Long-term property management and competent repair are key when solving the repair needs of apartments from the 1960s to 1980s. In its June report, the repair construction expert group stated that a concerted effort is needed in order to close the repair gap in the building stock.
It is true that the culture of property maintenance is amateurish. More professionalism must be gained in both housekeeping and property maintenance and repair. In addition, renovation construction has been on the sidelines in construction education and research. Despite the strategies and declarations, the public authorities have treated repair construction mainly as emergency relief.
The focus of repair has shifted to houses built in the 1960s - 1980s. In addition to technical basic repairs, i.e. pipe renovations as it is popularly known, roof, facade, window and balcony renovations as well as elevator, storage and yard renovations are needed.
After the handover, nothing is done to the property's technical systems, unless they show malfunctions. However, just like a car, real estate needs planned inspections and evaluations by an expert, adjustment and other measures, and documentation of these. Prevention is always cheaper than repairing the marks.
Failure to repair it – and the resulting deterioration of the buildings – is a conscious choice. Repair debt arises when maintenance only covers the wear and tear of structures. It tells how much has been left uninvested in the buildings so that they would be in good condition in terms of use. Depending on the different sources, the repair debt is between 25 and 50 billion euros. The amount is significant in relation to the total value of the building stock of 370 billion euros.
Repair construction accounted for more than half of the total value of house construction production in 2014. It is smaller than in other Nordic countries and Central Europe, where repair makes up 60 to 70 percent of construction. This is influenced by the age of the building stock, different maintenance and renovation cultures, and societal support.
Property owners play a key role in bringing about cultural change. The most important thing is to make the owners aware of the importance of planned property management and thereby maintain, repair and develop their properties correctly. The car doesn't have to be very valuable when it's used in branded service when the kilometers or months are up. The same logic does not work with a much more valuable balance sheet item, your own apartment. No proactive maintenance is done, and only what breaks is repaired. When a building is used and taken care of incorrectly, it loses its energy efficiency and indoor climate characteristics.
There is a lot of learning and work involved in maintaining real estate, both on the buyer's side and on the builder's side, because houses will be even more technical in the future. Guidance and training for residents and property managers during commissioning and use must be increased. When there is enough will, it is possible to create better cooperation models for building technical works, for example, suitable for the housing association world.
When the repair construction reaches the main station from the side track, it enables the reduction of the repair deficit and the preservation of the property's value.
Jari Syrjälä
CEO
LVI-Technical Contractors LVI-TU ry
The blog text was originally published by Mediaplanet Rakennamme.fi- in a special publication.
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