Depreciation and Maintenance of Houses

While it is clear that a building will deteriorate quite rapidly if no maintenance is provided, there appears to be some question in the housing literature as to whether a building will provide the same quantity of service over time under circumstances, if normal or reasonable maintenance is provided. The question posed here is: Does the quantity of service provided by given structures diminish over time? More specifically: Are there quasi-fixed factors embodied in a structure which will be allowed to di-