by Rosie McLean 
As a landlord, ensuring you stay on top of the maintenance and repairs of your individual properties is essential to help minimise the impact on your wallet, keep existing tenants happy and attract new ones when required.
Understanding what you are responsible for, as well as best practices on how to manage this most effectively will not only ease the burden but also ensure you have a reputation as a responsible, helpful landlord who deals with problems quickly.
Your legal responsibilities as a landlord
You have a legal obligation to ensure your property is maintained to a particular standard and are responsible for the maintenance and repairs of everything from the structure and exterior of the property, through to drains, gutters and external pipes.
Inside the property, your repair responsibilities include basins, sinks, baths and toilets, heating and hot water, gas appliances and electrical wiring. You are also likely to be responsible for fixing mould or damp issues, though this can be dependent on what caused such problems in the first place.
Your tenant’s responsibilities
Your tenants, meanwhile, have a lesser obligation that extends to general maintenance of the property such as cleaning and basic maintenance such as changing lightbulbs or batteries on smoke alarms. They are also responsible for fixing any damage caused by visitors and for items they have brought into the property.
Differing rules
Other responsibilities, including who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of furniture, gardening and internal decoration can be specified in your individual tenancy agreements depending on whether you want to take responsibility or expect your tenants to.
Allowing your tenants to decorate, for example, can help reduce your maintenance obligations and keep your property looking fresh. However, stipulating they are responsible for painting back to a neutral colour at the end of the tenancy will ensure you aren’t left with bright orange walls to tone down. Ensure your tenants understand these specific responsibilities when they sign with you to avoid disagreements at a later date.
Encourage tenants to report issues promptly so that you can respond quickly
You can’t fix what you don’t know, so, while it’s down to your tenants to report any issues, fostering a relationship where they know they can do this quickly and easily will help. Encouraging prompt notification means you can solve the problem quicker, minimising the potential for further issues or damage as well as tenant dissatisfaction.
Ensure you respond quickly too. Emergency repairs, such as hot heating or water, must be undertaken within 24 hours while more routine repairs should be completed within three to four weeks at the most.
Be fair on wear and tear
Wear and tear is to be expected after a certain amount of time and should be assessed accordingly. It’s another argument for installing quality, durable fixtures and fittings in the first place that will withstand daily use and reduce the maintenance needed. Ensuring your property is damage-free and not looking worn before a tenancy will also minimise potential arguments over the state of the property at the end of a tenancy.
Be clear with a full inventory
Ensuring you have a detailed and up-to-date inventory of the state of the property, as well as the items within it, is another tool to avoid disagreements. It also serves as a useful checklist for items that may need replacing imminently or maintenance issues that are better resolved sooner rather than later. Once again, encourage tenants to report any breakages or faults with items on the inventory early, and record the repairs and replacements agreed upon.
Schedule regular property inspections
Being proactive with regular property inspections, such as every three months for new tenants or six monthly for longer, issue-free tenants, will help you to spot emerging problems. Keep an eye out for issues with damp and mould, leaks or failing fixtures and fittings that may need action. Inspections also allow you to check your tenants are looking after your property. Remember that, by law, you must give at least 24 hours’ written notice and visit at a reasonable time of day.
Consider property management services
While you can do all the above yourself, maintenance and inspections of your property can also be overseen by the property management arm of your agent – so don’t be afraid to leave it to the experts if you prefer.
At Chimneypots, we know how important managing the maintenance and repairs of your rental properties is and can help advise you further on what you need to do. As part of our lettings offer, we can appoint a property manager to help you throughout a tenancy and offer high-quality in-house inventories and inspection reports that ensure both you and your tenants are clear about the condition of your property and what’s inside it. Do get in touch to find out more.
