What is a PPM survey — and why does your property need one?
Reactive maintenance is the most expensive way to manage a building. When a roof fails, a boiler breaks down, or a drainage system collapses, the repair costs are typically higher than planned maintenance would have been, the disruption is greater, and the damage to the building fabric in the interim can be significant.
A Planned Preventative Maintenance survey — usually called a PPM survey or PPM report — replaces that reactive approach with a structured, forward-looking programme. It tells you what your building needs, when it needs it, and what it is likely to cost — so you can plan, budget, and act before things go wrong rather than after.
What is a PPM survey?
A PPM survey is a systematic condition assessment of a building or portfolio of buildings, carried out by a qualified Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) surveyor. The output is a written report — the PPM report — that sets out:
The current condition of the building — a detailed assessment of all significant building elements, from the roof and external fabric to the internal finishes and building services.
A prioritised maintenance schedule — a structured programme of works categorised by urgency. The most common breakdown is:
- Immediate — works required urgently to address safety concerns or prevent further deterioration
- Short-term — works required within one to two years
- Medium-term — works required within three to five years
- Long-term — works required within five to ten years
Cost estimates — indicative costs for each item of work, enabling accurate maintenance budgeting over the full period of the programme.
Recommendations for specialist investigation — where elements require specialist assessment (drainage, electrical installation, structural investigation), the PPM report will flag this clearly.
Who needs a PPM survey?
Residential landlords managing portfolios of properties who need a systematic approach to maintenance planning. A PPM survey helps landlords prioritise spend across a portfolio, identify properties requiring urgent attention, and demonstrate to tenants and regulators that they are fulfilling their maintenance obligations proactively.
Commercial property managers responsible for maintaining office buildings, industrial estates, or retail premises. For commercial landlords, a PPM report supports service charge planning and demonstrates to tenants that planned expenditure is justified and properly managed.
Housing associations and registered providers with statutory obligations to maintain housing stock to the Decent Homes Standard or equivalent. PPM surveys are a standard tool in social housing asset management and provide the evidential basis for capital expenditure programmes and stock condition reporting.
Facilities managers responsible for buildings occupied by organisations with maintenance budgets and board reporting requirements. A PPM report provides the professional evidence base for maintenance budget requests and capital expenditure approval.
Freehold and leasehold building owners — managing agents and right-to-manage companies responsible for maintaining blocks of flats need PPM surveys to plan service charge expenditure and demonstrate to leaseholders that planned works are reasonable and properly costed. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act, leaseholders have the right to challenge service charges they consider unreasonable — a PPM report from an independent RICS surveyor provides robust evidence that expenditure is justified.
Property investors acquiring a portfolio who need an independent baseline condition assessment to inform pricing and future capital expenditure planning.
What does a PPM survey inspect?
A PPM survey inspects all significant elements of the building that have a maintenance requirement. For a typical residential or mixed-use building this includes:
- Roof covering, gutters, downpipes, and rainwater goods
- External walls, windows, and doors
- Common areas — staircases, lobbies, corridors, lifts
- Structural frame and fabric
- Heating and hot water systems
- Electrical installation and emergency lighting
- Internal finishes in common areas
- Car parking, hard landscaping, and boundary walls
- Any plant rooms or communal facilities
The scope is agreed with the client before instruction and can be tailored to the specific property and the client's requirements.
How is the PPM report structured?
A PPM report from Altura Surveyors is structured to be directly usable for budgeting and planning. It typically includes:
- An executive summary — the key findings and immediate priorities
- An element-by-element condition assessment with photographs
- A prioritised schedule of works with indicative costs
- A summary budget table showing projected expenditure by year over the programme period
- Recommendations for specialist investigation where required
The report is written in clear, plain English and is suitable for use in board reports, service charge consultation documentation, and regulatory compliance records.
How often should a PPM survey be carried out?
For most buildings, a full PPM survey every five years with annual update inspections is the appropriate programme. This reflects the rate at which building condition changes and ensures that the maintenance programme remains current and relevant.
Higher-risk buildings — older properties, buildings with complex services, or those with a history of significant defects — may benefit from more frequent assessment. We will advise on an appropriate programme based on the specific building.
How does a PPM survey differ from a building survey?
A residential building survey — Level 2 or Level 3 — is designed for buyers at the point of purchase. It assesses current condition and advises on defects, but it is not structured as a forward-looking maintenance programme.
A PPM survey is designed for owners and managers who already have an interest in the building and need a structured, long-term view of its maintenance requirements. The two serve different purposes and are used at different stages of the property lifecycle.
PPM surveys in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire
Altura Surveyors carries out PPM surveys for landlords, property managers, housing associations, and facilities managers across Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire. We cover single buildings and portfolios and can structure a survey programme to address multiple properties efficiently.
We are an independent, RICS-regulated practice with no ties to maintenance contractors or remediation companies. Our assessments are objective and our recommendations are based solely on the condition of the building.
Find out more about our PPM survey service or contact us at 01252 929125 or hello@alturasurveyors.co.uk.
Altura Surveyors is an independent RICS-regulated building surveying practice serving Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.