What is a Building Superintendent and What Do They Do?

By Lilly Milman

Sep 25, 2024

What is a building superintendent?

What’s the difference between a super and a landlord?

What does a building superintendent do?

• Maintenance: A building super handles two kinds of maintenance: unit maintenance and building maintenance. So, if your building has a super, you’d be just as likely to reach out to them about a plumbing issue in your apartment as you would about a hallway lightbulb needed to be replaced. They are responsible for ensuring that the entire building is in good, livable condition as well as each individual unit by doing regular inspections. In a very large building, they may hire additional maintenance staff, while in a smaller building, they may be doing all minor repairs and routine maintenance tasks on their own.

• Building cleaning: Part of a residential building’s generalmaintenance and upkeep is related to its cleanliness. A super will take on janitorial duties for the building, whether that means hiring a cleaning crew or doing the cleaning themselves. If you have a super for your building, you may see them sweeping up common areas like the halls or the elevators or salting the front steps after a snowstorm. In a small building, they may also be the one cleaning a unit out after a tenant moves out.

• Communicating with tenants and owners: Your building’s super is the first person you’ll contact when you have a question about your apartment or your building in most cases as a renter. The same goes for if you are an owner of an apartment in a building with a super. They are effective the first point of contact on all building matters, so one of their responsibilities is being available for communications and being able to answer questions about the building.

• Financial management of property: A superintendent may be responsible for handling the building’s budget — though the size of this budget will depend on the size of the building. In a smaller building with fewer amenities, there will be a smaller budget, mostly covering routine and necessary maintenance. In a larger building, the budget will be larger and likely involve multiple vendors and outside contractors to keep amenities up and running.

• Record keeping: As a tenant, it’s important to keep records of all communications with building management. The same goes for owners. A super will be in charge of recording all communication that occurs with tenants, owners, and vendors. This includes any financial transactions, conversations regarding tenancy or maintenance, complaints, contact information, and more.

• Staff supervision: Depending on the size of a building, there may or may not be a staff devoted to its operations. In a small building, the super will likely be one of the only staff members. However, in a larger building, there may be a maintenance crew, a cleaning crew, or a doorman, to name a few options. In this case, a super will oversee the team and manage them.

What are New York City’s laws around building superintendents?

What are the benefits of a live-in super?

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