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13 November 20266 min readBy Axario Business Editorial TeamCommercial PropertySectional TitleCompliance

Managing Buildings? Your Maintenance Plan Is Only as Good as Your Asset Records

For property managers, managing agents and body corporates, every roof, lift and fire system needs a plan, a certificate and a record. Usually across more than one building.

Property manager and contractor reviewing building maintenance records outside a South African building

Ask a property manager or a body corporate trustee when the roof was last waterproofed, how long the lift motor has left, or whether the fire equipment certificate for Block C is current. The honest answer is often: "Let me find out."

That's not a sign of poor management. It's what happens when maintenance history lives in old contractor invoices, email threads and the memory of whoever managed the building before.

The 10-year plan needs real information

For sectional title schemes, the plan is a legal requirement. Under the prescribed management rules of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, a body corporate or its trustees "must prepare a written maintenance, repair and replacement plan for the common property", covering "the major capital items expected to require maintenance, repair and replacement within the next 10 years".

The plan must set out each item's present condition, when it will need work, the estimated cost, and how long it's expected to last afterwards. It's then approved by members at a general meeting, and trustees report on it at every AGM. That's also what the reserve fund contributions are worked out from.

As property group Pretor puts it, the plan "assists Trustees in identifying major maintenance projects" and is "reviewed and updated annually". In the words of Bjorn Laubscher of Mirfin Valuation Services, a well-kept plan helps "reduce the need for special levies".

But a plan can only be as good as what you know about the roof, the lifts, the waterproofing and the pumps. If nobody recorded when they were installed or last serviced, the plan is guesswork.

Compliance is a system, not a once-off task

Commercial landlords and managing agents face the same challenge with compliance. Adrian Read, Head of Property Management at Swindon Property, argues that compliance must be managed "as a system, not as a once-off task". He points to electrical certificates of compliance, fire equipment that needs servicing every year, and lifts that need regular servicing and inspections.

His warning is clear: after an incident, documents "must already exist, be current and be readily available", and landlords should not be "reconstructing a compliance trail after an incident". Where required items haven't been addressed, insurers may decline third-party claims.

Tenants are paying attention too. TPN Credit Bureau's 2026 Voice of the Commercial Tenant Report, based on 950 respondents, found that challenges with electricity supply, poor infrastructure maintenance and municipal service failures make up 30% of tenants' operational hurdles. As TPN director Waldo Marcus put it, "Renewal outcomes are increasingly driven by a tenant's perception of value and real affordability."

What every building needs on record

  • An asset register for each building: roofs and waterproofing, lifts, generators, pumps and boreholes, gate motors, fire systems, pools, solar and backup power
  • Each asset's age, condition and expected life, and what it would cost to replace
  • Planned maintenance, and proof it was done
  • Compliance certificates and inspections with expiry dates: electrical, fire equipment, lifts, pressure equipment
  • Contractor work, quotes and certificates
  • Insurance policies for each building

Multiply that by every building in a portfolio, or every scheme a managing agent looks after, and spreadsheets quickly stop keeping up.

How Axario Business supports property managers and body corporates

  • Every building, organised. Set up each property as a site, with buildings and rooms under it. Managing agents can link sites to the owner or client and filter by client.
  • Asset information for long-term planning. Record each asset's install date, expected life, replacement year and replacement cost, and see remaining life and book value. It gives you the facts a maintenance, repair and replacement plan needs. Axario Business doesn't write the plan itself.
  • Planned maintenance by date or meter reading. Schedule recurring maintenance for lifts, generators, pumps, gate motors and fire systems, across every building.
  • Compliance per building. Track certificates and compliance requirements with expiry dates. Start from South African template packs for Fire Safety & Emergency, Electrical, Lifts/Escalators, Pressure Equipment, HVAC & Building Services and General Compliance. Packs are a starting point, and it's up to you to check them against your own obligations. Expiry reminders go out once you switch reminder rules on.
  • Three quotes, side by side. Request quotes from several contractors for the same job, compare them, and accept the one you choose.
  • Contractors, kept accountable. Assign work, review contractor certificates, send job links that need no login, and see each contractor's track record.
  • Proof for owners and trustees. Build audit packs of certificates, inspections and jobs, and share them by link. Give trustees read-only access if you choose.
  • Insurance on record. Keep a register of insurance policies per building or asset.

To be clear about what it isn't: Axario Business doesn't do levies, budgets, the reserve fund, accounting or lease management, and there's no tenant portal. It looks after the buildings, the assets and the compliance.

Axario Business: every building, asset and certificate, on record. Start a free 30-day trial, no card needed.

Frequently asked questions

Do sectional title schemes need a 10-year maintenance plan? Yes. Under the prescribed management rules of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, a body corporate or its trustees must prepare a written maintenance, repair and replacement plan for the common property, covering major capital items expected to need work within the next 10 years. Members approve it at a general meeting, and trustees report on it at each AGM.

What must a maintenance, repair and replacement plan include? For each major capital item: its present condition, when it will need maintenance, repair or replacement, the estimated cost, and its expected life after that work.

Which compliance certificates should a property manager keep? Commonly electrical certificates of compliance, fire equipment servicing records, lift servicing and inspection records, and pressure equipment inspections, along with contractor safety files. Requirements depend on the building, so check with qualified professionals.

Does Axario Business create a body corporate's 10-year plan? No. It doesn't generate the plan or manage the reserve fund. It keeps the asset information a plan relies on, such as install date, expected life, replacement year and replacement cost, along with maintenance and compliance records for every building.

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