Property Maintenance Tips for All Seasons

Seasonal shifts bring a variety of challenges to your property. Here are some top tips for property maintenance throughout the seasons to make sure there is nothing you are forgetting.

As a landlord, property maintenance is an integral part of the job. Ensuring the property is in good condition for your current and future tenants.

While it can be tempting to wait until a problem comes along. It is better for both parties if the landlord has a property maintenance plan to mitigate any future issues that could arise.

What is Property Maintenance?

Property maintenance refers to the upkeep and maintenance of a property. Ensuring it fulfils the needs of its tenants and functions as it should. Maintaining a property is essential for various reasons:

• Ensure your tenants are content
• Minimise repair costs
• Enhance property value
• Legal compliance
• Retaining tenants
• Safety

Although the responsibility of property maintenance ultimately rests on the landlord, it is a two-way street and communication is key.

Spring Cleaning and Preparing for Growth 

Spring brings a significant amount of rainfall and the start of longer, sunnier days. Here are our top property maintenance tips for spring:

• Inspecting and cleaning gutters: ensuring the gutters are clean is crucial to prevent flooding or damage to your foundation if the water is not draining correctly.
• Checking the roof for any damage: it is easier to spot any issues with roof tiles in the lighter days of spring. It is also important to remove moss while it is still moist and before it grows any further throughout the summer. 
• Power washing the exterior: washing the outside of your property in spring will ensure your property stays in good condition and your property’s value is maintained.
• Lawn maintenance: it is usually the responsibility of the tenant to cut the lawn. However, maintaining the property’s lawn in the case of severe weather or other circumstances could be beneficial in preserving the value of the property for you, as the landlord.
• Pruning trees and shrubs: trees and shrubs must be maintained to ensure access to the property is kept and the safety of the tenants is guaranteed.

Top Tips for Summer 

Summer brings high temperatures and more time spent outdoors. Tenants will be most likely spending more of their time outside enjoying the weather. Here are some property maintenance tips to help maintain your property all summer long:

• Air conditioning maintenance: if your property has air conditioning, it is imperative to ensure it is serviced. This helps to increase the efficiency of the air conditioning for the tenant and reduces the energy required for it to run.
• Fence repairs: it is vital to maintain the property’s boundaries so it is safe and secure for your tenants.
• Deck and patio maintenance: with your tenants spending more of their time outdoors, it is ideal to maintain the quality of the decking or patio for both tenant satisfaction and safety reasons. 
• Pest control maintenance: your tenants might be spending more time eating outdoors or opening more windows. No one wants to be swatting fly after fly so it is important to ensure your property is safe for your tenant and any pest infestations are taken care of immediately.

Top Tips for Autumn

As autumn comes around the corner, the days start to become shorter and colder. Here are a few tips you can use to prepare for those winter nights.

• Sealing any gaps and cracks: as the days begin to get colder, it is critical to ensure there are no gaps or cracks. Gaps or cracks could create drafts and increase moisture. Creating safety issues for your tenant and increasing the energy usage for the tenant.
• Checking and cleaning chimneys: before the fire gets lit night after night, make sure it is serviced to ensure there are no blockages that could cause a fire risk to your tenants and your property.
• Insulating windows and doors: if you have an older property that is letting in some unwanted drafts, ensure the windows and doors are insulated so that your tenants aren’t using excess energy to heat their homes.
• Fire safety measures: the landlord should provide smoke alarms and ensure there are safe escape routes. Any furnishings or equipment supplied by the landlord should also be fire-safe. 

Top Tips to Get you Through Winter

As winter unfolds its frosty embrace, the days begin to grow shorter, and the chill in the air becomes more pronounced. Here are some helpful tips to get your property ready for those cosy winter nights ahead:

• Protecting pipes from freezing: in the winter months, it is integral to take precautions to prevent pipes from freezing over and cracking or bursting.
• Preventing condensation and mould: with the colder months, windows are less likely to be opened, therefore the risk of mould increases significantly. Ensuring adequate ventilation and insulation or fixing any leaks that could create excess moisture will reduce your risk of mould developing.
• Flooding precautions: if your property has a high risk of flooding, educate your tenants on what to do in these circumstances and provide flood protection such as sandbags or flood boards.
• Heating maintenance: it is essential to carry out annual boiler maintenance and ensure heaters work all year round for your tenants.

Property Maintenance Tips for Tenants

As a landlord it is important your tenants know what property maintenance they should contribute to. Here are some proactive tips tenants can take to ensure a comfortable and secure living space:

• Report repairs: encourage your tenants to let you know as soon as they suspect a problem. Make sure you act on this quickly to avoid further damage.
• Creating a maintenance schedule: advise your tenants to create a schedule of maintenance repairs. 
• Keep a record of repairs and upgrades: make sure you know about any repairs or upgrades tenants make. 

As a landlord, taking care of your property all year round is important for retaining tenant satisfaction. A well-maintained property holds its value. It is equally important for homeowners to take these proactive steps. Make sure your tenants understand where their property maintenance responsibilities lie. 

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