While it has its own set of responsibilities, owning a rental property can be a lucrative investment. Maintaining your rental property as a landlord is crucial to keeping it in good shape and maintaining its value.
In addition to saving money on future repairs, routine maintenance can also maintain your tenants' satisfaction. It can be difficult to know where to begin, though, because there are so many things to remember.
This guide will help you in making sure that your rental property continues to be a valued asset for many years to come.
Landlord’s Property Maintenance Responsibilities
Landlords are responsible for ensuring that their property is well-maintained. Here are the key areas where landlords play an important role in property maintenance:
Landscaping Maintenance: Maintain your landscaping to improve curb appeal. Make arrangements for routine lawn care, tree trimming, and seasonal planting.
Exterior Repairs: Address any exterior maintenance issues as soon as possible, such as roof repairs, siding issues, and paint touch-ups.Maintain parking lots and walkways in retail and commercial properties for safety and aesthetics.
Regular Inspections: Conduct routine inspections to identify maintenance issues as soon as possible. In multi-family residential properties, inspect common areas, building exteriors, and individual units.
Common Area Upkeep: Clean and maintain common areas such as hallways, stairwells, and recreational areas in multi-family residential properties regularly. Ensure the cleanliness and safety of retail and commercial tenants' shared spaces.
HVAC and Appliance Upkeep: Schedule regular maintenance of residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Maintain appliances in commercial property common areas.
Perform Property Repairs: In order to maintain a rental property habitable, it must be in excellent shape, and landlords are responsible for making timely repairs arrangements. The security deposit may be used to offset damage that the tenant causes that is not part of typical wear and tear.
Provide Trash Bins: Garbage containers are essential if you want your building to be safe and clean. Choose the size and quantity of trash cans based on how many people are renting the property from you and how often the neighborhood is cleaned up.
Provide Clean, Running Water: It is your responsibility as a landlord to make sure that your showers, toilets, and faucets are in good working order and that your tenants have access to an adequate amount of clean flowing water.
Ways Tenants Can Help with Property Maintenance
Participating in proactive maintenance not only fosters a sense of community, but it also contributes to a healthier and more pleasant living or working environment.
In this section, we will look at ways tenants and landlords can work together to improve the general upkeep and appeal of the property.
Maintain Cleanliness: Tenants are responsible for maintaining a tidy apartment and disposing of rubbish appropriately. Everyone benefits from basic sanitation in avoiding mold and pest problems.
Obstruction of Emergency Exits: Every rental property must have access to an emergency exit. Tenants must take care to remove anything that obstructs these crucial exits.
Respect Building and Housing Codes: Tenants must also abide by the rules regarding buildings and homes. In order to postpone wear and tear, they should continue to fulfill their obligation to take reasonable care of the device.
Appropriate Trash Disposal: Tenants must adhere to the waste management instructions supplied by the landlord or appropriately dispose of their trash and recyclables in specified containers. In addition to keeping things clean, this also keeps smells, pest infestations, and other health problems at bay.
Reporting Maintenance Issues: Tenants should notify the landlord or property management as soon as they become aware of any maintenance problems or damages. This covers difficulties with appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical, and structural issues.
Maintain Lease Terms: One of the most frequent disagreements between landlords and tenants is about broken leases. They rank among the most frequent reasons for eviction as well. To ensure safety, tenants must follow the conditions of the lease.
Preventing the Growth of Mold: To remove extra moisture, they can use an electric fan or leave windows open. Tenants also have an obligation to notify the landlord of any mold concerns so that appropriate mold treatment can be carried out as soon as possible.
Bottom Line
Being a responsible landlord necessitates maintaining a rental property, which takes work and attention to detail. Landlords may ensure that both their tenants are happy and their property stays in good shape by using the advice and techniques provided in this article.
Beyond the extensive responsibilities that come with property ownership, a property manager like the professionals at Olympic Property Management streamlines the process, ensuring proactive maintenance, swift issue resolution, and tenant satisfaction.
With their guidance, property owners can navigate the complexities of property maintenance seamlessly, allowing their investments to flourish for years to come.
Contact Olympic Property Management today for expert property management!