Abstract:
Facility service operations in common areas of private housing projects are important factors contributing to the environment and facility conditions as well as the well-being of residents. However, these have not been standardized despite three private housing laws, namely the Act B.E. 2522, the Act B.E. 2543, and the Ministerial Regulation in relation to management registration. In addition, the B.E. 2545 only briefly states that common areas have to be in good condition, but the scopes and operation methods have not been clearly specified. Thus, this study aims to investigate the scopes, patterns, and operation methods in this regard. Data were collected from interviews with housing project managers and workers as well as observation of operations. The samples were 30 housing projects in Bangkok and its vicinity, classified into three groups: low-price projects (599,000-1,000,000 baht), mid-price projects (1,000,001-3,500,000 baht), and high-price projects (above 3,500,000 baht). The results indicated seven categories of common area service: 1) security, 2) gardening and landscaping, 3) road sweeping, 4) waste collection, 5) maintenance of the public utility, 6) maintenance of the clubhouse, and 7) insect elimination. In addition, the study found four services with the operation methods shared by all 30 housing projects: 1) security, which involved examination of entrance and exit of non-residents and patrolling the projects; 2) gardening and landscaping, which involved watering, branch trimming, and use of fertilizers and pesticides; 3) road sweeping, which involved sweeping leaves and eliminating weeds on the roads, lanes, aqueducts, and cesspools; and 4) waste collection, which involved twice-a-week collection by municipal officers. It was also found that the number of services and operation methods varied according to the physical characteristics and facilities of each project and that operation methods correlated with price. Specifically, the high-price projects had more operation procedures and methods than their low-and mid-range counterparts. For instance, in addition to examining the entrance and exit of non-residents and patrolling, the security service of the high-price projects included issuing visitor cards to non-residents, which had to be endorsed by residents. As for gardening and landscaping, projects during the sales period were taken better care of than those which were not, e.g. daily watering as well as leaf and weed elimination, and fertilizing and grass trimming every fortnight. With regards to waste collection, the low- and mid-price projects had municipal officers serve twice a week. In contrast, the high-price ones prepared their own workers, who, on a daily basis, collected wastes and put them in designated areas in front of the projects. The wastes were then collected by municipal officers twice a week. That is, the environment and hygiene in the high-price projects were better taken care of. In conclusion, basic facility service operations in common areas of private housing projects should include security, gardening and landscaping, road sweeping, and waste collection. Provision of additional services should depend on residents' needs and financial capabilities, since this will have an effect of costs and thus the rates of common area charge.