In many states, adequate security measures are part of a landlord’s maintenance responsibilities. If you don’t give proper notice, you can be sued by the tenant or fined by the state. If you decide you’d like to. For multi-family housing and large apartment complexes, front load dumpster service is the most effective way to manage trash. Make sure you also communicate every repair you’ve made to the tenant so they’re aware of what’s happening. The one thing that threatens to knock you off your game more than anything is. “Some exterior home maintenance tasks are gray areas that should be addressed in the lease. Topics: As much as landlords don’t enjoy maintenance requests, tenants don’t like them, either. Check any decks or patios for rot or loose railings. The preventive maintenance formats are similar to the excel-spreadsheet and it helps in listing the preventive maintenance schedules and guidelines according to the scenario and time basis. Keep your rental property in tip-top shape with these ten basic maintenance tasks. If so, it’s a pretty simple touch up to add caulk and make sure everything looks great and fresh. While you’re at it, check beneath sinks, boilers and hot water heaters for leaky pipes. Keeping gutters clean helps the water flow away from the property so everything is dry and in good shape, Unfortunately, sometimes tenants do things they shouldn’t, through is also an opportunity to make sure nothing is happening that violates your lease agreement, Rather than simply scheduling annual preventative maintenance, we recommend staggering the dates so you see the property in all seasons. Catching these issues is key to preventing dangerous mold and expensive structural damage. As you do a walk-through of the entire property, remember that the goal is to find any small issue that could become a big one. When you perform preventative maintenance, you are communicating to the tenant. Air conditioning is typically not required, but many landlords choose to include AC units in warmer climates. Creating a preventive maintenance program will save money by including these planned repairs into your budget and schedule, avoiding the high costs of an emergency repair. Maintenance requests don’t pick convenient times or dates — they are unpredictable, stressful for the tenant, and can easily create a chaotic environment for you if you take the wrong approach. Pro-Tip: If you have garbage bins or dumpsters outside your rental property, make sure lids stay closed and all trash is bagged. Create a free account and we even include checklist templates to help you get started. At the core of preventative maintenance, your goal is to catch minor issues before they grow into major, The best-case scenario as a landlord is to systematically work through every property, uring your walk-through, start by looking at all water sources and make sure there are no leaks or places where water is not contained. Once you’ve established what items and equipment need to be inspected, you can create a preventive maintenance checklist organized by the categories that make sense for your team and your building. Apartment Maintenance Checklist. The best-case scenario as a landlord is to systematically work through every property at least once a year and go through a checklist to make sure everything has been looked into. This should include major building systems such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, as well as the general building condition and cleanliness. All aspects of interior and exterior area s of a property. Water heaters tend to collect sediment and the water can get dirty over time. Having a preventive maintenance checklist and procedures make staying on top of regular maintenance easy, no matter what limitations you might have in terms of staff, time, and budget. To ensure tenant safety, lighting fixtures must be in working condition and stairways, hand railings and banisters must be free from hazards. If you're not sure how to organize all of the inspections sheets and forms, and don't want to manually enter the information into your database, a paperless solution can be an option. Maintenance is a reality of owning property, but the big problems are the ones that can be crushing for landlords. A simple fix is be to add hair catchers to showers and baths to prevent clogging. This can be a nice cosmetic touch, but also keeps water contained and helps make sure a leak or drip isn’t going to become a big issue. One way to do this is to see a property every nine months — this means you are going to the property every year, but in alternate seasons. Keep in mind that this applies to preventative maintenance — not renovations. Preventive maintenance schedule templates are proven to be highly useful when it comes to automating tasks that need to happen on a periodical basis but, have been somewhat ignored due to the infrequency. If you’re just beginning to implement a preventive maintenance program, or reworking old processes, start by creating a detailed list of what needs to be checked. When you think of maintenance, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? you care about the property, you’re keeping it in good order, and you expect them to do the same.