Preventive maintenance in Ontario: A guide for your property

What is preventive maintenance?

Preventive maintenance is the routine inspection, servicing, and care of a property before equipment fails or small concerns become larger repairs. For Ontario rentals and condominiums, a good preventive maintenance program can help protect building systems and reduce unexpected costs.
 

Preventive maintenance requirements in Ontario

For rental properties, the Residential Tenancies Act requires property owners to keep the residential complex and rental units in a good state of repair, fit for habitation, and compliant with applicable health, safety, housing, and maintenance standards (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 20(1)).

Condominium corporations generally have responsibility for maintaining the common elements, while owners maintain their units, subject to the declaration (Condominium Act, 1998, ss. 90 and 91).
 

Preventive maintenance guide for rentals

For property owners, preventive maintenance starts with knowing the condition of the property and addressing concerns before they interfere with a tenant’s home.

A practical rental maintenance program may include:

• Checking roofs, eavestroughs, and drainage after winter
   
• Servicing heating and cooling equipment
   
• Looking for plumbing leaks or signs of moisture
   
• Checking exterior caulking and weatherproofing
   
• Testing sump pumps before periods of heavy rain
   
• Inspecting steps, railings, walkways, and exterior lighting
   
• Winterizing outdoor plumbing before freezing weather
   
• Tracking tenant maintenance requests and recurring concerns
   
• Testing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as required

Ontario’s Fire Code specifically requires property owners to test smoke alarms annually and after every change in tenancy, along with additional testing after certain battery or electrical changes. Carbon monoxide alarms in rental units also have testing and maintenance requirements. 
 

Preventive maintenance guide for condominiums

For condominium boards, preventive maintenance usually focuses on the common elements and shared building systems the corporation is responsible for maintaining.

Depending on the property, that can mean keeping an eye on:

• Roofs and building envelopes
   
• Balconies and railings
   
• Parking garages
   
• Elevators
   
• Boilers and HVAC equipment
   
• Pumps and drainage systems
   
• Fire and life safety equipment
   
• Common area doors and windows
   
• Plumbing and electrical systems
   
• Landscaping and irrigation
   
• Pools and amenity spaces
   
• Roads, sidewalks, and other shared surfaces

Boards should also connect day-to-day maintenance with the condominium’s reserve study. Ontario condominium corporations are required to conduct reserve studies at prescribed times and develop future funding plans based on the results (Condominium Act, 1998, s. 94).
 

How preventive maintenance can help boards and owners save money

Unfortunately, crisis situations occur all too frequently because many boards and owners neglect to develop an integrated maintenance plan. Instead, they favour a reactive approach to maintenance — waiting until something breaks or fails before repairing or replacing it.

"It’s not unusual to see more than half of a corporation’s maintenance handled reactively. However, a reactive approach should only be reserved for lower-cost components."

Bob Meyer, director of engineering services at FirstService Residential

Meyer says that lack of money is a common reason for boards and owners to defer maintenance until major work is needed.

He explains,

"Ironically, reactive maintenance is actually about three to nine times more expensive in the long run than a proactive approach. So it’s really much more cost-effective to be proactive even if that means investing a bit of time and money up front. Ultimately, it will relieve a lot of headaches for your board and save money."

Bob Meyer, director of engineering services at FirstService Residential

Preventive maintenance tips for boards and owners in Ontario

1. Collect all your maintenance-related information

   For most condominiums and rental properties, maintenance information is scattered among a variety of documents. The first step is to locate and consolidate it, including:
    
   • Your condominium’s or rental property’s maintenance policy, which may be found in your governing documents or property records
      
   • Maintenance schedules
      
   • Expected costs and timeframes for replacing equipment or making major repairs to components, which will be outlined in your reserve study or capital planning documents
      
   • Maintenance recommendations in component manuals
      
   • Maintenance requirements to keep warranties valid



2. Establish which common elements or building components require ongoing maintenance

   Make a list of the equipment and components that need to be included in your maintenance plan. Start by looking at your governing documents, reserve study, capital plans, and vendor/maintenance contracts. It’s also helpful to walk the property to visually document building systems, public spaces, private spaces, and all services. Once the list is created, review and update it on a regular basis.
    

3. Create a master maintenance schedule

   Your maintenance plan should indicate the schedule you should follow for each item it contains. If the maintenance schedule for a particular item is missing from your maintenance plan, check your warranties or owner’s manuals, or ask the manufacturer or contractor to provide it.
    

4. If you have an onsite maintenance manager, take daily readings and make weekly inspections

   Walking the property and taking daily readings gives your maintenance manager an in-depth familiarity with equipment. Therefore, they are likely to notice subtle changes — smells, sounds, vibrations, or temperature changes — that someone else might overlook if they’re not familiar with the equipment.
   
   If you don't have someone on-site that handles maintenance, regular maintenance checks on all equipment should be performed by a professional. Your property management partner can help you find a reputable vendor to provide that service.
   
   Knowing the different testing techniques will be integral to gathering the data you need. These include:
    
   • Vibration analysis, which measures the vibration of moving parts in machines. Monitoring these vibrations and how they change can help anticipate failures
      
   • Thermal imaging, which does not require equipment shutdown
      
   • Laser shaft alignment, technology that will keep pumps, motor shafts, and impellers from becoming damaged or misaligned
      
   • Trends analysis, which recognizes potential areas of fault in equipment
      
   • Oil sampling and analysis, which identifies areas of wear, along with the lubricating ability of equipment oil



5. Enlist the help of experienced professionals

   A proactive property management company can offer a wealth of information and help create your integrated maintenance plan. Your property management company brings years of experience in managing property maintenance. So, while creating a preventive maintenance plan from scratch can seem like a challenge to boards and owners, it’s second nature for your property manager, and they can guide you through the process.
   
   Also find out how your property management company can assist you in finding the qualified professionals to help with your maintenance, including vendors that understand the unique needs of condo corporations and rental properties like yours.
   
   Making the right vendor decisions is an important role for the board of directors and property manager. Check out our list of things to remember when selecting a vendor.

How FirstService Residential can help

A good preventive maintenance program makes it easier to stay ahead of property needs instead of constantly reacting to them. As North America’s leading property management company, FirstService Residential can help Ontario owners and condominium boards build practical maintenance schedules, coordinate qualified vendors, track work, and connect day-to-day property needs with long-term planning.

Our local teams also bring the support and resources needed to keep maintenance organized throughout the year, so boards and owners have a clearer picture of what needs attention now and what is coming next.

Contact FirstService Residential today to learn how our Ontario team can help care for your property.

This information is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be relied upon as, legal, regulatory, financial, or operational advice, or as a representation or guarantee of any specific services, capabilities, or outcomes. Property management needs, regulatory requirements, market conditions, and available services vary by jurisdiction, property type, and community. FirstService Residential provides services through locally based affiliates and associates, and services and results may vary by community, region, contractual terms, and applicable law.