Enhancing Maintenance Culture: Minimising Cost on Ghanaian Domestic Buildings: Case Study of South District in Volta Region

ABSTRACT 

Maintenance culture plays very important role in Ghanaian domestic buildings. However, many domestic/residential buildings are often inadequately maintained and windows and doors, electrical wires and fittings, leaking roofs, cracks, peeled off paint and other building elements and facilities frequently show evidence of lack of maintenance. The study examined the maintenance issues in Sogakope, Tefle, Agbakope and Dabala communities at South Tongu in Volta Region. Three different types of domestic buildings were used for data collection and analyses, namely, single rooms with or without porch, hall and chamber and two bedroom self-contained. A total of one hundred (100) buildings were surveyed. The owner/caretaker of each building was interviewed and two tenants/occupants were also supplied with a questionnaire. Two officials at the South Tongu District Assembly were also interviewed. The study revealed after assessing the conditions of the individual elements of the buildings that a few of the individual buildings were in good condition and needed minor repairs and maintenance works. Almost all of these buildings were buildings that were less than ten (10) years registering 26% of the buildings. Buildings that were over thirty (30) years, registering 20% were in really bad shape and needed major repair and maintenance works. Also about 54% of the buildings between the ages of ten (10) and thirty (30) years, largely showed neglect of proper maintenance. The major causes for poor maintenance identified in the research are inadequate funds with high maintenance cost, poor quality of building materials used in constructing the buildings, lack of interest in maintenance on the part of owners and lack of maintenance policy. The study concludes by enumerating a number of recommendations which included; there should be a clear, written agreement between landlords and tenants on who holds the responsibility of maintenance of the buildings in which tenants occupy and the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing should institute departments across the country to oversee the maintenance issues of domestic buildings in the country.