Follow the recovery stages
Use the stages below as a planning sequence, then ask the team which can overlap at this property. Each stage needs a named contact and a clear next step.
- Immediate response and safe access: follow the response team’s restrictions and arrange the necessary protection and temporary household needs.
- Assessment: identify building, contents and system damage, including what remains inaccessible.
- Specialist work: complete the assigned cleanup, drying or other mitigation and record unresolved areas.
- Reconstruction: agree the repair scope, obtain required approvals, select materials and rebuild the affected areas.
- Return to use: complete the applicable inspections, specialist handoffs and outstanding work before moving back.
Identify what controls the next milestone
- Is a structural, electrical, or environmental assessment outstanding?
- Does the insurer need to inspect newly exposed damage?
- Are permits, material selections, or temporary housing decisions holding up the next step?
Update the plan when facts change
Use a dated milestone schedule with pending decisions clearly marked. For an occupied community, show which units and common routes are affected. Schedule updates should explain the changed condition and the next action, rather than simply shifting a promised move-in date.