With the rising energy costs people are understandably concerned about the coming months and their lifestyles. For retirement living companies charging residents management fees already agreed many months ago, either cutting services or increasing fees perhaps might seem sadly, inevitable. For those living in retirement properties the fact that the T’s and C’s are likely to change is the polar opposite from the “certainty” that was part of the initial motivation and attraction for moving.
Already we are hearing that large companies have reluctantly reduced their work force and re prioritised their service, with the loss of area and home communities service managers. For residents, finding they are without on call house managers means their anticipated way of living has become compromised, and it is unclear how housing villages will be responding to complaints.
We would urge organisations to consider planned and scheduled maintenance as a priority for extending the life of assets, reducing energy consumption and also minimising disruption to residents. Typically well maintained properties cost far less to run than those which are not, and standard figures show considerable reductions in energy consumption are perfectly possible with prudent servicing planning. Remaining in control is key, with asset surveys heading off unwanted additional surprise expenditure.
