcome, reliability, repeat issues) and remove those who underperform.

  
  

5. Failing to Use Technology & Good Systems (Relying on Manual/Ad-Hoc Processes)

The mistake: Trying to manage multiple properties, maintenance schedules, compliance tasks, tenant communications, and vendors via spreadsheets, email threads, or paper records only. This often leads to oversight, missed deadlines, duplicate work, and lack of an audit trail.

Why it matters in the UK: The regulatory and operational demands on property managers in the UK are growing. Without efficient systems, you risk missing safety checks, late service interventions, payments, or communication delays. In addition, many clients/boards expect digital reporting, transparency, and audit-ready records.

How to avoid it:

• Invest in a property management software or digital platform that handles maintenance ticketing, asset register, vendor management, compliance scheduling, tenant portal, document storage, and reporting.

• Ensure data entry is consistent: Whenever a maintenance job is raised, update the system; when a certificate is received, upload and mark as complete.

• Use dashboards and alerts for upcoming deadlines, overdue tasks, and inspection schedules.

• Standardise workflows: For example, when a tenant reports a problem, the system automatically logs the request, assigns a contractor, tracks progress, sends updates to the occupant, and closes when done.

• Provide training to your team (or yourself) to use the software effectively. The tool is only as good as the data you feed into it.

• Use analytics from the system to generate monthly/quarterly reports for owners: key metrics like maintenance spend, void periods, tenant satisfaction, and compliance status. This helps demonstrate value and enables proactive decisions.

  
  

If you address these five areas—preventive maintenance, documentation and compliance, communication, vetted contractors, and strong systems—you’ll dramatically reduce risk, improve asset performance, and build trust with tenants, owners, and stakeholders.

At Preventor Building Services, we specialise in ensuring commercial and residential properties in the UK are managed with this proactive mindset. If you’d like support with compliance tracking, maintenance scheduling, or reporting systems, do get in touch!

Would you like a free 20-point maintenance-audit checklist for your building? Send us your details to info@preventorbuildingservicesltd.com and we’ll send one straight away.