The Importance of Estate Caretakers

Caretakers and COVID crisis

This period of crisis that we are living through has been a learning period for many of us. We have come to understand the real value of services such as rubbish collection, carers for the elderly, delivery drivers, bus drivers among the many other key jobs that keep our lives on track. The same can be said for estate cleaners and, of course, for estate caretakers.

Estate Caretakers

Estate caretakers are one of the most valuable assets a residential or commercial estate can have at the best of times, and more so in a time of crisis. The regular presence of a caretaker means that cleaning and general maintenance issues on an estate are dealt with promptly, efficiently and usually before they become critical or more expensive. A small leak can be stopped as part of a daily routine, rather than left until someone reports it, by which time a whole host of other damage might need to be fixed. Issues like vandalism, graffiti, broken door entry systems, smashed glazing, fly-tipped rubbish can all be swiftly and effectively dealt with by an estate caretaker, without the need for referrals which take time and cost money.

In residential estates in particular, estate caretakers are a vital point of contact between the estate management and administrative team - whether in government or private housing - and the residents. The estate caretaker becomes a link, someone who can become aware of problems being experienced by elderly and vulnerable residents, for example, or of breaches of lease or tenancy agreements. Caretakers often develop a very good rapport with residents of a housing estate and this can go a long way to bring about strong resident engagement, community spirit, and long term investment in an estate.

At Advanced Property Care, we have found over the years that the most important element of an estate is the people that live or work there. Whether they pay rent or service charges, whether they work there or live there, it is their engagement with their surroundings that counts most of all. Our caretaking service combines this understanding with our skills in building maintenance and tenancy management, all for the benefit of our client estates. We offer bespoke services for residential estates, depending on the needs of the estate. Large estates might require a team of full time caretakers, while smaller estates might require a basic service just once or twice a week (enough to keep an eye on things and pick up any problems, but at the same time, perfectly affordable).

During this time of lockdown, as Gibraltar slowly and carefully starts to ease restrictions, we want to applaud all those caretakers that have made sure, day in day out, that those lights were on, that the lifts were working, that the rubbish was removed from the bin rooms, that the graffiti was scrubbed off and the dog fouling cleaned up, that Mrs Jones, on her own for two months, got a daily call through her door entry system to make sure she was okay, that all the handrails and door handles were disinfected daily, that the plants were watered and people’s homes, where they had to spend so much time, were looked after. Among all the other vital workers in our community, we are proud of all our estate caretakers!