Adopting maintenance standards for Nigerian buildings

Considering the incessant collapse of buildings in Nigeria, it is imperative to set maintenance standards for both the property owner and the users; and these vary between the ages and types of building as well as the level of property management.

Property maintenance per se in its generic term has to do with general environmental cleanliness, preservation of fittings and fixture of the component through repairs and replacement to enhance the life of the building.

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Therefore, a proper budgeting process is crucial to effective control in maintenance management work.

Regular and routine inspections are very vital to the maintenance work as they provide the basis for assessing and executing maintenance works.

For public buildings, it is also vital for maintenance organisation to adopt a good information system whereby records can be collected, collated, presented and easily retrieved and used when needed.

Maintenance responsibilities should be clearly spelt out in a typical Tenancy Agreement, as in the case of leased properties.

It is therefore the duty of all stakeholders in the built environment to ensure that the right condition exists for the promotion of a culture of maintenance of properties and structures in our environment.

Ofi Oladiran,

Abuja