A building maintenance notice
Practise B1 reading with a fictional building maintenance notice about shared spaces and flat repairs, six vocabulary words and five questions with answers.
Nadia lives in a block of flats. Her kitchen window does not close properly, so she is pleased to see a maintenance notice beside the letter boxes. At first, she thinks the workers will fix her window during their visit. Then she reads the whole notice.
Wednesday maintenance: shared areas only
On Wednesday, between nine in the morning and one in the afternoon, workers will check the hallway lights and repair the main entrance door. Each resident should move shoes and boxes out of the shared corridors before nine. Workers need enough space to carry their tools along these corridors.
You can still enter and leave the building during the work. A member of the team will be at the entrance to help people pass. The workers will not need access to any flats, so you do not need to stay at home for this visit.
Repairs inside your flat are separate from this work. To request one, email the building manager with your flat number and a description of the problem. The manager will reply to arrange an appointment. Please do not leave your keys in the hallway.
Nadia moves her shoe rack inside her flat and emails the manager about her window. She keeps her usual plans for work on Wednesday. Reading the full notice has helped her understand which job is already planned and which one she still needs to arrange.
Words to take with you
- maintenance
- Work that keeps a building or piece of equipment in good condition.The swimming pool closes for maintenance each winter.
- shared
- Used by more than one person or group.We keep our bicycles in a shared room.
- resident
- A person who lives in a particular place.A new resident moved into the flat upstairs.
- access
- The ability or permission to enter or use a place.The side gate gives us access to the garden.
- separate
- Different from and not included with something else.Please put the empty bottles in a separate box.
- appointment
- An agreed time to meet someone or receive a service.I have an appointment with my teacher at four.
Check your understanding
Choose an answer, then check each question.
Use your English
Imagine a window in your flat does not close properly. Write three sentences to the building manager describing the problem and asking for an appointment. Explain why the shared-area visit will not solve it.
Say your answer aloud or write two or three sentences.