Abstract
The study is appraisal of building maintenance practice among landlords in Niger central senatorial zone of Niger state. The specific purposes of the study were to find out the importance of building maintenance among landlords in Niger Central Senatorial District, find out the responsibilities of landlords and the rights of tenants in building maintenance practice in Niger Central Senatorial District and determine the factors affecting building maintenance practice among landlords in Niger Central Senatorial District, e.t.c. Three research questions were designed and used to guide this study. The sample population of the study is 30. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and the area of the study is Niger central senatorial zone. The test retest method was used to establish the reliability of the instrument.Based on the findings, recommendations were made which include that; There is need for good preventive maintenance through regular inspections to avoid breakdowns and repairs, which costs more, There is need for public awareness on the danger of lack of maintenance and the advantages of good maintenance, Laws enforcing every occupant to carry out proper maintenance should be enacted and agencies to enforce the law should be established, In order to avoid the use of sub-standard materials as an alternative to the high cost of good quality materials, there should be a research into how the government can help with the local building materials industries in the country to survive.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Over the years, there has been increasing abandonment of houses and infrastructural facilities in Niger central Senatorial District which has led to the dilapidation, degradation and deterioration of buildings and infrastructural structures. Recently there has been a lot of research investigations and analyse which points unshakably to the fact that certain factors such as client’s perception, cost of maintenance works, unskilled maintenance technicians, lack of Building Maintenance policy, Government legislations not being properly enacted, inability to prepare and follow maintenance schedules are direct causes of neglect which lead to dilapidations and deterioration of building structures, Draft National Building Maintenance Policy (2011).
There are also the remote causes of lack of maintenance such as force majeure, cultural problems, state of the economy, the receding global economic meltdown, lack of time and general illiteracy of the occupants of the building or structures and users of the facilities.
However, there has also been growth in the significance of building maintenance as a proportion of the output of the construction industry which takes place against a backdrop of mounting pressure on new building activity and a growing awareness of the need to manage the condition of the nation’s building and infrastructure more effectively, Draft National Building Maintenance Policy (2011).
Though, it is still the case that such maintenance activity takes place in a context that does not create a fully integrated approach to managing building performance and thus the full potential of many buildings and infrastructures are never wholly realized. Basically in virtually all the areas of Niger Central Senatorial District, buildings and infrastructural facilities are gradually and systematically decaying, dilapidating and deteriorating with reduced or no degree of maintenance programme and activity.
A lot of research have been done in regard to maintenance and management of low income housing especially controlled tenancy, but little emphasis has been laid to maintenance practice among landlords which is key to the overall management of the houses.
From a normal visual perception in the urban metropolis, it can be noted that majority of the constructed buildings both private and public, road network, water supply systems, sanitary and drainage systems, transmission poles and electricity lines, sign posts and route location posts are deteriorated and badly in need of maintenance. The lack of maintenance of these buildings and infrastructures negatively affects the populace which thus affects the output of the working class, capacity of the populace is thus lost, time value for achievement of goals and objectives minimized, it also causes all forms of ill-health and psychological effects thereby reducing the economic growth of the nation. Therefore, this study will appraise Building Maintenance Practice among Landlords in Niger Central Senatorial District.
Statement of the Problem
The primary aim of maintaining a building and its environment is to ensure that the building continues to serve its purpose for which it was intended, yield optimum return and ensuring safety, health and comfort in its usage. Management of housing and infrastructure in required continuous source of funding for provision of services such as garbage collection, lawn mowing, street lighting, cleaning and maintenance of ablution blocks, roads and drainage systems, sewer problems, security and care takers in the estates, without which the shared facilities become dilapidated, prompting for much more on cost of renovations. The rent collected is barely enough for the houses to be regularly maintained let alone the shared facilities.
