Key Takeaways
- Clarify Repair Responsibilities in the Lease: Landlords should clearly outline both their own and their tenants’ maintenance responsibilities in the lease agreement. This helps minimize confusion and ensures tenants understand their duty to report issues promptly and allow access for repairs.
- Conduct Routine Property Inspections: Regular inspections—inside and outside the property—help identify maintenance problems early, ensure lease compliance, and demonstrate to tenants that you care about the property’s condition. This proactive approach encourages tenants to do the same.
- Educate Tenants on the Risks of Delayed Reporting: Tenants should understand that ignoring or delaying repair requests can lead to bigger, costlier issues like water damage or mold. Landlords can even hold tenants responsible for damages caused by failure to report problems on time.
Performing repairs and maintenance is inevitable in the life of any landlord. Tenants may call to request you to fix a leaky faucet, a malfunctioning appliance, flickering lights, or even a pest infestation problem, among other issues.
On your part, you must ensure that you handle such issues proactively to ensure the unit remains livable.
But here’s the thing: some residents are usually hesitant to request repairs and maintenance. This is because they may assume that such issues aren’t urgent, or that the repairs may cause some sort of disruption in their lives.
In such cases, the issue may continue to get serious and potentially costly to fix. For instance, what began as a few leaks from a water faucet can grow to become a serious issue. In addition to higher bills from water waste, structural issues can come up, and/or growth of mold and mildew.
Then, what was supposed to cost you a few hundred dollars could set you back by thousands. Not to mention the disruptions the repairs could cause to the resident’s life!
That’s why prompt handling of repairs and maintenance, whether requested or needed, is essential to successful landlording. Equally important is encouraging tenants to report repairs promptly.
Speaking of encouraging tenants to report repairs promptly, here are 3 expert tips by Specialized Property Management Oklahoma City to help you in that regard.
Clarify the Resident’s Repair and Maintenance Responsibilities
After establishing a lease, both you and the resident automatically obtain certain rights and responsibilities. For the landlord, you must keep the unit habitable at all times. This also includes responding to issues within a reasonable time after getting proper notification from the resident.
The resident, too, automatically obtains certain responsibilities when it comes to maintaining the unit’s livable standards. It’s a good idea to outline these in the lease so expectations are clear for minimal conflicts and misunderstandings.
You can require that your tenants report issues on time, keep the unit clean, safe, and sanitary, take care of small repairs, such as replacing batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and allow landlord entry or any of your handymen when it comes to repairs and maintenance, as long as they receive the proper advance notice.
Inspect the Unit Routinely
Even after detailing and clarifying the responsibilities the resident has through the lease, make sure to inspect the unit regularly.
Regular rental inspections can help you identify problems quickly before they get worse. They can also enable you to check whether the resident is violating any term of the lease. For example, making illegal property alterations, housing an unauthorized pet, or even an unauthorized guest.
Make sure to be as thorough as you can with your inspections. Check for leaks in under sinks, the water heater, and around toilets, test all water faucets and showers to ensure they are functioning as they should, and ensure the electrical system is working as it should by checking for signs of scorching, loose outlet covers, or damage or overheating.
Additionally, test all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they are functioning as they should, keep an eye out for structural issues on walls, and floors, check that locks and security features on doors are working as they should, and check to see that the appliances are working as they should.
Your inspection should cover the exterior areas as well. Look for signs of roof damage, water damage or leaks that are visible from the attic or outside, and blockage in the gutters and downspouts.
Showing that you care for your rental property can also help encourage the resident to do the same!
Let the Resident Know the Implications of Delayed Reporting
You should also encourage the resident to report issues as soon as they come across them. As already mentioned, unreported repairs and maintenance issues can progress into serious and potentially costly problems.
For instance, what can start as a small water leak can progress to become a major water issue that can cause serious damage to the unit and the resident’s belongings.
You may also want to let the resident know that you could hold them liable for unreported issues.
Bottom Line
Prompt reporting of repair and maintenance issues has a win-win outcome for both parties in a lease. For the landlord, it can help protect property value and maintain its integrity. For the resident, it can ensure they live in a safe and comfortable home.
As a landlord, however, handling repair and maintenance issues can be stressful and time-consuming. Between the inspections, back-and-forth communication, and scheduling with handymen and vendors, it can seem overwhelming. That’s why savvy rental property owners turn to professionals for help.
At Specialized Property Management Oklahoma City, we can help handle everything on your behalf. We have been managing rental properties in Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas for over 30 years now. Contact us today to learn more!
