Maintenance is a reality for any property owner. Whether it’s routine upkeep to ensure property values continue to rise or a middle-of-the-night emergency, someone needs to give ongoing attention to the places we and our tenants reside.
For landlords and property managers, this of course extends to investment properties. The challenge, however, can be delineating who is responsible for what maintenance responsibilities and when, as there can be many gray areas related to routine upkeep.
Defining Maintenance Responsibilities in Your Lease Agreement
Managing maintenance is a given if you’re a homeowner. Renters, on the other hand, enjoy a bit of a reprieve from many – but not all – of those responsibilities. Some renters who hope they can get by scot-free could be in for a surprise if they find themselves stuck repairing a clog, for example.
To prevent surprises, which can often lead to conflict, and share in some of the burden, cost, and responsibility of rental property maintenance, it’s imperative to spell out your maintenance expectations in your lease agreement.
What to Include in Your Lease Agreement?
In Columbus residential leasing agreements, the tenant is normally responsible for certain items and the landlord is responsible for others. Specifically, the landlord is required to keep the unit safe, habitable, and sanitary.
This means maintaining heating and cooling systems, ensuring that clean water is available, and taking other necessary steps to keep the overall property in good shape.
It’s the areas that sit on the margins, however, that need most clarification. Your lease agreement should clearly dictate who is responsible for what, especially for more ambiguous items. Putting them in your lease agreement is an easy way to thwart conflict and prevent miscommunication.
A common example is a garbage disposal. If the garbage disposal stops working, we specify in our lease that it’s the tenant’s responsibility to clear it if there’s a clog. Conversely, if the garbage disposal has reached the end of its life and is no longer working, then it’s the landlord’s responsibility to take care of the issue.
Will Property Management Companies Handle Maintenance and Repairs?
Handling maintenance and repairs can be one of the most time-consuming parts of property ownership. Not only is there the actual work of fixing the unit itself, there is also the logistics of contracting the maintenance person and coordinating schedules with the resident and other affected individuals.
Hiring a property management company is one way to relieve much of the burden related to repairs and maintenance. When interviewing potential PM companies, you’ll want to ask if they have an in-house maintenance team. This means the company has direct employees who are able to go out and deal with maintenance requests as they happen. The advantage to this approach is efficiency and typically better value as the employees are familiar with the property and can batch tasks at nearby properties.
Moreover, in-house arrangements can be beneficial because the staff are able to handle a range of requests including small electrical and basic plumbing problems, rather than paying full-rate plumber expenses just to fix a toilet.
Contact Us at RL Property Management with Questions
Maintenance is by the far the largest expense category of rental ownership and there is a lot to consider. Ensuring you spell out your maintenance expectations in your lease agreement is a good place to start.
To learn more about property investing in Columbus and how a property management company like ours can help you be successful with your investment, contact us at RL Property Management.
