Condo Playground Maintenance: A Board’s Guide to Managing Common Area Play Spaces

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Condo living is an increasingly popular choice for families in the Greater Toronto Area. In fact, as of 2021, almost 24% of Toronto residents have chosen to call a condominium home. Considering the numerous benefits families can enjoy from condo-life, it’s easy to see why.

Condominium life can give families access to amenities they would otherwise not be able to afford had they not chosen to live in a condo complex. One amenity with particular value to families is an on-site playground. Families love to have a safe place for kids to play just steps from home.

However, someone must bear the responsibility of caring for a condo’s playground. Regular, planned maintenance is necessary to ensure a condo’s playground is well-maintained, safe, and properly cared for. This responsibility typically falls to a condominium’s board of directors.

This article will discuss the importance of making condo playground maintenance a priority and how a condo board should approach managing and maintaining common area play equipment. 

 

What is A Condo Board’s Role in Managing Play Equipment?

When it comes to managing common area play equipment, a condominium’s board of directors are the ones responsible for overseeing and managing its care and upkeep as well as establishing any by-laws surrounding its use.

Just as with all common areas on a property, condo boards must ensure all common play areas are:

• Safe
• Accessible to building residents
• Clean
• Kept in good condition
• Maintained to meet safety standards

By understanding the role your board serves in maintaining your community’s park space, it’s easier to devise an effective maintenance strategy for play areas.

5 Reasons Why You Need a Playground Equipment Maintenance Plan for Your Condominium

Having a strategic care and maintenance plan for your building’s playground equipment serves multiple purposes that benefit both your board members and community. 

In addition to providing clear direction on how to manage the space, playground maintenance guidelines will also help you establish rules for using the space and assign accountability for specific care tasks.

Other benefits of having a strategic playground equipment plan as part of your condo documents includes:

Ensure a Safe Place to Play

If your condo board plans regular maintenance tasks for play spaces, you’ll be better able to ensure the equipment is always safe for children to play on. This also lowers the risk of accidents and playground related injuries. 

Simply put, a well-maintained and thoughtfully cared for playground is a safer playground residents will be proud to use.

Protect Property Value

A tried and true way to entice prospective condo buyers is with well-kept common areas. Therefore, keeping playgrounds looking their best and safe for all ages can significantly contribute to the overall value of your condominium complex. 

Additionally, having clear directives for playground equipment maintenance in your condo corporation’s documents will give potential buyers with kids confidence they’re welcome and their lifestyle needs will be met. 

Increase Equipment Life Span

How your board plans to care for playground equipment and structures will directly impact how soon they will need to be retired. Equipment that sees regular maintenance will undoubtedly last longer than park structures that are left alone.

Replacing park equipment is a costly process that can take years to bring to fruition. The longer you can make playground equipment last, the less often your board and community will have to dip into reserve funds to replace it.

Developing a comprehensive care plan for play gear can prolong the life of your investment and help avoid being faced with major, unexpected repair costs.

Make Residents Happy

Establishing strategies that value a clean, safe, and well-maintained playground will improve the quality of life for your owners and residents, particularly those with children. Additionally, residents with visiting grandchildren or other family members will appreciate having room for their guests to enjoy their time together.

A well-structured playground plan also increases the community’s confidence in the building’s board of directors and demonstrates the board’s commitment to community engagement.

Decrease Legal Liabilities

Accidents happen when kids play, there’s no doubt about that. However, when play structures aren’t kept in good condition, or when regular inspections are skipped, condo boards can face stiff penalties if an accident happens to be the result of faulty or poorly maintained equipment.

Creating a maintenance strategy with a schedule of maintenance tasks, inspections, and care records will help your directors elect to mitigate legal liabilities in the event of an injury.

4 Pro Tips to Create a Maintenance Strategy for Your Condominium’s Playground Equipment 

1. Establish a Park Maintenance Budget

Determine how much money from your budget should go towards the care and maintenance of your play areas and its equipment. To allocate a reasonable amount, consider the following costs you’ll need to cover each year:

• equipment inspections
• garbage management 
• snow removal
• landscaping
• equipment repairs and upgrades 

Many of the above tasks, such as snow removal, can probably be included in your overall building maintenance budget. However, equipment inspections, repairs and other park specific tasks will need further addressing. So, when reviewing the budget for annual general meetings, be sure there is room to give your park space the attention it deserves to remain in good working order.

 

2. Incorporate Regular Inspections

To ensure the safety and longevity of the playground equipment, regular inspections by the appropriate inspectors should be arranged by the condo board. These inspections are essential to identify any necessary repair tasks, monitor wear and tear of the equipment, and provide guidance on how to address potential safety hazards. 

In Ontario, playground equipment inspectors can be found at the Canadian Playground Safety Institute (CPSI)

3. Outsource Maintenance Tasks to Professionals

To ensure your park spaces are safe, clean and comfortable for your residents to enjoy, plan to outsource its maintenance tasks to trusted, reliable and experienced property managers. 

High-quality property management companies in Toronto will be able to provide the right maintenance services you need as well as guide you through any repairs, renovations or equipment replacement processes that may arise.

Entrusting the care and maintenance of your playground equipment and park spaces to experienced property managers will ensure it’s cared for properly and remains an enjoyable space for you and your residents.

4. Determine Your Park’s Laws and Rules

Establishing rules, regulations and behavioural expectations of residents while using common play equipment is essential to effectively manage your play spaces. Not only will it set much needed boundaries on how the equipment can be utilised, but it’s important to:

• Reduce the risk of injury
• Establish safe behaviours
• Ensure park users are comfortable
• Minimize liabilities and legal fees
• Assign accountability for maintenance tasks

Examples of what types of by-laws to include in your park maintenance strategy can include:

• Park hours
• Rules for usage (age limits, number of users allowances)
• Rules for who’s allowed to use the park (residents, visitors, etc)

Create Better Communities With ICC Property Management

Navigating the complexities of managing common play areas and playground equipment for your building can seem overwhelming at first glance. However, ensuring the safety and enjoyment of your community’s shared spaces will make your efforts worthwhile.

For expert advice and guidance on how to handle playground equipment maintenance for your condominium, reach out to ICC Property Management. We’re a top property management firm in the Greater Toronto Area and can help you foster a safe, active space your residents will be proud to call home.

Contact us today for more information on playground equipment maintenance and other property maintenance questions you may have.