When a newly appointed property manager took over two residential blocks near Regent’s Park, they quickly realised something wasn’t adding up. Water temperatures were low, heating was patchy and worst of all, the information coming from the existing contractors wasn’t building confidence.

Despite monthly callouts to fix boiler-related issues, there was no long-term improvement. Tenants were unhappy, and it was clear a fresh set of eyes was needed. That’s when BASSE got involved.

The property manager inherited a building with long-standing issues and very little clarity. Heating was unreliable, hot water performance was down and no one could give a clear answer as to why.

On top of that, there was a steady stream of reactive callouts – often out-of-hours – which meant rising costs and no real resolution. The client needed someone who could get to the bottom of things, not just patch things up.

At BASSE, we don’t just treat symptoms – we look for the root cause. From the start, we knew this wasn’t a quick fix. It needed time, patience and a proper look at the whole system. Here’s what we did.

We started with a full site survey to understand how the system was set up, what shape it was in and how it had been run over the years. We quickly uncovered several red flags.

• Plate heat exchangers hadn’t been serviced in over six years.
• Three boiler modules had been switched off to “save energy” – but were actually faulty.
• Some valves had been manually disconnected.
• BMS (Building Management System) controls were in ‘hand’ rather than ‘auto’.
• Circulating pumps had been turned off entirely at the pump.

Rather than just ticking boxes, we got stuck in, digging around until we understood exactly what was happening  – or not happening. We brought in trusted specialists where needed, spoke directly to manufacturers to understand how the plant should be performing and began the process of resetting the system back to how it was originally designed to work.

By focusing on root causes, not just reactive repairs, we’ve already seen significant improvements, including – 

• Improved water temperatures. 
• Resolved boiler faults. 
• Improved BMS design criteria.

While the project is still ongoing, the improvements are already being seen across the building.

Fewer Complaints – Water temperatures are back up and heating is stabilising, giving residents more reliable service.

Reduced Costs on the Horizon – Once the system is fully operational, the property manager will benefit from –

• Lower spend on out-of-hours reactive callouts.
• Improved gas efficiency.
• Extended lifespan of critical components.

This site had seen plenty of short-term fixes before we arrived, including temporary workarounds that ignored how the system was meant to function as a whole. Each quick fix conflicted with the last, creating layer upon layer of problems.

Our approach was to pause, strip it back and focus on understanding the system properly. Only by doing that could we start making changes that would actually last.

Sometimes, buildings don’t need another emergency callout. They need someone who’ll stop, look at the bigger picture and get to the root of the problem. That’s what we do at BASSE.

If your property is dealing with ongoing service issues, let’s talk about how we can help get things back on track. Call our team today on 03335 677560 or email us via contact@basse.co.uk to learn more.