Preventive HVAC Maintenance Checklist for Property Managers

You cannot schedule what you have not listed. Walk every building once and record each unit.

• Building, suite and location, including roof access notes
• Make, model and serial number from the model plate
• Install date, fuel type and refrigerant
• Filter size and quantity
• Who the unit serves and whether any tenant has special needs, such as a server closet
• Last service date and open issues

Photograph each plate. A clean spreadsheet covers a small portfolio, and a maintenance software system makes sense once you are tracking many buildings. Either way, put warranty paperwork and permits in the same place.

ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180, the national standard practice for inspecting and maintaining commercial building HVAC systems, gives the formal version of this approach if an owner wants a recognized framework.

Mixed portfolios bring in furnaces, swamp coolers and split systems, each with a different seasonal job. Add these to the calendar:

• Spring: swamp cooler startup, or AC checks, unit by unit
• Fall: furnace checks, CO alarm tests and swamp cooler shutdowns
• Turnover: filter change, thermostat test and a condensate drain check

The CPSC says to install CO alarms on every level of a home and outside sleeping areas, which makes alarm tests a sensible line on a fall list for fuel-burning units.

Know which rules apply where. Albuquerque's December 2024 ordinance added a cooling requirement to the Uniform Housing Code. Reports differ on whether it reaches all housing or mainly rentals, so confirm current status and enforcement with the City of Albuquerque. It applies only within the City. Parts of the South Valley sit in unincorporated Bernalillo County, so confirm jurisdiction by address before you assume a City rule or permit office applies.

A maintenance program is a budget choice, so make each call deliberately.

• Quarterly or twice a year. PNNL's table leans quarterly. Two visits a year cost less and cover the seasonal changeovers, but they leave spring dust and summer filter loading to chance. Sites with demanding tenants or hard-running equipment earn the extra visits.
• Staff or contractor. PNNL says on-site staff can handle visual inspections and designated routine tasks, while repairs belong with a trained, authorized HVAC provider. Staff filter changes trim the invoice, and they also put your people on roofs and make the log your job.
• Readings or a fast visit. Recording amperage and supply temperature takes time on every unit, so expect to pay for it. Those numbers are also what turns a stack of service tickets into a replacement plan.
• Run to failure. A small unit over a storage room may not justify a full schedule, and accepting that risk can be a sound call. Never apply that logic to gas-fired equipment or a unit serving a tenant with critical needs.
• One provider or several. A single provider gives you one record format across buildings. Bidding each site may lower the price, at the cost of scattered history.