Commercial Air Conditioning Maintenance Contracts: What They Cover and What to Compare
A commercial maintenance contract is how a business keeps its air conditioning working, compliant and under warranty without thinking about it every week. This guide sets out what a good contract includes — PPM visits, F-Gas leak checks, TM44 co-ordination, response SLAs — how contracts are priced in 2026, and what separates a good quote from a cheap one. We match you with vetted, F-Gas certified commercial contractors.
Planned preventative maintenance schedules
Visit frequency should follow how hard the plant works and what it protects — see how often air conditioning should be serviced.
| Premises | Typical PPM visits | What each visit covers |
|---|---|---|
| Small office, shop, clinic (wall or cassette splits) | 2 a year (spring and autumn) | Filter and coil clean, drain flush, refrigerant and leak check, electrics, test run, report |
| Restaurant, gym, busy retail | Quarterly | As above plus extra filter attention and condenser coil wash — kitchens and studios load filters fast |
| Multi-floor office with VRF/VRV | Quarterly, often alternating full and minor visits | Per-unit checks plus compressor data, branch controllers, BMS alarms, logged F-Gas leak test |
| Server / comms room | Quarterly plus 24/7 response | Condensate, airflow and set-point checks — failure here stops the business |
| Care home, GP surgery, school | 2–4 a year around occupancy | Hygiene-led: filters, coil sanitising, drain treatment, noise — see our surgery & care home and school guides |
F-Gas leak checks and TM44 inspections
Two legal duties sit alongside maintenance: F-Gas leak checks on systems holding 5 tonnes CO₂-equivalent of refrigerant or more (most commercial systems, VRF almost always), and the five-yearly TM44 inspection for buildings above 12 kW combined output.
| Duty | Applies to | Frequency | Who does it | In the contract? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-Gas leak check | ≥5 tCO₂e charge (≥10 tCO₂e hermetically sealed) | Annual; ≥50 tCO₂e 6-monthly; ≥500 tCO₂e quarterly; halved with fixed leak detection | F-Gas certified engineer | Yes — confirm it is logged and who holds the log |
| TM44 inspection | Buildings >12 kW combined output | At least every 5 years | Accredited energy assessor | Usually not — arranged separately |
Thresholds from the GB F-Gas Regulation and the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012. Our F-Gas certification guide explains what to ask an engineer.
Response SLAs: what the tiers usually mean
Names vary; the substance is attendance time, hours covered and what is included on arrival. Basic (PPM only): scheduled visits, breakdowns at call-out rates, attendance in a few working days. Standard: next-working-day call-out in business hours, labour sometimes included, parts extra — offices, shops, restaurants. Enhanced: 4–8 hour response, extended hours, labour included, parts and refrigerant at agreed rates — gyms, hospitality, surgeries. Critical: 2–4 hour, 24/7/365, fully comprehensive with temporary cooling — server rooms, clinical areas, cold storage. Pay for the tier each area actually needs, not the same tier for every unit.
What to compare before you sign
Ask every bidder the same questions and put the answers side by side:
- Scope per visit — get the task list in writing; "service" can mean a full check or a filter rinse. Our servicing overview has the checklist.
- Plant list — every indoor unit, condenser and condensate pump itemised, priced per unit per visit.
- F-Gas — who performs the leak checks, at what interval, and who holds the log.
- Parts, labour, refrigerant — "comprehensive" should mean all three; "labour only" means parts on top; refrigerant by weight at a stated rate.
- Response — attendance time versus fix time, hours covered, out-of-hours rate.
- Warranty and term — the contractor should be accredited by your equipment manufacturer while units are under warranty; one-year rolling is normal, so be wary of three-year lock-ins with automatic escalators.
Sources & methodology
- Per-unit visit pricing (£75–£150) and contract baselines from our maintenance contract cost guide, 2026.
FAQs
Get maintenance contract quotes
Tell us how many indoor units you have, the building type and the response you need, and we match you with vetted, F-Gas certified commercial contractors who quote like-for-like. Free, no obligation.