When attending to the daily upkeep needs of residential buildings like condominiums, hotels, resorts or apartment buildings, at times there can be confusion as to whether a task falls to dedicated facilities maintenance technicians or to professional cleaning crews. Let’s set the record straight: Who is responsible for keeping facilities clean? Ultimately, the determination usually depends on the scope of work needed.

Professional Cleaning vs Facilities Maintenance

Professional cleaning squads focus primarily on protecting the aesthetic cleanliness and hygiene of the space. Common tasks like dusting, vacuuming, mopping, restroom sanitation, and trash removal usually are assigned to this team. These champion cleaners handle the housekeeping of entryways, public areas, leasing offices, restrooms, and shared spaces. They keep these areas looking their best, smelling fresh, and ready for guests.

Facilities maintenance is a broader term that includes preserving the functionality and safety of the building, grounds, and systems. This includes not only building upkeep but also repairs, preventative maintenance, and ensuring everything is working as it should. 

Think of it like a car. Cleaning teams handle washing and detailing, while maintenance teams act as mechanics who keep everything running. Together, they ensure both appearance and functionality of your vehicle.

Site stewards is our term for the property manager, the facilities maintenance team, and the cleaning professionals. They are complementary services that work together. Their goal is to create a safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing environment for residents, guests, and staff alike.

Understanding how they work in tandem is crucial for efficient building management. Condominium and other residential associations must develop a clear understanding of the division of responsibilities.

In many cases, the cleaning crew identifies maintenance needs. Daily cleaning teams are often the first to notice maintenance issues in common areas, such as flickering or burned-out lights, damaged thresholds or door handles, broken glass and the like. 

In turn, the maintenance staff often creates extra cleaning tasks. After maintenance work is completed (e.g., repairing a pipe or replacing a light fixture), professional cleaning may be needed to clean up any mess or debris left behind.

Key Responsibilities of Professional Cleaning Crews

While some cleaning tasks might overlap with facilities maintenance, licensed professional cleaning companies are best suited to provide:

• Deep cleaning: Frequent and thorough cleaning of carpets, upholstery, and hard material flooring including marble and other natural stones, vinyl composition tile (VCT), hardwood, laminates, linoleum and concrete. 
• Stripping, buffing and polishing: Professional application of sealants, waxes, polishes, coatings and treatments requiring the use of custom machinery.
• Window cleaning: Streak-free cleaning of interior and exterior windows, especially in high-rise buildings where safety is a concern.
• Expert remediation and one-off cleaning: Advanced cleaning needs, such as post-construction cleanup, mold remediation, water or biohazard spills.
• Disinfection and sanitization: Disinfecting and sanitizing common areas, especially places with high traffic like gyms, exercise equipment and restrooms.

Core Duties of Facilities Maintenance Teams

By comparison, facilities maintenance teams are generally better equipped to tackle:

• Maintenance and repair of HVAC systems, including filter changes, inspections, and troubleshooting.
• Plumbing problems including leaks and clogs, as well as regular maintenance of pipes and fixtures.
• Electrical repairs and replacements including lighting, outlets, and circuit breakers.
• Maintaining and repairing building systems including elevators, fire alarms, security and building intrusion deterrents. 
• Groundskeeping including landscaping, snow removal, and parking lot maintenance.
• General repairs and preventative maintenance: Addressing issues like drywall damage, painting, and minor carpentry work to prevent future problems and extend the lifespan of equipment.

Preventing Overlap and Ensuring Accountability

To prevent overlap, redundancy, or overlooked tasks, the best practice is simple: put it in black and white.

• Outline explicit responsibilities with clear contracts and service agreements between the housing association and contracted vendors. 
• Detail what service is to be performed, alongside frequency intervals and acceptable turnaround times. This helps to avoid confusion and ensure all necessary tasks are covered. It also helps protect all parties later down the road should a dispute occur. 
• Establish a system for reliable communication. For properties with extensive grounds, you may consider including a representative from your landscaping and/or groundskeeping team. Regular meetings with representatives from all these groups can help you identify potential issues sooner, coordinate schedules more quickly, and ensure your tenant’s needs are addressed promptly.

Best Practices for Effective Site Stewardship

To keep everyone on the same page, some of the most effective site stewardship teams:

• Use Shared Work Order, Email and Calendar Systems: This helps track requests, assign tasks, and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Keep everyone aware of what’s going on and avoid conflicts with a shared calendar or schedule that outlines planned maintenance, large-scale repair/construction activities and cleaning schedules.
• Assign Designated Contacts: Streamline communication and avoid confusion by identifying specific individuals as points of contact for each service and sharing the best way to reach those individuals with the other team members.
• Create and Post Detailed To-Do Lists: Create a daily, weekly, and monthly checklists and post them clearly for your support teams to follow.  
• Conduct Regular Walkthroughs: Complete regular inspections of the property to identify any areas that may have been overlooked or require attention. 
• Evaluate Performance: Regularly assess the performance of all your contracted vendors, to identify areas for improvement and ensure that services are being delivered as expected. 

Despite everyone’s best intentions, sometimes tasks will simply be missed or overlooked. Especially during staff turnover or when new vendors arrive, communication lines can become unclear. Neither the cleaning crew nor the maintenance team may take responsibility for tasks in grey areas. These are often simple but important tasks, like overhead bulb replacements or restocking supplies. Use your regular site stewardship meetings to adjust and amend expectations, then make sure to distribute updates to team checklists.

Commercial Condominiums: Who is Responsible for Keeping Facilities Clean

By following these best practices, commercial condominium associations can ensure efficient and effective facilities maintenance and professional cleaning services. This creates a well-maintained and welcoming environment for residents and tenants.

Want to enhance your property’s upkeep? Contact us today to discover how our expert services can support your needs!

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