Maintenance Worker Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A maintenance worker keeps a building working: the leak, the breaker, the wall, the filter, the vacant unit, the icy walk. This page takes the building and facilities angle, with a maintenance worker job description template you can copy, what the role pays by industry, the requirement most postings should drop, and five interview questions.
What a maintenance worker does
A maintenance worker keeps a building, or a set of buildings, working: fixing the leak, resetting the breaker, patching the wall, changing the filter, turning the vacant unit, clearing the walk. It is a generalist job. The Occupational Outlook Handbook describes general maintenance and repair workers (SOC 49-9071) as fixing and maintaining machines, mechanical equipment and buildings, and doing painting, flooring repair, plumbing, electrical and heating and air-conditioning work.
This page takes the building and facilities angle: apartments, schools, hospitals, offices, hotels. If your role mostly keeps production equipment running, the maintenance technician job description covers the plant version of the same occupation.
O*NET’s task list for the occupation runs wider than most postings admit: routine preventive maintenance (belts, motors, fluids, filters), diagnosing and repairing equipment, electrical and plumbing repair, painting and repairing roofs, windows, doors, floors, drywall and woodwork, boiler maintenance, general building cleaning, and groundskeeping such as landscaping or snow removal. The software named includes Yardi (property management), computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), SAP and building control software.
| Working conditions (O*NET) | Share reporting it |
|---|---|
| Face-to-face discussions every day | 90% |
| Very high responsibility for others’ health and safety | 65% |
| A typical week of more than 40 hours | 62% |
| Indoors, not environmentally controlled, every day | 55% |
| Outdoors in all weather, every day | 51% |
| Exposed to hazardous equipment every day | 44% |
The outdoor row surprises employers who picture a building job as an indoor job. About half of the workers O*NET surveyed are outside every day: grounds, roofs, parking lots, snow. The OOH also notes that general maintenance and repair workers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations, and that they may be on call for emergency repairs outside normal business hours. Both belong in an honest posting.
Maintenance worker duties
- Respond to work orders from residents, staff or tenants, and close them out in the work order system
- Carry out preventive maintenance on HVAC units, water heaters, boilers, pumps and appliances
- Make minor plumbing and electrical repairs: faucets, toilets, drains, fixtures, outlets, switches and breakers
- Patch and paint walls, repair doors, locks, windows, flooring and trim
- Turn vacant units or rooms for the next occupant
- Maintain grounds, parking areas and walkways, including snow and ice removal where needed
- Check fire and life-safety equipment on schedule and report issues
- Keep the shop, tools and parts inventory organized, and flag what needs ordering
- Take on-call shifts for after-hours emergencies
Maintenance worker job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields and delete what does not apply. It is written for residential and commercial property; the customization notes cover schools, healthcare and hotels.
Job title
Maintenance Worker [/ Maintenance Technician / Building Maintenance], [Schedule], [Company name], [City, ST]
Summary
[Company name] is hiring a maintenance worker for [property or buildings: e.g., a 240-unit apartment community / two school buildings]. You keep things running: work orders, preventive maintenance, unit turns and the small repairs that make a building feel cared for. [Schedule, including on-call rotation]. [Pay range].
What you will do
• Complete work orders in [Yardi / CMMS / system] and keep residents or staff updated
• Do preventive maintenance on [HVAC, water heaters, boilers, appliances]
• Make repairs to plumbing, electrical fixtures, doors, locks, drywall, paint and flooring
• Turn [units / rooms] on a [number]-day target
• Keep grounds, walkways and parking areas safe, including [snow removal]
• Take after-hours on-call [one week in X], paid at [rate]
What you need
• High school diploma or equivalent, or equivalent experience
• Basic hand and power tool skills; we train the rest
• Valid driver’s license [if you drive between sites]
• Able to lift [weight], climb ladders and work outdoors in all weather
• [EPA Section 608 certification, or willingness to get it; we pay for it]
Nice to have
• HVAC, plumbing or electrical experience
• [Pool certification / boiler license, if your site needs one]
• [Second language]
What we offer
• [Pay range] plus [on-call pay]
• [Tools, uniform and vehicle or mileage provided]
• [Benefits and the date they start]
• [Certifications paid]
• [Housing discount, if offered]
• [Path to lead or maintenance supervisor]
How to apply
[One step: a short form or a text. Tell applicants when you will call.]
Requirements: what to ask for, and what to drop
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Experience | Ask for basic tool skills, not years. The OOH lists no required work experience and moderate-term on-the-job training: workers start with simple tasks and take on complex work as they learn. |
| Education | The OOH lists a high school diploma as typical. Many candidates have a trade certificate, and saying you value one helps. |
| Licenses | Most general work needs none. The OOH notes that electrical or plumbing work may need a license depending on the state. EPA Section 608 certification is required for anyone who maintains, services or repairs equipment that could release refrigerants, and it does not expire; offer to pay for it. |
| Tools | Say what you supply. “Must provide own tools” is a real cost to the candidate and should be in the posting, not the offer. |
| On-call | State the rotation and the pay. Hidden on-call is one of the fastest ways to lose a new hire. |
| Driving | Require a license only if the job moves between sites. |
Customizing it by setting
Apartments and property management
Real estate and rental and leasing is the largest employer of general maintenance and repair workers, at 20 percent, with a $48,360 median. Unit turns, resident work orders and on-call dominate. Say how many units, how many sites and the turn target.
Schools and government buildings
Government employs 12 percent at a $51,160 median and educational services 8 percent at $50,270. Lead with the steady schedule, benefits and summer project work.
Hospitals and healthcare
Add life-safety testing, infection control during repairs and survey readiness. Candidates from property maintenance often do not know these, so say you will train.
Hotels and restaurants
Accommodation and food services employs 8 percent at a $39,590 median, the lowest in the OOH table. Say what makes up for it: shift, meals, room discounts, the next role.
What maintenance workers earn
General maintenance and repair workers had a median wage of $49,590 a year, about $23.84 an hour, in May 2025. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $35,350 and the highest 10 percent more than $77,180.
| Industry | Median annual wage (May 2025) | Share employed |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | $61,500 | 13% |
| Government (excluding education and hospitals) | $51,160 | 12% |
| Educational services | $50,270 | 8% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | $48,360 | 20% |
| Accommodation and food services | $39,590 | 8% |
There were 1,621,800 general maintenance and repair workers in 2025, and BLS projects employment to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as average, with about 148,700 openings a year, most of them replacing workers who leave or retire.
What it costs to reach a maintenance worker
Maintenance roles fall in the technician / mechanic role family in Boostpoint’s 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark: a median cost per applicant of $13.41 on Meta, a middle 50 percent band of $7.40 to $23.58, a blended $8.35 and a 16 percent apply rate. The all-role median is $13.88.
A 16 percent apply rate means most people who click do not finish. Across the benchmark, applicant conversion explains about 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant. Two or three screening questions (tools, license, on-call) beat a resume upload for this role. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Maintenance worker interview questions
Five practical questions. For the plant side, see maintenance technician interview questions.
1. A resident reports no hot water at 9 p.m. Talk me through what you check.
A good answer is ordered and safe: confirm the scope (one unit or the building), check the heater’s power or gas and pilot, the breaker and any error codes, and know when to shut it down and call in help.
2. Which repairs are you comfortable doing alone, and which would you rather learn?
Honesty is the good answer. You are mapping skills to training, not looking for someone who claims everything.
3. How do you decide which work order to do first when you have eight open?
Listen for safety and water or heat first, then anything affecting many people, then the rest, and for updating the people waiting.
4. Tell me about a time you worked in someone’s home or occupied space.
Good candidates mention knocking, explaining the work, protecting floors and cleaning up. In residential property, this is half the job.
5. How do you feel about on-call and snow duty?
Ask directly and explain your rotation. A mismatch here is better found now.
Staffing the rest of the building? See the maintenance technician, maintenance supervisor, janitor, groundskeeper and HVAC technician job descriptions, and skilled trades recruiting for the hiring side.
The job description is not the job ad
The template is the document. The ad has to get a handy person who was not job hunting to stop scrolling.
- First line: pay, schedule and the on-call rotation, with the on-call pay in dollars.
- Say what you provide: tools, truck, uniforms, certifications.
- Invite people from adjacent work: handyman, construction helper, janitor ready to step up.
- Keep the form to a few taps and call back within a day.
More in job ad copywriting.
Frequently asked questions
What does a maintenance worker do?
A maintenance worker keeps buildings and equipment working: completing work orders, doing preventive maintenance on HVAC, water heaters and appliances, making minor plumbing and electrical repairs, patching and painting, turning vacant units, maintaining grounds and taking on-call shifts for emergencies. The OOH groups them as general maintenance and repair workers.
What is the difference between a maintenance worker and a maintenance technician?
BLS counts both titles in one occupation, general maintenance and repair workers. In practice, employers often use maintenance worker for building and property roles and maintenance technician for plant roles or more senior building roles. What separates them in a posting is the equipment list, not the title.
How much do maintenance workers make?
General maintenance and repair workers had a median wage of $49,590 a year, about $23.84 an hour, in May 2025. Manufacturing paid the highest industry median at $61,500, and accommodation and food services the lowest in the OOH table at $39,590. Real estate and rental and leasing, the largest employer, paid $48,360.
What qualifications does a maintenance worker need?
The OOH lists a high school diploma as typical, no required work experience and moderate-term on-the-job training. Licenses are usually not needed for general work, but electrical or plumbing work may require one depending on the state, and EPA Section 608 certification is required to service refrigerant-containing equipment.
Do maintenance workers need EPA 608 certification?
Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerants must be certified under EPA Section 608. For building maintenance that usually means HVAC units, refrigerators and similar appliances. The certification does not expire, and paying for it is a simple recruiting advantage.
Is maintenance work physically demanding?
Yes. O*NET reports that 51 percent work outdoors in all weather every day, and the OOH notes the occupation has one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses. Expect lifting, ladders, crawl spaces and snow. Say so in the posting along with the safety equipment you provide.
What should I ask in a maintenance worker interview?
Ask how they would troubleshoot a no-hot-water call, which repairs they can do alone, how they prioritize a stack of work orders, how they behave in occupied homes or offices, and whether on-call and snow duty work for them. Honest answers about skill gaps are a good sign.
How much does it cost to recruit a maintenance worker?
On Meta, the technician and mechanic role family in our 2026 benchmark had a median cost per applicant of $13.41, with the middle half of campaigns between $7.40 and $23.58 and a 16 percent apply rate, close to the $13.88 median across all role families.
Related job descriptions
Hiring maintenance workers?
The description is the document. Getting it in front of handy people who are not on a job board is the part we do.
Wage, employment, projection, industry, duty and work-environment data for general maintenance and repair workers (SOC 49-9071): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, General Maintenance and Repair Workers, last modified 27 August 2026; May 2025 OEWS wages, 2025 employment and 2025–35 projections. Tasks, software and work context: O*NET OnLine 49-9071.00. EPA Section 608 technician certification requirements. Read at source 24 September 2026. Cost-per-applicant figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 managed campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months.