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Annual Maintenance Inspections

Starting in October through winter, CTC maintenance conducts the University's required yearly check-ups to ensure the quality of your home's infrastructure and appliances. You will receive an email prior with the exact day your unit will be inspected between the unspecified hours of 8:30 am – 3:00 pm. You do not need to be home during the inspection.

Why Do I Need an Inspection?

The University of Minnesota requires yearly inspections to ensure the expected levels of health and safety of each unit is maintained. Additionally, these inspections act as a health check-up for your house: like an annual physical from a doctor, yearly checkups can catch issues early and give you a peace of mind having the expertise and reassurance from our maintenance team look things over. Even the most vigilant occupant can, from time to time, forget about requesting some routine home repairs or not even notice a problem. That’s why an Annual Inspection will help you keep your home in tiptop condition and prevent it from suffering serious, long-term and expensive damage from minor issues that should be addressed now. 

When is My Inspection?

Our maintenance Annual Inspections will start in September and last through winter (March/April) until all buildings and units are complete. You will receive an email prior with the exact day your unit will be inspected between the unspecified hours of 8:30 am – 3:00 pm. You do not need to be home during the inspection. If you wish to be present, you can remain at home on the assigned inspection date until a maintenance team member arrives. 

Why unspecified scheduling?

The schedule of Annual Inspections is indefinite and cannot be precisely identified: our maintenance team’s workload varies depending on the amount of time spent in each apartment per inspection and daily work loads with unforeseen emergencies. Thus, we are unable to schedule exact inspection dates far in advance nor indicate a specific time on the date once provided.

Preparation

  1. Leave your front screen door unlocked from 8:30-3:00 pm on provided inspection date.
  2. All animals must be crated or caged during the inspection. 
  3. Confirm all smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors have batteries and do not have any evidences of tampering. If not, your CTC account will be charged an automatic $50 fee.
  4. If you believe your home presents any hazard to health, safety, and fire risk due to uncleanliness or unsustainable practices, then start restoring original conditions of sanitation and safety in order to meet standard regulations. This will facilitate the inspection process for both you and our maintenance team. 

Health & Safety Update

You do not need to be home during the inspection, but if you will be home, please observe the precautions below. If you wish to be present, you can remain at home on the assigned inspection date until a maintenance team member arrives.

All members of your home must be in good health, have no fever, and have not been exposed to, or quarantined because of COVID in the 14-day time period preceding the Annual Inspection. If this health requirement cannot be met due to sickness -- regardless if the individual is present or not for the inspection -- kindly let us know. We will do our best to try and inspect another day when possible.

New Move-ins

You will not have an annual inspection if you moved in within the last six months before your building’s inspection date (maintenance inspected your unit before you moved in!). If you need to report something amiss, please place a maintenance request via your RentCafe account.

What Will be Inspected?

Maintenance will examine (and fix if needed) your home’s exterior and interior structural components to verify all systems and features are working properly, as well as ensuring the cleanliness, security, and safety precautions meet building code and regulations.

a) Structural Components + Exterior/Interior Features:

  • Batteries in smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide alarms.
  • Fire extinguishers.
  • All windows, window seals, doors, locks, screens, ceilings, floors and walls
  • Caulking in showers, tubs, and sinks
  • Heating, plumbing, and electrical systems

b) Sanitation + Safety: 

Maintenance will also report if your home is significantly unsanitary or unsafe to a degree in which it presents hazards to health, safety, and fire risk. This includes batteries removed from, or in any way tamper inoperable, a required carbon monoxide alarm and smoke alarm (a lease violation subject to an automatic $50 fee). Other frequent infractions consist of gas stove tops covered in aluminum foil and evident grease build-up due to the high risk of fire and pest invasion.

Review a Sample Inspection Report

Explore a Sample Inspection Report, which looks similar to the one you will receive following your inspection. While thorough and primarily intended for maintenance’s use, the inspection report is a great reference to gain insight on exactly what our maintenance team will be evaluating in their inspections.

Post-Inspection: Interpreting My Report

You will receive an email including a detailed report immediately after the inspection. The report will provide an Overall Inspection Status (either pass or fail), as well as a rating for each feature examined (pass, fail, cleaning, damage). Regardless of pass or fail in overall status, maintenance will, if applicable, generate a work order after the inspection for any remaining services needed. If failed in the overall status, you will receive a notification of a re-inspection date that you must address all issues by.

Follow-up Work Orders

If there are indicated maintenance items on the report that need to be repaired in the report after the inspection, you will receive a notification that a work order was created for the service and a technician will typically complete it within the week. Please contact the office if you require a specific time or have questions. The generated work order following the inspection will not include chargeable services; the resident must create the work order to request chargeable services (accepting the respective fee) for maintenance to complete the work. 

Chargeable Services

Residents must create their own work orders to request light bulb replacements ($4) and other chargeable services, such as blinds or screen replacements ($14), online via their RentCafe account. All chargeable services including light bulbs must be completed by CTC Maintenance due to the age and uniqueness of our buildings, in addition to safety purposes. The respective amount will automatically add to your CTC Account upon work order completion of a chargeable service. View full chargeable service list via our CTC Resident Handbook and Fee Schedule.

Contact the Office

Feel free to contact the office for any and all of your questions, and we are happy to elaborate further on the University's required annual inspections!