Maintenance costs jump

Citation

(1999), "Maintenance costs jump", Facilities, Vol. 17 No. 7/8. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.1999.06917gab.004

Maintenance costs jump

Maintenance costs jump

Keywords Buildings, Costs

Maintenance cost increases are at their highest level since 1989 due to increased wage awards, particularly in the private sector.

The BMI All-in Maintenance Cost Index rose 5.1 per cent in the year to third quarter 1998, outstripping the Retail Price Index, which rose by 3.3 per cent (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 Maintenance cost inflation (annual percentage change)

The Maintenance Materials Cost Index rose by just 0.3 per cent over the same period.

The BMI forecast is for maintenance costs to increase by 4.9 per cent over the next 12 months, from third quarter 1998 to third quarter 1999 (see Table I).

The main pressure on costs will come from the private sector where wage awards have already been settled at well above the rate of inflation for most trades.

Materials prices have risen by only 6.1 per cent since the 2nd quarter 1995, compared with a rise of over 10 per cent in inflation. A strong pound has kept down the cost of imported materials and some materials, such as timber, steel and copper, have seen no price increases in over two years.

BMI Quarterly Cost Briefing of Building Maintenance Costs is available as part of the BMI subscription service, or individually priced £65.00 each, from BMI, 12 Great George Street, Parliament Square, London SW1P 3AD.

Notes

1. 1.

   BMI collects and analyses data on property occupancy costs from subscribers. These are published as individual data sheets, as well as forming the basis of special reports. BMI also responds to the emergence of new and important topics and to changing economic situations by publishing special reports for subscribers on a wide variety of statistical and technical subjects.

2. 2.

   BMI is a subscription based service for professionals concerned with cost effective property occupancy and facilities management.

3. 3.

   For further information, contact BMI, 12 Great George Street, Parliament Square, London SW1P 3AD. Tel: 0171 222 7000.

4. 4.

   The BMI is a service of the RICS Building Cost Information Service Ltd.

5. 5.

   The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors represents some 90,000 members working in six property markets: commercial property, construction, infrastructure, minerals, residential and rural property.

Over 40,000 RICS members work in the construction industry.