Glossary · Last reviewed June 2026
What is Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)?
Definition
Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) is a scheduled programme of property inspections, servicing and minor repairs carried out at set intervals — monthly, quarterly or annually — to prevent larger faults developing, extend the life of building components and keep a property legally compliant, as opposed to reactive maintenance which waits for something to fail before acting.
For landlords, a PPM programme typically covers: annual gas safety inspection and boiler service (CP12), five-yearly electrical inspection (EICR), seasonal checks on gutters and heating before winter, and quarterly or bi-annual condition reviews to catch minor issues before they become expensive. Documenting each visit creates the compliance audit trail that Awaab's Law and the Renters' Rights Act 2025 increasingly expect.
The business case is straightforward: a boiler that is serviced annually fails far less often than one that is only looked at when it breaks. For landlords with portfolios, PPM converts unpredictable emergency call-out costs into predictable scheduled spending and reduces void frequency by catching deterioration between tenancies.
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