A building inspection checklist is the record of a periodic walk around a building by the person responsible for it: the outside, the roof as far as it can be seen safely, the shared areas, the fire and life safety equipment, the services, access and security. This one is written for offices, shops, mixed-use blocks and apartment buildings, folds away the parts a building does not have, and you can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Who this checklist is for
It is for the people who look after a building day to day — facilities and building managers, managing agents, caretakers, landlords of multi-let blocks — doing a scheduled walk to catch what has drifted since last time.
It is not a pre-purchase survey, a structural survey, or a code inspection by a building official. Those answer different questions for different readers. If what you need is an opinion on the life left in the roof or the cost of replacing the chillers, that is a property condition assessment, and it has its own template.
Work from the outside in, and from the top down
Most of what goes wrong in a building starts with water, and water arrives from above and from outside. So the walk starts at the boundary and the facade, then the roof, then works down through the inside. A brown ring on a third-floor ceiling makes sense when you have just seen the blocked outlet above it.
Then life safety, then services, then the parts only some buildings have — plant rooms, lifts, a car park — each behind one question. Answer No and the section disappears; the switch itself is never scored.
The roof, from where it is safe to see it
Falls through fragile roofs and roof lights kill people doing exactly this kind of routine look. The form asks where you viewed the roof from, and offers safe options: a guarded roof area, the access hatch, a window or a taller neighbouring building, binoculars from the ground, or drone images.
If none of those gives you a view, say so and move on. A roofer with the right access equipment can do the close look; your job is to notice blocked outlets, slipped coverings and loose rooftop plant, and to get the right person up there.
Fire and life safety is the part that matters tonight
If something happens in the building after you leave, the questions asked will be about the escape routes, the alarm, the emergency lighting and the fire doors — not the paintwork. Those checks sit together in one section so they are never skipped when time runs short.
The quick, high-value ones:
- Open every final exit door from the inside and look at what is parked outside it.
- Read the alarm panel. A fault light or a disabled zone that everyone has stopped noticing is common.
- Look for wedges and hooks on fire doors, and check the doors actually close onto their frames.
- Read the emergency lighting log, then press a test key on one fitting.
Turning findings into work
A finding is only useful if somebody else can act on it without ringing you: what the defect is, where it is exactly — floor, room, elevation — who owns the fix, and by when. The actions list at the end asks for exactly those.
The first section asks about last time's actions. If they are still open, that is the headline of this report before you have walked a step.
Common questions
How often should a commercial building be inspected?
A documented walk monthly is common for busy multi-tenant buildings, quarterly for simpler ones, with some items on their own cycles — fire alarm tests weekly, emergency lighting monthly, lift and sprinkler servicing to contract. Pick a frequency where findings are still few enough to close before the next walk.
What is the difference between a building inspection and a property condition assessment?
A building inspection checks whether things are working and safe today and raises actions. A property condition assessment rates each building system, estimates its remaining life and gives an opinion of the money needed — usually for a buyer, a lender or a capital plan.
Who is responsible for inspecting a building?
Usually the owner or whoever manages the building for them, as set out in the leases and the management agreement. Tenants are commonly responsible for their own demise and the landlord for the structure, roof and common parts — but read the lease, because they vary.
Should I go onto the roof?
Only if there is safe access — a guarded flat roof or a walkway with edge protection — and you are allowed to. Never walk on fragile sheeting or roof lights. Otherwise look from the hatch, a window or the ground, and have a roofer with proper access do the close inspection.
Does this cover lifts and plant rooms in detail?
It covers the walk-past checks a building manager can make. Lifts need their statutory inspection by a licensed inspector or competent engineer, and plant needs its own maintenance regime. There is a separate elevator checklist for a fuller per-car record.
Can I use it for an apartment block?
Yes, for the common parts: entrances, stairs, corridors, bin stores, roof, plant, car park and fire safety. Individual flats are the residents' homes and need their own inspection with notice, not a walk-through as part of this one.