The long-term maintenance plan (PTS): contents and updates

A long-term maintenance plan, known in Finnish as PTS (pitkän tähtäimen kunnossapitosuunnitelma), shows what repairs can be expected in the building over roughly the next ten years. For the board it is a planning tool; for shareholders and apartment buyers it is the best picture of what lies ahead for the housing company, and therefore for their own apartment. When repairs are visible in good time, the company can prepare for them financially, tender the contracts without haste and avoid emergency repairs.

What the law requires and what it does not

Only some maintenance documents are required by law.

The maintenance needs report is mandatory. Under chapter 6, section 3 of the Limited Liability Housing Companies Act (asunto-osakeyhtiölaki, 1599/2009), the board must present to the annual general meeting a written report on the maintenance needed over the next five years that will significantly affect the use of the apartments, the maintenance charge or other costs. Read more in the article on the maintenance needs report (kunnossapitotarveselvitys).

A PTS is not required by law. The law does not require a longer-term plan to be drawn up, and there is no statutory interval for updating one. In practice, however, the PTS is one of the board’s most important tools and often the basis for the maintenance needs report.

Condition assessments and condition surveys are not generally mandatory. A condition assessment gives an overall picture of the building’s technical condition, while a condition survey establishes the condition of an individual building component before a repair decision. In practice, the board’s duty of care may require sufficient investigations before significant decisions.

What the plan contains

A good PTS is based on the building’s actual condition, investigations carried out and the estimated service lives of building components. Depending on the building, it assesses, for example:

• the roof, rainwater system and roof safety equipment
• facades, balconies, windows, balcony doors and exterior doors
• domestic water pipes and drains
• heating, the heat distribution centre and the radiator network
• ventilation and electrical systems, including readiness for electric vehicle charging
• lifts
• perimeter drains, foundation drainage and outdoor areas
• load-bearing structures, if cracks, subsidence or concrete deterioration give reason to.

For each item, the plan records the current condition, the estimated timing of repairs, the cost category and any need for further investigation. This shows which parts are approaching the end of their service life, which need closer monitoring and which can still wait.

Service life is an estimate, not a deadline

Well-maintained windows can last considerably longer than estimated, whereas moisture or neglected maintenance shortens service life. The plan therefore cannot be based on age alone. Nor does it bind the housing company to carry out all the repairs it lists: timings change in response to new investigations, the building’s condition, finances or regulations. That is exactly why the plan is updated.

Who prepares the plan

The board is responsible for the whole. It decides when to order a condition assessment, when condition surveys are needed and which projects are prepared for the general meeting. The property manager compiles the repair history, keeps the maintenance log (huoltokirja), tenders the experts and prepares the decisions. The technical assessment usually comes from building, HVAC and electrical experts or condition surveyors.

The baseline data needed includes the year of completion, earlier major renovations, the maintenance log, condition assessments and surveys, the maintenance company’s observations, fault reports, energy consumption and information on earlier water damage. Information from inside the apartments can only be obtained by visiting them, for example on an apartment round. The more comprehensive the baseline data, the more reliable the plan.

Updates and the most common mistakes

The plan should be reviewed at least once a year when the maintenance needs report is prepared. It should also be updated whenever a significant repair, condition assessment or condition survey is completed, significant damage is found or the company’s finances change materially.

The most common mistake is to draw up the plan once and leave it at that. A PTS based on ten-year-old information is almost useless. Other common mistakes include:

• repair decisions without investigations: pipework, facades and the roof often require a condition survey before the scope of the repair can be decided
• attention only to visible building components, even though ventilation, perimeter drains, electrical systems and domestic water pipes can cost a lot
• continual postponement, in which small facade damage grows over time into extensive moisture damage.

Postponed repairs build up into a repair backlog, which does not show in the financial statements.

How a shareholder should read the plan

When you buy an apartment, you are also buying a share of the whole building. The condition of your own kitchen and bathroom is easy to assess, but for the maintenance charge and the apartment’s value, what happens to the roof, pipes, facade and building services over the next ten years matters more.

The PTS shows what repairs are expected in the coming years, how they may affect the maintenance charge and how far ahead the housing company plans. Read it together with the maintenance needs report, the financial statements and the minutes of general meetings. Good questions include:

• What condition is the building in now, and what is that information based on?
• What repairs are in the maintenance needs report for the next five years?
• What is likely to be needed within ten years?
• Is the financial plan in line with the technical needs?
• When was the plan last updated?

A shareholder can raise these questions at the general meeting, where they have a statutory right to ask them. Read more about taking part in the general meeting and tips for apartment buyers.

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