A building caretaker’s job changes with the seasons, and winter is when the list gets longest. Slip prevention, matting management, and daily hazard checks all move from “nice to have” to essential the moment the first rain-soaked or icy morning shows up. Strata councils that don’t spell this out clearly often find gaps only after something’s already gone wrong.
Why Winter Duties Need to Be Explicit
A caretaker’s core responsibilities, cleaning common areas, light maintenance, general oversight, don’t automatically expand to cover winter-specific tasks unless those tasks are written into the role. A council that assumes “the caretaker handles that” without ever confirming it in writing is often surprised to learn the caretaker assumed the opposite. We cover this broader issue in our guide to writing a caretaker job description.
What Should Be on the Winter List
Daily hazard walkthroughs. During active winter weather, a caretaker should be checking entrances, walkways, and parkade ramps at the start of each day, and again if conditions change, specifically looking for ice, standing water, or other slip hazards.
Proactive de-icing. Applying salt or ice melt ahead of a forecasted freeze is more effective, and safer, than waiting until ice has already formed. This requires the caretaker to actually check the forecast, not just react to what they see outside.
Entrance mat management. Mats saturate quickly during wet weather and stop doing their job once soaked through. A caretaker should be rotating or wringing out mats through the day during heavy rain, not just checking them once each morning.
Reporting hazards that need more than a quick fix. A caretaker isn’t expected to fix every winter issue personally, standing water from a clogged drain, for instance, may need a plumber or the strata’s cleaning contractor. But they should have a clear process for flagging it quickly rather than letting it sit.
Coordinating with snow removal and cleaning contractors. If your building has separate contracts for snow removal and general cleaning, the caretaker is often the person who needs to confirm both are actually happening as scheduled, and flag it if either falls behind.
Documentation Matters More in Winter
Keeping a simple daily log, date, time, conditions observed, action taken, gives your strata council a record that both demonstrates due diligence and helps identify patterns, like a specific entrance that consistently ices up before others. This documentation also matters for liability, which we cover in our guide to snow and ice removal liability.
Setting Expectations Before Winter Arrives
The best time to clarify winter caretaker duties is before the first cold snap, not during it. A short conversation, or a written addendum to the caretaker’s regular duties, ensures everyone, the caretaker, the council, and residents, knows what to expect once the weather turns.
EcoPlanet Property Services provides building caretaker services across Greater Vancouver with clearly defined seasonal responsibilities, so your council never has to guess what’s covered. See our building caretaker services page or request a free quote to talk through winter coverage for your building.
