Property Management Resources

Toronto United Church Council has in-house expertise in most aspects of property management that will be of interest to congregations and social service providers within Toronto Conference and is available on a cost recovery basis. Click here for details of our charge-out rates and click here for contact information.

Planned Maintenance

You can either wait for a maintenance problem to surface and struggle to find the funds to manage it or you can plan into the future, hopefully set aside funds to make the pain more bearable, and at least provide yourself with options which are less likely to be available if you haven't planned.

What are the steps in creating a maintenance plan? Here is a summary:

• On a simple spreadsheet, list the major components of the building - roof, windows, eavestrough/fascia/soffits, exterior painting, heating/cooling equipment, water heating equipment, kitchen appliances, carpet, interior painting, hard and soft landscaping, parking/roadways, any others specific to your building;
• If you can acquire some input from knowledgeable sources, so much the better, but to proceed with this exercise with only common sense and guesswork is far better than not going through the process;
• Project as far as you can into the future when you might have to address each item, either with maintenance or replacement; ideally you will look 25 years out but you might only be able to look 5 years out; aim for at least 10 years;
• With a column in your spreadsheet for every year from now until the end of your projection period, put a check-mark to indicate the years in which work must be done for each component line;
• Go back and look at each item you have identified and try to put a dollar value to it; start with guesses and if you need expert input, revised the numbers as you receive expert estimates or actual quotes;
• When done, you will have a total projection of the maintenance costs for each and every year in your selected projection period;
• You can examine the timing of these works more closely, and perhaps adjust some of your assumptions on timing so that the expenditures are more even.

Reserve Funds

The logical step beyond creating a maintenance plan is to build up a reserve fund. The objective of the fund is at its most fundamental level to smooth out the major calls on funding for maintenance works. At its most sophisticated level, the reserve fund is to pay for all major maintenance with the only draw on operating budgets being the regular contributions to the reserve fund.

What are the steps in creating a reserve fund? Here is a summary:

• Create a maintenance plan as previously described;
• Adjust, if possible, the years in which some work is projected to make the annual expenditures more even year-to-year;
• Determine what contributions must be made on an annual basis to completely fund the planned maintenance program;
• Adjust the annual contributions to quanta which can be realistically achieved;
• Be aware of the years in which additional funds will be required in order to carry out the projected work;
• Determine what options can be considered to:
1. reduce the cost of projected work;
2. spread projected work out over a longer time-span to reduce annual expenditures;
3. increase annual contributions to the reserve fund through special fundraising;
4. determine the viability of the property.

Even if the plan cannot be maintained because sufficient funds cannot be set aside, the knowledge acquired by going through this exercise will provide the responsible organization with valuable knowledge which would otherwise not be available. It will ultimately optimize utilization of funds and minimize unpleasant surprises and their negative impacts.

Regulations & Standards

• Water
• Despite recent changes which see responsibility for Small Drinking Water Systems (SDWS) being transferred on December 1, 2008 from the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), this change does not affect children's camps which stay under MOE jurisdiction.
• Follow this link for the Ontario Regulations on drinking water which apply to camps: Drinking Water Systems under O. Reg. 170/03
• Health & Safety
• There are Health & Safety regulations which apply specifically to Construction, Industrial Establishments, Health care & Residential Facilities, Teachers, Window Cleaning, Designated Substances of many types, and many other specific categories;
• There are no Ontario Health & Safety regulations which apply specifically to Camps;
• For a complete list of Ontario Health & safety Regulations, and the Acts which generate the regulations, follow this link: Regulations-Health and Safety.
• Accessibility
• The Ontario Government is developing an Accessible Information and Communications Standard; information is available at: Accessible Information and Communications Standard;
• Accessibility standards for buildings are administered by local building authorities and they are the best resource for information; the interpretation of regulations varies from municipality to municipality; check with your local municipality first.
• Electrical
• Electrical standards are complex and should only be interpreted by professionals, either licensed electrical engineers registered with PEO, or electricians licensed in your municipality;
• See the Professional Engineers Ontario website and see "Information for Consumers of Services" in the side navigation tree and then FAQ - Consulting Engineers;
• Check the Electrical Safety Authority website - they are responsible for enforcing a level of public electrical safety across Ontario that will keep the residents safe where they live, work and play.