Maintaining your rental properties is the best way to attract and retain tenants. It should be a high priority on every landlord’s “to do” list, but with so many responsibilities to deal with, property maintenance can sometimes fall by the wayside.
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What is property maintenance?
There are various types of property maintenance, all of which are important to the smooth running of your business. They all come under the umbrella of ensuring the building is safe, functional and presentable.
General building maintenance means looking after your portfolio in terms of the structure, roof, gutter, drainpipes, water pipes, heating system and other essential aspects. Property management and maintenance also includes planned maintenance, when you’ve arranged with your tenants to carry out jobs on a certain date. This can include having the gas boiler, fire, cooker and other amenities checked and repaired if necessary.
Although by law you need to complete the electrical safety inspection only once every five years, many landlords carry it out on a more regular basis for peace of mind. This is proactive maintenance to look for potential issues.
Landlords must also complete reactive maintenance to solve issues that the tenants have reported. This can include anything from a leaking roof to a broken boiler or a blown electrical socket.
Emergency maintenance and repairs may also be required, such as in the event of a burst pipe that has caused a flood, for example.
Keeping decor up to date
Another aspect of maintaining your property is keeping the decor and furniture up to date. High quality tenants won’t want to move into a house or flat that’s stuck in a time warp because it hasn’t been decorated for ten years.
Similarly, when renting out a furnished property, keep up to date on style by choosing landlord furniture packages when items need replacing. Keeping your portfolio on trend aesthetically is especially useful if you have a large portfolio and/or HMOs. Not only can you save time and reduce hassle by getting all your furniture from one supplier, but it can also reduce your overheads.
Rather than buying individual items of landlord furniture from different retailers, incurring more delivery costs, bulk buy only the highest-quality items that are guaranteed to meet modern safety requirements from one trusted supplier.
What are the benefits of regular property maintenance?
Normally, a landlord or agent will check their properties for maintenance needs every three months, although some landlords do so every six months. Industry organisations recommend carrying out an inspection every six months as the minimum timescale.
Property maintenance is important for both landlords and tenants and should be carried out regardless of whether your tenants have reported any issues.
The average cost of buy-to-let maintenance for a UK landlord is £2,313 a year per home, equating to around one-quarter of the landlord’s annual income from the property. However, this cost can vary significantly, depending on regional variations and the type of property.
Maintaining an HMO with eight bedrooms, or a four-bedroom family home in an upmarket area, will cost considerably more than a one-bedroom flat, for example. However, it’s well worth the investment when you consider if you let a house crumble, it can cost you far more to put right when damage occurs.
In addition, taking inadequate care of your portfolio can cause your relationship with tenants to break down, especially if they have reported issues that haven’t been resolved within a reasonable timeframe.
How many UK renters have maintenance issues?
According to the UK Rented Housing Disrepair Issues Report released in 2023, 48% of UK renters are living with a maintenance issue that requires the landlord’s attention. Worryingly, 10% have reported a serious hazard, classed as category one, which has remained unresolved for anything from six days to six months. Potential hazards in this category can cause “serious harm”, including a life-changing injury or even death.
There are 29 different hazards landlords must deal with, which are placed in different categories to reflect their seriousness including structural issues, asbestos on the property, electrical problems, sanitation and drainage issues, contaminated water supply and mould growth.
Failing to carry out preventative and reactive maintenance not only creates a bad relationship with your tenants, but it can also put their health and safety at risk in serious cases.
This means you could be breaking the law in the shape of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, updated in 2019, which helps private, council and housing association tenants in England to understand their rights.
In Wales, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, amended on 1st December 2022, represents the biggest change in the housing laws for decades. It demands higher standards for private rented properties, including keeping the structure and interior fit for human habitation and in good repair.
Penalties for landlords who neglect property maintenance
If a tenant suffers personal injury or damage to their belongings as a result of landlord negligence, they may be able to make a claim for compensation in court.
As a landlord, you must ensure that maintenance work is carried out safely, effectively and promptly to avoid damage to the property and harm to tenants. Using appropriate materials and skilled professionals is crucial. Failure to meet these standards can make you liable for compensation due to negligence.
Examples of negligence can include failing to repair a broken window or faulty door locks, leading to a burglar gaining entry to the property. If you don’t prevent damp and mould in your properties, this can be construed as negligent behaviour. The consequences can be more serious if your tenants have fallen ill as a result.
A burst water pipe left unrepaired, leading to water damage to the tenant’s home, could also be negligence, as could a weak floorboard that gives way underfoot, leading to an injury to the tenant or a visitor. Landlords can be fined, as well as having to pay compensation to the injured party.
The largest fine to date for a UK landlord was £200,000 handed out in 2017 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The errant landlord rented out properties in London when he was prosecuted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council.
Council inspectors discovered one property had a rotten second-floor balcony and an electric cooker hob with a live cable joined by tape, posing a risk to the tenant of electrocution. The balcony guard was considered to be in danger of deteriorating further, leaving tenants at serious risk if it broke, as they could fall a distance of 16ft.
While this is an extreme case, landlords are fined every day over inadequate maintenance. One case in recent years involved a landlord in the London borough of Brent, who was fined £9,000 for failing to improve his dangerous property, despite being ordered to remedy a range of hazards by the local authority.
Any landlord who fails to carry out property maintenance effectively will be hit where it hurts!