The festive season should be about family lunches, beach days and relaxing by the pool – not chasing plumbers on Christmas Eve or organising emergency lift repairs on New Year’s Day.
For strata managers, though, this time of year can be tricky. Trades are harder to book, many contractors work reduced hours, and residents are home more than usual. Facilities like pools, BBQs and common rooms see extra use, which puts more pressure on the building. If your emergency maintenance planning for strata isn’t solid, small issues can quickly turn into major problems and expensive after-hours callouts.
That’s where a clear Christmas maintenance checklist for strata managers comes in. With the right checks done before the holidays, you can prevent many emergencies, protect the building and help residents enjoy a safer, smoother Christmas and New Year.
Let’s walk through a practical, easy-to-use checklist you can adapt for your own strata scheme.
Start with Your Emergency Maintenance Plan
Before you look at any physical assets, make sure your emergency processes are clear and up to date. If something goes wrong at 11 pm on Boxing Day, the last thing you want is confusion about who to call or what counts as an emergency.
When done right, emergency maintenance planning for strata framework spells out responsibilities, contacts and steps in simple language. It also recognises that during the holidays, response times may be slower and you may need backup options.
Make sure you have, at a minimum:
- A current emergency contact list for key trades.
- Clear instructions for residents on how to report emergencies.
- A nominated contact from the committee or building management.
Once everyone knows the process, you’ve reduced a lot of the stress before anything even happens.
Double-Check Essential Services: Fire, Lifts and Alarms
Fire, lifts, and alarms are essential services and are the backbone of any strata building. Over the Christmas period, a lift failure or fire system fault can quickly disrupt dozens or hundreds of residents and be extremely costly to fix after hours.
Before the holidays, include essential services as a key part of your building maintenance before holidays program. You’re not just ticking compliance boxes; you’re making sure these systems will cope with increased use and still perform when needed.
Take time to:
- Confirm recent servicing has been completed and logged.
- Test basic functions like alarm sounders and lift call buttons.
- Chase up any outstanding defects or recommendations.
If you’re unsure about the status of any systems, talk to your service providers early rather than hoping for the best.
Protect Against Storms
In many parts of Australia, Christmas also means summer storms. Heavy rain, wind and debris can quickly overload gutters and drains, leading to water ingress, ceiling damage and flooded common areas. These are some of the most avoidable emergency callouts if you plan ahead.
As part of your building maintenance before the holidays, organise a thorough inspection and clean of the roof and drainage system. Even newer buildings can suffer if leaves and rubbish have built up over the spring.
Focus particularly on:
- Gutters and downpipes around key areas.
- Balcony and podium drains that can easily be blocked.
- Surface drains in car parks, courtyards and garden areas.
A few hours of preventative cleaning now is much cheaper than dealing with water damage and insurance claims in January.
Check Plumbing and Hot Water Systems
Plumbing problems have a special talent for appearing at the worst possible time. With more people showering, cooking and doing laundry, the strain on hot water systems and pipework increases significantly during the holidays.
Your emergency maintenance planning for strata should always include a quick plumbing review before Christmas. It doesn’t need to be complex, but it should be deliberate.
Work with your plumber to:
- Inspect the main hot water plant and pumps for leaks or unusual noises.
- Look at the age and condition of key components.
- Identify any recurring problem areas in the building.
You can also send residents a reminder to report dripping taps, constantly running toilets or weak hot water pressure before the holidays, so issues can be fixed while trades are easier to book.
Focus on Electrical Safety and Common Area Lighting
Christmas lights, portable fans and extra appliances can all add to the electrical load in the building. At the same time, good lighting is essential for safety and security, especially with more people coming and going later at night.
Making electrical checks part of your Christmas maintenance checklist for strata managers is a smart move. You’re aiming to reduce the risk of power issues and ensure residents can move around safely.
Key actions might include:
- Testing lights in stairwells, foyers, paths and car parks.
- Confirming exit and emergency lights are working.
- Having an electrician look at any known problem circuits.
You can also add a short safety note in your Christmas communication, reminding residents not to overload power boards and to check their older decorative lights.
Get Pools, BBQs and Shared Facilities Holiday-Ready
For many residents, the highlight of the festive season is lounging by the pool or firing up the BBQ with friends and family. These spaces are fantastic for building community, but they also carry extra risk when they’re busy and not properly maintained.
As part of your building maintenance before the holidays, give all shared facilities a close look. You want them to be safe, tidy and ready for heavier use, not patched up in a rush after something goes wrong.
Walk through each area and consider:
- Pool safety (fencing, gates, depth markers and signage).
- Condition of BBQs, furniture and shade structures.
- Cleaning schedules and bin placement for high-use days.
Simple, well-placed signage about rules related to no glass, supervision of children, and noise curfews can also head off many potential complaints.
Review Security and Access Control
With deliveries, visitors and residents travelling in and out, the festive season can be a busy time for your building’s access points. Unfortunately, it can also be a time when opportunistic theft and unauthorised access increase.
Security should form part of how to prevent emergency callouts in strata at Christmas, especially those related to break-ins and damage. You don’t need to turn the building into a fortress, but you do want the basics working properly.
Review your security by:
- Testing access fobs, intercoms and garage or gate operation.
- Checking CCTV coverage of mail rooms, entrances and car parks.
- Making sure doors and gates close and latch properly.
A short reminder to residents about not letting strangers follow them in and collecting packages promptly can go a long way, too.
8. Plan for Extra Waste and Recycling
Around Christmas and New Year, rubbish volumes always spike. Packaging, party waste and post-Christmas clear-outs can quickly overwhelm normal bin capacity, leading to overflowing waste rooms and unhappy residents.
Build waste into your Christmas maintenance checklist for strata managers, so you’re not reacting after the fact. Planning ahead makes a big difference.
Consider:
- Arranging additional collections if your council or contractor offers them.
- Putting up simple signs in bin rooms about what goes where.
- Scheduling post-holiday bulk rubbish options if practical.
You could also include a quick waste and recycling guide in your pre-Christmas communication, especially for new residents who may not know the building’s system yet.
Communicate Early and Clearly with Residents
Good communication is one of the easiest and most powerful tools in how to prevent emergency callouts in strata at Christmas. When residents understand what’s being done, who to contact and what to expect, they’re less likely to panic or escalate minor issues.
Think of your pre-Christmas message as part noticeboard, part reassurance. It doesn’t need to be long, but it should cover the essentials.
Include information such as:
- Emergency and non-emergency contact details.
- Any changes to building operations or contractor schedules.
- Reminders about key rules (noise, parking, guests, pool use).
Using digital channels like emails, portals, or apps ensures residents can easily find this information again if they need it.
Use Technology to Turn Your Checklist into a Living Plan
Finally, even the best checklist can fall apart if it lives in someone’s inbox or on a piece of paper that gets lost. This is where technology really helps strata managers stay in control.
A dedicated strata maintenance management platform, like i4T Maintenance, lets you turn your Christmas maintenance checklist for strata buildings into a living plan you can reuse and improve each year.
With the right system, you can:
- Create tasks and assign them to building managers or contractors.
- Track work orders and see progress in real time.
- Store photos, reports and invoices in one central location.
Over time, you also build up a record of what typically goes wrong at Christmas and New Year in your buildings, which helps refine your emergency maintenance planning for strata for future years.
Christmas and New Year don’t have to mean chaos for strata managers. With thoughtful planning, clear communication and smart use of technology, you can significantly reduce the number of emergency callouts and keep your buildings running smoothly while residents enjoy the holidays.
By working through this Christmas maintenance checklist for strata managers, from emergency plans and essential services, to roofs, plumbing, electrical systems, shared facilities, security, waste and communication, you move from being reactive to proactive. You’re not just fixing problems; you’re preventing them.
If you’d like to simplify all of this, i4T Maintenance is designed to help strata managers stay organised and in control:
- Build and reuse a digital building maintenance checklist before the holidays each year.
- Centralise work orders, contractor details and resident requests.
- Track the status of every job and keep a clear audit trail.
Instead of juggling emails, spreadsheets and phone calls, you can manage everything from one platform, which means fewer surprises, faster responses and a much calmer festive season.
Want a smarter way to manage Christmas maintenance?
Book a demo of i4T Maintenance – Strata Maintenance Management Software and see how it can help you prevent emergencies, reduce callouts and keep your strata community safe and happy over the holidays.
FAQs
It helps strata managers prepare for higher building usage, seasonal risks and reduced contractor availability. A clear checklist reduces emergencies, improves safety and keeps residents more satisfied over the holidays.
Aim to start 4-6 weeks before Christmas. This gives enough time to book trades, complete inspections, fix issues, and communicate with residents before everyone gets busy.
Common issues include plumbing leaks, blocked drains, hot water failures, lift faults, power outages and security problems such as broken gates or attempted break-ins.
Combine proactive inspections and servicing, clear emergency maintenance planning for strata, and good resident communication. Catching small issues early is far easier than dealing with full-blown emergencies.
i4T Maintenance brings all maintenance tasks, work orders and communications into one system. That makes it easier to follow your Christmas maintenance checklist, coordinate contractors and respond quickly when something does go wrong.