Property maintenance falls into many categories and you’re usually better off taking a monthly contract which you’d expect would be more cost effective than adhoc maintenance jobs. Scan through the headings below which should give you an idea of the types of jobs that might be involved typical property maintenance. You notice the regular maintenance section is the longest as we believe that regular maintenance will decrease the likelihood of needing emergency or property damage maintenance.
Regular Maintenance
Under regular or routine maintenance you’d generally find any work that you can predict will need carrying out including guttering cleaning and repairs, drainage issues, painting and decorating. Good landlords generally want their properties to have excellent curb appeal to maintain their landlord reputation, so regular upkeep in key. Since it’s usually quite easy to predict when these types of jobs will need doing, a fixed-monthly fees is reasonable for this. If you’re don’t agree a regular monthly contract which allows a handyman or property maintenance company to plan this time in, then expect to pay more if you suddenly decide you need this work doing at the last minute. It’s always better to be proactive and keep on top of property maintenance rather than reactive and wait for complaints to start rolling in before action is taken. Good, regular maintenance should also decrease the risk of instances of emergency maintenance becoming necessary. Landscaping and gardening may fall under the responsibility of the maintenance company, landlord or tenant. If it’s the maintenance company then this is usually a regular maintenance task which is pretty easy to predict how long it will take and how much it will cost. Regular inspections also need to be carried out for example a yearly boiler check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Certain maintenance will generally be carried out between old tenants leaving a property and new tenants arriving, including painting and decorating, changing or repairing flooring and carpets. Although it depends on the quality of the landlord as to the condition in which they will rent out a property.
Emergency Maintenance
As mentioned in the emergency maintenance section above, the better you are at upkeep of a property, the less likelihood there will be of as many emergencies. But emergencies do tend to still happen occasionally. Fixing that old pipe before it bursts is usually case of prevention is better than the cure. Generally expect to pay a premium for emergency maintenance, again this will be more cost effective if you have a regular maintenance plan with a trusted handyman or property maintenance company.
Property Damage
These are the unknowns that may happen because of a flood, strong winds, a storm, and so on. They could also come under emergency maintenance depending on the severity of the damage and its impact on the tenants. A new roof will cost a few thousand pounds depending on the size and style of roof. If a roof is leaking following heavy rain fall it’s always advisable to check if a roof needs maintenance work to fix tiles etc or if it’s time to replace the whole roof as it’s become unrepairable. Again though if you keep up with the regular maintenance then the effects of property damage should be minimal. For example, heavy rain will generally be the catalyst that highlights the weakness in a poorly constructed or maintained roof. Storm damage, on the other hand, is a different, story and can cause real damage that didn’t exactly before this particularly extreme form of bad weather.
Gas Safety Certificates and Safety Checks
UK landlords are legally required to arrange regular safety checks, including:
- An annual gas safety inspection carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- PAT testing and electrical safety checks
- Ensure the property has smoke detectors which are tested and working
- Contact your local handyman to discuss a property maintenance plan.