Preventive Maintenance
Synonyms: Planned Maintenance، Scheduled Maintenance، Preventative Maintenance، PPM
Last updated: 2026-09-25
Short Definition
Preventive maintenance is scheduled inspection and servicing of a building's systems and equipment before they fail, such as cleaning air-conditioners and changing filters, checking water tanks and pumps, testing fire alarm and suppression systems and servicing lifts, in order to extend the property's life and reduce the frequency and cost of breakdowns.
Overview
Legal Basis
There is no dedicated law on preventive maintenance of residential property; its rules come from several sources: the Civil Transactions Law (Royal Decree M/191 dated 29/11/1444H), which obliges the landlord to make necessary repairs (Article 419) and the tenant to maintain the premises as custom requires unless otherwise agreed (Article 433); the Saudi Fire Code (SBC 801), which requires periodic inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection systems; and the Law of Ownership, Partition and Management of Real Estate Units (M/85 dated 2/7/1441H), which makes managing and maintaining common parts a duty of the owners' association registered with REGA.
Practical Example
A property manager in Riyadh runs a 24-apartment building with two lifts, two pumps and a fire alarm system. He sets an annual schedule: cleaning every flat's AC units twice (before and after summer), a monthly lift maintenance contract, quarterly checks of pumps and tanks, and periodic alarm testing with a signed log. The annual cost is about SAR 38,000. The previous year, before the schedule, the owner spent SAR 61,000 on emergency repairs, including two burnt-out compressors and a leak from a roof tank that damaged two flats' ceilings. In the first year of the schedule, emergency repairs fell to about SAR 17,000, so total spend was SAR 55,000 against SAR 61,000, with fewer urgent call-outs and happier tenants.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Treating preventive maintenance as a cost that can be postponed — deferral shifts spending to emergency repairs that cost more and disrupt tenants more.
- ✗Neglecting to test and document fire alarm and suppression systems — a requirement of the Saudi Fire Code that is checked on inspection.
- ✗Scheduling AC servicing at the peak of summer instead of before it, when technicians are busiest and breakdowns are at their highest.
- ✗Not stating in the lease who bears each preventive item, such as cleaning the unit's indoor AC units, which turns into a dispute at the first breakdown.
- ✗Keeping no maintenance log per asset (date, contractor, cost) that would allow estimating remaining life and planning replacement.
International Differences
Preventive maintenance is standard practice in facility management worldwide, and in large buildings it relies on computerised maintenance systems and manufacturers' schedules. Civil defence authorities in the UAE and many other countries require approved periodic maintenance of fire safety systems, and Turkey and several European countries require periodic lift inspections. What stands out in Saudi Arabia is the weight of air-conditioning in a hot climate, which makes AC servicing the largest preventive item in most residential properties, alongside the Saudi Fire Code requirements and the role of owners' associations for common parts.
