If you’re a landlord and you use software or manage your property by working with a management company, you could save around $600 per month.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
If you’re a landlord, you’ll know that being a landlord isn’t easy. It means that your properties need to be continually maintained for the safety of your tenants. Whether that’s pest control, painting, or general handy work, you need to be aware of your landlord maintenance responsibilities.
In this article, we will explain exactly what your landlord’s responsibilities for tenant safety are and how to keep on top of things.
Maintenance of Communal Areas
Everything in communal areas such as light switches, flooring, and bannisters must be in working order. Electrical wiring and any hazards should be dealt with by a professional who is equipped to mend or attend to any repairs.
Repairs
Half the time, landlord responsibilities involve fixing or replacing things that break. A landlord must provide a habitable living space and make repairs based on reasonable use of equipment or items within the home.
However, if a tenant neglects or abuses a rental property, they can be liable to foot the bill for repairs or replacement.
This is one of the reasons why landlords chose to work with property management companies that can sort out all these issues for them.
Repairs can include things you might not think about, like painting walls.
Make Sure the Vital Services are Working
it’s a landlord’s responsibility to ensure that a rental property has access to plumbing, electricity, gas, and heating when letting out a property.
There is then an agreement between the landlord and the tenant about who is in charge of paying those bills. If the tenant doesn’t keep up with their bills and payments outside of the agreement, this is not the landlord’s responsibility.
Provide Running Water
All rental properties need to have access to running water in the unit. This includes a toilet, shower, and sink. A working water heater is also required so that the tenant has access to hot water.
Provide Appropriate Trash Receptacles
It’s a landlord’s duty to provide a tenant with an appropriate trash receptacle for their waste based on the number of times trash is collected in the area.
The size must be suitable for the number of tenants in the property and how often the trash is collected.
It’s good to get concrete knowledge of your local trash collection and then buy your tenant’s trash containers accordingly.
Follow Building Codes
Landlords must provide a healthy and safe environment for their tenants. This includes providing smoke alarms, structurally sound walls, getting rid of mold and any pest issues like bed bugs.
The quicker that issues are raised by tenants the cheaper it will be to fix any issues, instead of prolonging the damage.
Keep an open dialogue with your tenants to keep on top of problems before they develop into serious damage to the property.
Learning about Landlord Maintenance Responsibilities
Being a landlord can often feel like you have several jobs at once! Keep well informed about your landlord maintenance responsibilities so that your rental property is well looked after.
If you enjoyed this article and want to read more on the topic, check out our other blog posts!
