Esthetical repairs of TYS’s apartments have been on the foundation’s tenants’ lips, and a lot of inquiries have come from those who already live at the locations, as well as from potential movers. For example, many people would like to know if the apartment has a laminate floor or a renovated toilet. The purpose of this article is to break down the process of housing renovations and answer many puzzling questions.
The process starts with an inspection of the condition of the apartment, which is done when the tenant’s lease agreement is about to expire. The inspection takes into account e.g. condition of the walls, floors, ceilings, cabinets and appliances in living quarters. The inspector makes a visual assessment of the need for renovation and notifies TYS if the apartment requires renovation. With the inspections of the apartment, TYS is able to react in good time to possible renovation needs and set aside the necessary time for the renovation to be carried out, so that the apartment is clean and comfortable when the next tenant moves in.
The most common remedial measures to be carried out in housing renovations:
- Patching and painting walls
- Installing vinyl plank on the floor (renewing the baseboards at the same time)
- Replacing the bathroom carpet and possibly replacing the tiling of the entire bathroom, as well as replacing the bathroom furniture if necessary
- Renewing the silicones
- Painting or replacing doors and frames
- Painting or replacing frame mouldings
- Painting radiators and water pipes
- Repairing cabinets
Housing repairs are determined by the apartment inspections and any findings made during the renovation, so not all of the above actions may be taken with every renovation. For example, vinyl will only be installed on the floor if during the inspection or renovation occurs that the plastic carpet or laminate in the apartment has reached the end of its lifecycle and/or appearance, but there is no other need for renovation in the apartment. Also, apartments are not renovated in the footsteps of every tenant, because the previous tenant may have taken good care of the apartment, in which case it is not economically, ecologically or environmentally sustainable to renovate the apartment.
It should be noted that none of the materials used in the repairs cause harm/danger to the health of the tenants!
The duration of the renovation depends on the extent of the repairs to be made in the apartment, but on average a month of renovation time is set aside for housing renovation if there is only renovation of the dry premises. If, in addition to the dry premises, the bathroom needs to be renovated or the renovation only concerns the bathroom, the renovation time varies from one month to two months.
Housing renovations are always aimed to be carried out when the apartment is empty, so that the renovators can do their work smoothly and, accordingly, so that the tenant does not have to experience the adverse effects of the renovation, such as noise, dust or moving goods. In view of the current corona pandemic, it is particularly important that renovations be carried out mainly on vacant apartments. In exceptional cases, an occupied apartment can be renovated. In this case, the renovators agree on the execution of the work together with the tenant. As a general rule, these exceptions have been executed in such a way that the tenant has been able to live at home during the renovation.
In conclusion, it could be concluded that esthetical repairs of the apartments are carried out in all TYS housing locations, so it is not advisable to draw conclusions about the condition of the apartments based on the age of the housing location. In Student Village, for example, apartments are being renovated at a steady pace as the tenants change. This fact should be especially kept in mind when looking for a suitable apartment in TYS’s various housing locations. With continuous inspections of apartments and the resulting renovations, TYS is able to maintain the quality standards of the apartments at a good level and thus enable the comfort of the tenants. Our main objective is to provide tenants with comfortable, affordable and sustainably maintained housing where our tenants will enjoy themselves for a long time.
Happy autumn to all!
Niko Mäkeläinen
Master builder, Maintenance
TYS
