Retirement living
Maintenance and compliance that respects residents’ homes
A retirement village is first and foremost a community of people’s homes. JKS London provides electrical compliance, maintenance and refurbishment for later-living operators in a way that keeps residents safe, comfortable and informed.
Our clients include Inspired Villages Group (IVG), and our work in the sector ranges from routine life-safety testing to ensuite bathroom refurbishments and repairs to leisure facilities such as the pool at IVG’s Bramshott village.
Operators need a contractor who understands both the technical requirements and the human side of the job. We bring the two together.
How we work
Resident-sensitive working as standard
Many residents are older, some live with health conditions or limited mobility, and all of them deserve to feel at ease in their own homes. Our approach is built around that.
DBS-checked engineers
Engineers working in retirement communities are DBS checked, carry identification and are briefed on the village’s own procedures before they start.
Clear communication
We work with the village management team to give residents advance notice of visits, explain what will happen and keep appointments. Engineers take the time to answer questions politely and patiently.
Clean and tidy
We protect floors and furnishings, control dust, remove waste daily and leave every apartment and communal area as we found it or better.
Minimal disruption
Noisy work and supply interruptions are scheduled at agreed times, avoiding mealtimes, activities and rest periods wherever possible.
Safety first
Work areas are segregated, trailing cables and trip hazards are controlled, and we never leave life-safety systems out of service without agreed temporary measures.
Familiar faces
Our extensive apprentice programme and high staff retention, which stood at 99% in early 2020, mean residents often see the same engineers on return visits.
What we deliver
Services for retirement villages
Retirement villages combine private apartments, communal lounges, restaurants, wellbeing suites and grounds. That mix brings a wide range of building services, and we can look after most of them under one arrangement.
Ensuite bathroom refurbishments
Upgrading ensuites in occupied apartments, including the associated electrical work such as lighting, extract fans and shaver points, together with building and fabric elements. Each refurbishment is planned around the resident, with access times and temporary arrangements agreed in advance.
Redecoration
Redecoration of apartments between occupancies and of communal corridors, lounges and dining areas, phased so that shared spaces remain usable throughout.
Emergency lighting and fire alarm
Testing and maintenance of emergency lighting to BS 5266 and support for fire detection and alarm systems, so that residents can be warned and escape routes stay lit if the power fails.
Nurse call and door entry
Maintenance and repair of door entry, access control and security systems, and electrical support for nurse call and assistive call systems that residents rely on to summon help.
Pool and leisure facilities
Repairs and maintenance in pools, spas and wellbeing suites, where water, humidity and chemicals make electrical safety especially important. See our Bramshott pool repairs case study.
Planned preventive maintenance
A structured PPM schedule for electrical, mechanical and life-safety systems, with reactive cover for faults and breakdowns on the terms set out in your contract.
Beyond these core services, we can help with external and car-park lighting, communal kitchen and restaurant equipment supplies, lighting upgrades in corridors and lounges, and the electrical side of new facilities as villages grow. Because one team covers electrical, mechanical and building fabric work, smaller jobs that would otherwise need several trades can often be completed in a single visit, which means fewer strangers in residents’ homes and less co-ordination for your village team.
Compliance
Protecting residents and operators
Retirement-village operators carry significant responsibilities. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained to prevent danger, and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places duties on the responsible person for fire precautions, including emergency lighting and fire detection, in communal and non-domestic areas.
Residents may take longer to respond to an alarm or to leave a building, so reliable life-safety systems matter even more than usual. Fire strategies in later-living schemes often depend on detection, alarm and emergency lighting working exactly as designed.
We help operators stay on top of these duties with a clear testing programme, prompt remedial works and records that are easy to present to insurers, auditors and residents’ representatives. Read our guide to electrical and life-safety compliance in retirement villages for more detail.
Your compliance checklist
What a typical village programme covers
Every village is different, but most planned programmes we discuss with operators include the following elements.
- Periodic inspection and testing (EICR) of landlord and communal installations to BS 7671.
- Monthly functional and annual full-duration emergency lighting tests to BS 5266, with logbook records.
- Support for fire alarm system testing and maintenance, co-ordinated with the village’s fire risk assessment.
- PAT testing of equipment in communal areas, kitchens, offices and leisure facilities.
- Planned maintenance of door entry, CCTV and security systems.
- Electrical checks in pool plant rooms, spas and wellbeing suites.
- Asset registers and schematics kept up to date as works are completed.
- Reactive repairs, with response arrangements agreed in your contract.
Tip: Combining testing visits, such as EICR and emergency lighting, reduces the number of times residents are disturbed and makes better use of access arrangements.
Our process
Planning works in an occupied village
Most of our work in retirement communities takes place while residents are at home and communal facilities are in use. Careful planning is what makes that possible.
Understand the village
We meet the village management team, walk the site and learn how the community runs day to day: mealtimes, activities, quiet periods, access arrangements and any residents who need particular consideration.
Agree the plan
We set out the scope, programme and any supply interruptions, and agree how residents will be told. Where works affect individual apartments, we agree appointments through the management team rather than arriving unannounced.
Protect and segregate
Before starting, we protect floors and finishes, set up safe work areas and plan routes for materials and waste that avoid busy communal spaces.
Deliver and communicate
Our engineers keep the village team updated as work progresses and flag anything unexpected straight away, so decisions can be made quickly.
Hand over properly
We test and certify completed work, clean up thoroughly and provide certificates, records and updated asset information for your files.
The same approach applies whether we are replacing a single light fitting in a resident’s hallway or refurbishing a run of ensuite bathrooms across a whole building.
In their words
What residents and clients say
Feedback from the communities we work in matters to us. Here is what people have said about working with JKS London.
Get started
Talk to us about your village
Whether you need a single refurbishment, a full planned maintenance programme or a contractor you can rely on for life-safety testing, we are happy to help. We offer a free, no-obligation site visit to understand your village, your residents and your priorities. We will then put forward a proposal that reflects how your village actually runs.
You can also learn more about our maintenance, installations and refurbishment and facilities management services, or browse our case studies.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Are your engineers DBS checked?
Yes. Engineers who work in retirement communities are DBS checked, and we brief them on working respectfully in residents' homes and shared spaces.
Which retirement-living operators have you worked for?
Our clients include Inspired Villages Group (IVG), for whom we have carried out work such as the leisure pool repairs at the Bramshott retirement village in Hampshire.
Can you refurbish ensuite bathrooms in occupied apartments?
Yes. We plan ensuite refurbishments around each resident, agree access times and temporary arrangements in advance, and keep dust, noise and time on site to a minimum.
Do you maintain fire alarms, emergency lighting and door entry systems?
Yes. We test and maintain emergency lighting and fire alarm systems, and maintain door entry and security systems as part of planned or reactive maintenance programmes.
Can you take on a full planned maintenance programme for a village?
Yes. We can build a planned preventive maintenance schedule covering electrical, mechanical and life-safety systems, with reactive cover and reporting agreed in your contract.
Arrange a free, no-obligation site visit
Tell us about your building and compliance needs — our team will get back to you within one working day.
