Keeping your rental space habitable is one of your chief duties as a landlord. Rentals often require a long list of maintenance tasks because they’re subject to more wear and tear.
If you would like to learn how to properly maintain your rental properties to protect your tenants and investments, keep on reading.
Property Maintenance Responsibilities of a Landlord
Typically, landlords are in charge of the following property maintenance tasks:
Providing Trash Bins
To provide a clean and healthy environment, you need to provide garbage containers where renters are able to dispose of any trash they might generate. The number of bins and their sizes will depend on how many renters are currently occupying your unit. You’ll also want to verify the local code regarding how far away outdoor receptacles must be from the property to prevent animals and pests from getting in.
Supplying Running Water
Without running water, it can be hard to keep your rental clean and allow tenants to live comfortably. That’s why a landlord must provide a reliable water supply. On top of this, you’re expected to have toilets, showers, and sinks that are in perfect working order. You must also ensure that there’s working hot and cold water.
Complying with Building Codes
It’s essential for landlords to keep their renters safe in the rental property. This means providing smoke and carbon dioxide detectors. They must also show renters where these can be found during move-in.
Additionally, landlords must be knowledgeable about preventing mold, dealing with lead paint, and resolving pest infestation. Furthermore, they must ensure that an adequate number of renters are living in the unit for safety reasons. Finally, the overall structural integrity of the property must be in working order to avoid facing emergencies.
Maintaining Common Areas
A lot of renters use the common areas. So it’s important for rental owners to perform frequent cleaning and inspections to spot any issues on the flooring and stairs. Being attentive ensures fewer accidents and mishaps. The proper lighting should also be installed.
Scheduling Necessary Repairs
Rentals should be in outstanding form and any damages, whether resulting from normal wear and tear or negligence should be fixed right away. Repair costs can be deducted from the security deposit of renters if they caused the damage.
Review Essential Home Systems
A renter won’t stay in a property when vital services, such as plumbing, heating, electrical, and gas aren’t available for use. It’s the chief responsibility of a landlord to make sure there aren’t any problems with home systems or service interruptions.
For utility bill payment, if the renter is assigned to pay it, then this must be stated clearly on the leasing agreement. The tenant must then pay the bills on time so the electric or water supply service isn’t cut off, causing inconvenience.
Ways Tenants are Required to Maintain the Rental Unit
Even if landlords must do their part to keep the rental running smoothly, according to the law, renters must also take up a fair share of maintenance work. Here are some of the expected maintenance tasks that renters should fulfill:
Ensuring the Rental is Free of Sanitary Issues
Although landlords may be meeting their duty to provide trash bins, renters must make sure to place their trash in them. This can reduce health concerns and pest infestation problems inside the property. So renters must clean the unit and dispose of trash in the respective garbage cans.
Double-Checking Rental Safety
It’s the tenant’s responsibility to see to it that nothing blocks the emergency exits so that if a fire occurs, they can easily move to safety. Any barriers like a pile of boxes should be removed. Smoke or carbon monoxide detectors must also be left untampered with and batteries shouldn’t be removed. If the batteries need to be replaced tenants should consult with their landlord right away.
Adhering to the Building and Housing Codes
Tenants are required to follow the safety protocols. Make sure they have read through the lease agreement for specific safety conditions, such as the acceptable number of occupants.
If the number of people staying in the unit exceeds what’s stated on the contract, then this could present fire safety risks and the property could experience more wear and tear.
Preventing mold
Mold is often a problem and builds up due to excess moisture. A renter can prevent the growth of mold by being consistent in turning the fan on or opening windows to dry the bathroom after showering. If a renter spots signs of mold, it’s recommended to report the situation to the rental owner so action is taken immediately to resolve the issue.
Respecting the Property
Here are additional ways to help keep the rental space in great condition:
- Making sure plumbing fixtures are free from rust and dirt through proper cleaning
- Wiping the dust off the appliances to reduce the buildup of dirt that cause these items to malfunction
- Ensuring that appliances are used in accordance with their intended purpose.
- Avoiding property damage through proper care of the unit. While wear and tear is natural and acceptable, excessive property damage like doors off their hinges and broken tiles are not
- Reporting property problems immediately to their landlord
- Keeping common areas trash-free
- Taking out the garbage for weekly collection and pickup
Bottom Line
While landlords have a bulk of maintenance duties to perform, they don’t have to shoulder all of them alone. Tenants must also be made away of their maintenance duties according to the lease agreement.
Landlords can also hire a reliable property manager like Level Property Management Group to handle these day-to-day tasks. We are a trusted property management company dedicated to ensuring the peace of mind of all our clients. Contact us today to learn about our services!
