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Commercial · Strip Plazas & Commercial LandlordsStrip Plaza & Commercial Landlord HVAC
Who pays is the first question in strip plaza and commercial landlord HVAC, and under a typical net lease the answer is split: the tenant maintains and repairs the rooftop unit serving its premises, while the landlord replaces it and amortizes the capital cost back over time. Your lease governs, so read it before approving a repair. What we add is the record that makes the split workable — every unit tagged, dated service reports, and a five-year replacement schedule built from each unit's age and condition.
Most plaza disputes are about evidence, not lease wording. A tenant says the unit was failing when they moved in, the landlord says it was never maintained, and neither has a document. A dated service history — filter changes, belt and coil condition, combustion readings, photos — shows whether a failed compressor is the natural end of a maintained unit or the result of four years of neglect, and that distinction usually decides who writes the cheque. The lease questions themselves are covered in who is responsible for HVAC in a commercial lease.
A plaza is simple mechanically and messy administratively. Each unit typically has its own rooftop unit and its own Enbridge gas meter, the roof was never labelled, and after three tenant changes nobody is sure which unit serves the nail salon. We tag each rooftop unit, electrical disconnect and gas meter with the suite it serves, draw a roof plan, and read every unit's age from its serial number. That inventory becomes a five-year replacement schedule: units past 15 years, or with a failing heat exchanger or compressor, go in years one and two, and the rest follow by condition.
The roof is the most expensive thing HVAC work can damage. Membrane warranties normally require any new penetration or curb flashing to be done by the roofer who holds the warranty, so that roofer is booked into the replacement schedule before anything is cut. Walk pads from the hatch to each unit protect the membrane from years of service traffic, and we check that curb flashing is sound and condensate is piped to a drain instead of running across the roof. When several units are due together, one shared crane day covers all of them with a single mobilization.
Vacant units need attention too. When a tenant leaves, the gas and hydro accounts usually fall back to the landlord, and the space still needs minimum heat through winter so water and sprinkler lines do not freeze. A turnover is also the cheapest moment for a lease and turnover HVAC inspection, before the next tenant's fit-out hides the ductwork. For multi-site contracts and reporting see property management HVAC; for the service itself see commercial HVAC, or contact the shop with the plaza address and the number of units.
Equipment we install and service
Small packaged gas-heat, electric-cool units, usually one per tenant and often of four different ages and brands on a single roof. Coil condition, heat exchanger condition and compressor health are recorded for each, because those three decide where it lands on the schedule.
A meter bank at the back of the building and a gas line across the roof to each unit. Rusted pipe, missing supports and unlabelled shut-offs are common on older plazas, and a labelled shut-off per suite is what lets one unit be serviced without touching the others.
The curb and its flashing are where the HVAC trade and the roofing trade meet. We report cracked flashing, abandoned curbs left open under a tarp and service panels lying on the membrane, since each one is a leak that later gets blamed on the wrong party.
Programmable thermostats inside each suite, with a locked minimum-heat setting in vacant ones. A remote-reading thermostat in an empty unit costs little next to a frozen sprinkler line discovered after a long weekend in January.
What goes wrong in these buildings
- The tenant says the rooftop unit is my problem and the lease says it is theirs.
- I have twelve units on the roof and no idea which one serves which store.
- A tenant's contractor cut a hole in the roof and now the roofer will not honour the warranty.
- Three units failed in the same summer and none of it was in the budget.
- A vacant unit froze over the holidays because someone turned the heat off.
- Every tenant uses a different contractor and nobody sends me a report.
How it works
Each unit gets a suite tag, a nameplate photo and a condition rating, and the roof plan shows units, gas line, hatch and drains. The result is one spreadsheet with make, model, serial, age and tonnage per suite that a lender, insurer or buyer can read.
Whether the landlord or the tenants hold the contract, visits follow one checklist and every visit produces a dated report per unit. Reports go to whoever the lease makes responsible, with a copy kept on the landlord's file.
Units due in the same year are grouped onto one lift, the warranty roofer is booked for the flashing, and tenants receive notice of the shutdown window. The five-year schedule is revised after each season's reports, so the budget follows condition instead of guesswork.
Common questions
How do I find out how old a rooftop unit is?
The manufacture date is encoded in the serial number on the nameplate, and every manufacturer uses a different format, so the year might be the first two digits on one brand and a letter code on another. Send a clear photo of the nameplate and we will decode it. Where the plate has weathered off, component date codes inside the cabinet give a close estimate.
Should the landlord or the tenants hold the maintenance contract?
Either works if the lease supports it. A single landlord-held contract, recovered through operating costs, gives uniform service and one set of reports across the roof. Tenant-held contracts cost the landlord nothing to administer but leave gaps whenever a tenant skips a season. Whichever you choose, require a copy of every service report as a lease condition.
Can a tenant's contractor work on my roof?
Yes, on your terms, and those belong in the lease or a tenant manual: advance notice, proof of liability insurance and WSIB clearance, a TSSA licence for any gas work, your roofer for every penetration, and a copy of the report afterwards. Keeping the roof hatch locked and logging who goes up is the simplest control a landlord has.
What does amortizing a replacement mean for my tenants?
Under many net leases the landlord pays for the new unit, then recovers the cost in instalments over its useful life through additional rent, sometimes with interest. A tenant pays only for the years it occupies the suite. The wording varies, so have your lawyer confirm it. We supply the invoice and the unit-to-suite allocation the calculation needs.
Related
Keep the building running.
One licensed team for installs, maintenance contracts and 2 AM calls.