- Check the accreditations that matter for the compliance items in scope: Gas Safe, F-Gas, NICEIC or NAPIT, BAFE, and relevant trade bodies.
- Confirm they genuinely cover your area and trades, in-house or through named subcontractors.
- Judge them on response times, reporting and records, not just the monthly fee.
- Ask for references from similar buildings and a sample compliance report.
A maintenance contractor becomes, in effect, the person responsible for whether your building works and whether it is compliant. That deserves more scrutiny than most businesses give it. The cheapest quote is usually the one with the thinnest scope, and the biggest name is not always the one that turns up on a Friday afternoon. Here is how to choose well.
Accreditations that matter
A contractor delivering statutory servicing must hold, or subcontract to those who hold, the right certifications: Gas Safe for gas, F-Gas company certification for air conditioning, NICEIC or NAPIT for electrical, BAFE for fire equipment and alarms, and membership of recognised water-hygiene bodies for legionella. Ask for certificate numbers and check them. A contractor who cannot evidence these is not delivering compliance, whatever the contract says.
Coverage and capacity
Confirm which trades are in-house and which are subcontracted, and who the subcontractors are. Ask how many engineers cover your area and what happens when they are busy. A national contractor with one engineer in your region can be slower than a strong local firm. For portfolios, ask specifically about consistency across sites.
The questions to ask
- What is your response time for an urgent fault, and is it in the contract?
- Can I see a sample asset list, task schedule and compliance report?
- Which tasks produce certificates, and how do I receive them?
- What is excluded, and how are parts and extra works priced?
- Who is my single point of contact?
- Can you provide references from similar buildings?
Compare vetted contractors
Match with vetted maintenance and FM contractors who cover your area. No-obligation quotes.
Warning signs
- A quote with no asset list.
- Vague or missing accreditation details.
- Response times “as soon as possible” rather than defined.
- Reluctance to show a sample report.
- A price far below the others for the same scope.
- Long lock-in with punitive termination terms.
Comparing like with like
Give every contractor the same scope, ideally from a PPM survey, with fixed frequencies and response times, and compare on exclusions and records as well as price. Our guide to contract costs covers the pricing models.
Finding vetted contractors
ComSurv matches you with vetted maintenance and FM contractors who cover your area and property type, so the comparison starts from a shortlist that has already been checked. Compare no-obligation quotes.
Sources & further reading
- RICS planned preventative maintenance standard — what good planned maintenance looks like
- HSE: Managing contractors — HSE guidance on managing health and safety including contractors
External links open in a new tab. ComSurv is a matching service, not a firm of surveyors, and is not affiliated with these organisations. This article is general information, not legal, surveying or valuation advice; take advice on your specific situation.
