Student housing facilities teams face unique maintenance demands, especially during the high-pressure turnover periods of move-outs and move-ins. Add to that the seasonal challenges of summer renovations and winter weatherproofing, and student housing maintenance managers have a lot on their plates. That’s why having a student housing maintenance partner you can trust to manage different types of jobs is so critical.
These strategies can help you efficiently manage rapid repair cycles and coordinate large-scale seasonal projects as you maximize your relationship with your property services partner.
A trusted student housing maintenance partner like MCS can augment your staff to handle day-to-day maintenance issues. But it’s more common to use a partner for more complex jobs, such as large-scale water heater change-outs, extensive roofing work, common room renovations or comprehensive stairway repairs. Additionally, many student housing owners/operators outsource exterior maintenance as well including landscaping, parking lot maintenance and repair and snow removal.
A partner can also help with projects that need to be accomplished in a short timeframe during lower occupancy periods (typically in the summer). For example, a partner can assist with general refreshes to ensure that facilities are clean and ready for new residents as well as more extensive upgrades like renovating an entrance or shifting the building structure from a communal housing design to an apartment-like layout.
A trusted partner like MCS is also well-equipped to take on projects that an internal facilities crew may not be staffed for, such as HVAC, water heater and plumbing maintenance as well as roofing, painting, interior drywall and facade repairs, and weatherproofing doors and windows.
If you’re considering smart feature upgrades, your student housing maintenance partner can assist with them as well. For example, they can work with you on smart updates that enhance the experience for students, like installing additional USB charging outlets or stations, or adding modular furniture that allows for different room configurations. Your partner can also help you complete smart upgrades that make your property safer and more efficient, such as updated security cameras, automated lighting and visitor management systems as well as leak-detection sensors and smart thermostats and water meters.
When it comes to student housing maintenance, project timing is critical. While any project technically can be completed whether units are occupied or not, many can obviously be managed more efficiently during lower-occupancy periods.
To ensure you can achieve your maintenance goals (and allow for contracts to be signed and work to get underway on schedule), aim to complete your RFP in a timely manner. RFPs should typically be sent out between November and late January to enable review, negotiations and scheduling for a late April to early May start.
Efficient RFP planning can have other benefits as well, like helping to save costs by bundling student housing maintenance projects with one partner. It also allows you to proactively plan for projects like water heater change-outs before the end of their life cycle and potentially avoid costly emergency repairs or service outages.
Preventive maintenance (PM) plans are a critical cost-savings and efficiency measure. Ensure you have PM plans in place for items like HVAC, plumbing and roofing.
Your partner should inspect HVAC systems quarterly or semi-annually. Boilers should be regularly serviced, and water heaters should be drained and flushed once per year. Annual inspections can ensure your roofing is in good condition, helping both to extend its life and avoid costly leaks and damage to other areas. If your property doesn’t have on-site staff, a general annual site review can be helpful to check for issues like raised concrete on walkways, broken steps and lighting issues that may need attention to ensure safety.
Maximizing your relationship with your student housing maintenance partner starts with setting reasonable expectations up front in your RFP and clearly communicating your goals. This helps reduce the need for change orders down the road that make projects take longer (and cost more).
To ensure your potential partner is experienced and well-qualified to help you achieve your goals, look for a student housing maintenance partner with a track record of high-quality work and confirm they have a technology platform that can easily integrate with your own. Also, be sure their employees have been background-checked to ensure the safety of your student residents.
MCS has decades of experience in everything from preventive maintenance and renovations to housing turns and beyond. Contact Jason Myers at MCS today to learn how we can partner with you to meet your student housing maintenance goals.