Running a housing company with data: metrics and the board's year

In many housing companies, the most important figure the board follows is the bank balance. But it only tells you what has already happened. The condition of the building, upcoming repairs and recurring faults only show up in the balance once they have turned into invoices. That is why the board should follow other metrics too, and plan the year’s work so that information is available at the right time.

The law does not say which figures the board must monitor. The board’s statutory duties are covered in the article on the duties of a housing company board.

What makes a good metric

You do not need to measure everything. Too many reports blur the overall picture. A good metric meets three conditions: it tells you something essential about the company’s situation, it can be influenced by the board’s decisions, and its development can be followed from year to year.

Five things to monitor

Repair backlog and the long-term maintenance plan

The repair backlog means repairs that should have been made for the building’s condition to match its age. It builds up gradually and does not show directly in the financial statements. If the maintenance charge is kept low by postponing essential work, the repair backlog grows and the company eventually faces a more expensive and more urgent repair.

The most important tool for managing the repair backlog is the long-term maintenance plan (PTS). It should be reviewed at least once a year: is the plan still accurate, have new repair needs emerged, and can a project be safely postponed or does one need to be brought forward? The plan also serves as the basis for the statutory maintenance needs report (kunnossapitotarveselvitys).

Fault reports and maintenance observations

A single fault report is a maintenance job, but repeated reports on the same issue tell you something. Recurring moisture observations, repeated service visits to the same door or lock, clogging rainwater gullies or ventilation problems often point to a wider fault or to a component reaching the end of its service life.

Ask the maintenance company for a compiled report of the work done and look at it over a longer period. A low number of reports does not necessarily mean that all is well, since there can be problems even if nobody reports them. That is why making a fault report must be easy.

Energy and water consumption

Consumption should be tracked in units (kWh, m³), not just in euros, because price fluctuations hide the real changes. A sudden rise in water consumption can reveal a leak before it becomes water damage, and an increase in heating energy may be caused by a fault in the control system or imbalanced ventilation. A reading alone is not enough: what matters is noticing a deviation and finding out its cause.

Financial indicators

Monitor at least whether the maintenance charge is sufficient relative to actual running costs, the cash buffer for unexpected repairs, how the budget is being met, the development of the largest cost items, and loan repayments and interest costs. The loan shares also affect how the company looks to a prospective apartment buyer.

Residents’ observations

Residents see the building every day. Many big problems start with a small observation, such as an unusual smell or a new crack. If observations do not reach the board, or nobody responds to them, people stop reporting.

Example: the recurring bulb change

From the maintenance reports, the board notices that the lights in the same stairwell have been replaced eight times during the year. No single replacement attracted attention, but taken together the figure shows that the fault is not in the bulbs. An electrical contractor finds a faulty connection, and after the repair the replacements stop.

The board’s annual calendar

Below is an example of the year’s rhythm. Timing depends on the financial year: the annual general meeting must be held within six months of the end of the financial year, so with a calendar-year financial year, spring is meeting season.

Spring: the marks of winter and the general meeting

• Check how the building came through the winter: the roof, gutters, rainwater drainage and dips in the yard.
• Go through the winter’s fault reports and look for recurring problems.
• Prepare for the general meeting: financial statements, annual report and the maintenance needs report (kunnossapitotarveselvitys).

Summer: implementation

• Make sure the agreed maintenance work is progressing on schedule and within budget.
• Check the outdoor areas and lighting.

Autumn: preparing for the coming year

• Draw up the budget and assess whether the charges are sufficient.
• Update the long-term maintenance plan.
• Review the maintenance and property management contracts and the insurance, and put them out to tender if needed.

Winter: analysis

• Compare heating and electricity consumption with previous years and investigate any deviations.
• Compare actual figures with the budget.
• Decide which surveys or condition inspections to order for the spring.

After a project: what was learned

After every repair project, it is worth assessing whether the work was completed on schedule, whether it stayed within budget, whether the quality met expectations and what will be done differently next time. A written assessment also helps the next board, which was not involved in the project.

Getting started

• Choose the five most important metrics and find out what information you already have on them.
• Agree who updates the metrics and when.
• Introduce at least one forward-looking metric, for example the number of recurring fault reports.
• Review the metrics at least quarterly.

At the end of a meeting, it is worth asking a few questions: what should be prepared now to avoid a rush later, is the decision just made based on information or on assumptions, and are responsibility and timing for the next steps clear? When the board has up-to-date information on the repair backlog, consumption and finances, it can justify even difficult decisions, such as raising the maintenance charge, convincingly to shareholders. More on preparing decisions in the article on decision-making in a housing company.

This article provides general information and does not replace case-specific legal or technical advice.