COMMENT
RESIDENTIAL CARE
When the world as we know it came to a
grinding halt in March 2020 and the country
was thrown into lockdown, you would have
been forgiven for thinking the need to complete
statutory testing – both on residential properties
and commercial – had stopped, too.
This has been one of the biggest misconceptions
to emerge in our industry during the pandemic and,
especially in those early days when the nation was
gripped with uncertainty, maintenance work in
many residential properties was put on hold
as landlords and tenants alike struggled to come
to terms with the circumstances we all found
ourselves in.
However, the fact is, nothing changed from a
facilities management perspective.
Statutory testing has continued to be required
throughout, along with the need to conduct
regulatory maintenance tasks, inspections, and
remedial work.
But, as the weeks passed, and landlords became
more aware of the need to ensure continued
compliance with regulation, another issue emerged
– accessing tenants’ properties.
In the midst of a global virus pandemic, when
many residents were being asked to stay at home,
landlords’ duties to keep their premises safe became
even more important.
Yet many residents were understandably nervous
about allowing engineers into their homes at a time
when they couldn’t even see their families.
14 NOVEMBER 2020
Facilities management companies had to adapt
fast - providing reassurance and empathy in what
was, and continues to be, a challenging situation.
TAKING CONTROL
It would be easy for FM companies to get caught
up in the chaos of the pandemic. However, it is
important to remember the crucial role we play
in helping landlords maintain the safety of their
properties. And, at a time like this, when tenants are
more likely to be in and around the home, that role
has never been more important.
For us, this meant taking control of the situation
and putting in place clear policies for residential
property visits. Many of the landlords we work with
were feeling nervous and wanted to protect their
tenants from the risk of coronavirus.
We proactively tackled the issue by sharing our
working policies and practices with them and their
tenants, providing the reassurance they needed that
our teams would access their properties in a safe,
COVID -secure way.
WORKING PRACTICES
Key to gaining access to tenants’ properties is a
conversation with the tenant in advance. We have
taken this on ourselves, contacting residents directly
on behalf of the landlords we work with to allay
their concerns and assess their level of both risk and
anxiety.
For example, how we approach a tenant who has
a family member who’s required to shield would be
di erent to how we would approach a young couple.
Of course, the use of full PPE plays an important
part in reassuring tenants, as does ensuring
frequent hand-washing and the wiping down of any
touchpoints with sanitiser.
All of these processes have become part of our dayto
day working practices at Signum. Additionally,
each of our employees must complete a daily Covid
assessment before starting work, ensuring nobody
with any sign or symptom of the virus goes on site.
STRIKING A BALANCE
In recent months, as the lockdown has eased,
gaining access to properties to conduct testing and
maintenance had become an easier task, as people
started to relax and become accustomed to having
people in their home.
However, as the government’s guidance continues
to change – with the ‘rule of six’ being recently
introduced for example – we have found tenants are
becoming increasingly nervous again.
This is understandable and, of course, both
landlords and FM companies need to prioritise
the health and wellbeing of tenants at all times,
but this must not be at the expense of regulatory
requirements.
Landlords are legally responsible for the proper
maintenance of their properties. Manual inspections,
such as EICR electrical testing and the safety checks
and servicing of gas appliances, need to continue
and have an important role to play in ensuring the
safety and wellbeing of tenants, too.
It is our job as FM professionals to fulfill this role
in a way that provides comfort, reassurance and
empathy to tenants and landlords, in this strange
new world.
Jill Wood, Managing Director of Signum Facilities Management, looks
at the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on gaining access to
residential properties to complete statutory testing and maintenance
TOP TIPS FOR FMS
Ensure landlords are aware that their
maintenance responsibilities haven’t ceased
But bear in mind they will be concerned
about tenants’ health and wellbeing
Take the time to proactively share Covidsecure
working policies with landlords and
tenants in advance
Book visits well in advance of due dates to
allow for rescheduling
Assess the risk level of tenants and have a
conversation with them
Make sure your Covid precautions are visible
to tenants, from wearing PPE to frequent
hand washing and sanitisation on site
ADVICE & OPINION