10 Minute Read
Ensuring tenants look after the property they're renting is a must and the associated benefits in the saving of costs derived from reletting, repairs and time needed to deal with pertinent issues are clear, but how can tenants be encouraged to do this?
1) Provide A Great Property To Start With
There's more than a compelling case for providing a clean property, in a great condition at the start of a tenancy, that it's likely to come back that way when the tenancy comes to an end.
Final Check - A star tenant can actually be made by doing the basics really well as part of the management. Just before moving in the tenant, a quick check of the rental unit should be done a number of hours before scheduled check in to identify any potential issues AND rectify them. Are lightbulbs working, are cupboard doors shutting properly, are shower enclosures clean as something could have been missed when initially getting the property ready in the days or weeks leading up to the new tenants checking in. That one last check beforehand can make move in perfect and set the tone for the rest of the tenancy. Failing to get this right can lead to a creating a problem tenant for the rest of the tenancy and a bad experience for them. There's nothing worse for a new tenant than moving into a place that's in a poor state of repair or is unclean, Believe Me.
This works well for the apartment buildings we operate and it works extraordinarily well across our PBSA and will correspond to our BTR stock. We tend to get the property back in a great condition, over 90%, for self contained single occupancy apartments and in excess of 80% for properties with multiple tenants. In reality, we always get the cleaners in at the end of the tenancy, regardless of how the outgoing tenants have left the property but the time and cost in rectifying any issues is as a result, minimal as they work in conjunction with everything outlined in this article.
Supply Quality - Stylish helps to sell the property but the importance in the durability of the appliances, furniture, fittings and fixtures that have been supplied in the property needs to be long-lasting, mitigating the potential for issues to arise. Certain brands or models of goods supplied can cause issues, so it makes much more sense to spend a little more money and purchase the quality product that lasts longer in order to lighten the impact of potential maintenance issues. Making it easier for the tenants to look after the property in the first place is prudent, it will also increase the likelihood of them reletting that unit.
Check In & Check Out Condition Noted - Having an inventory and the condition reports done at the key junctures in the tenancy allows the standard of the property to be confirmed in written form. We take videos of the condition of each rental before any tenant moves in. The videos we take are clear online access to a copy of the video is provided to the tenant, who is usually in the background of the videos or they're done just a few minutes before they move in. When the property is returned, it's increasingly likely to be in a good condition as it's comparable to the video footage the tenant has access to. A HD camera or the camera supplied on most smartphones is more than sufficient to use for this very purpose.
2) Clear & Responsive Maintenance Procedure
Having a clear, set method to allow tenants to contact management about maintenance issues is paramount. Providing pre-set repair timescales and making it easy to report issues so they can be dealt with as quickly as possible and preferably ahead of the published timeframes is a smart move. Maintenance jobs are able to be categorised as all job come under under a certain type of category and so the associated level of urgency associated with that job can be determined.
The speed at which the repair work is done also looks impressive to tenants especially if the pre-set repair timescales are longer than the internal company response time targets.
There are online tools that can be integrated within websites for reporting maintenance issues. The method however can be as simple as requiring tenants to send an email request through for non-urgent issues. It's something we do and we make it clear that we do not accept non-emergency maintenance requests over the phone, text message, face to face or any other means. This is sometimes difficult for new tenants to follow but they soon get used to the way we operate this function and it works fine.
Tenants email with the first line of the property as the subject and provide the maintenance team with images and information relating to it so our in-house maintenance team can best respond and quickly. It’s always a good idea to over-communicate when it comes to the response to maintenance issues as we've found out from past experiences that even when you’ve dealt with a maintenance issue quickly, if you've failed to communicate each step of the repair process effectively. Tenants sometimes get confused about whether or not the maintenance jobs have been completed especially if there are a number of people living in one household who fail to communicate this with each other. We overcome this by keep all parties in the household informed at all stages of the maintenance request regardless of which individual originally reported the issue.
3) Clear Written obligations
Outlining the obligations of the tenant in the tenancy agreement as well as what they can expect from you as a landlord in terms of maintenance responsibility and responsiveness is a great to push accountability. Have a look into general property response queries and any costs relating to the tenancy in respect of maintenance jobs or instances of tenant not being in for pre-arranged visits or calling out for the maintenance team. A written procedure certainly sets the tone and makes it easier for the team in-house to follow including the end user, the tenant.
4) Carry Out Regular Inspections
Depending on the company, inspections of the property's condition should ideally be done every 3 to 6 months. Less than every three months will probably be deemed a little intrusive and beyond six months is a little too long between inspections period to personally check the condition.
A small, perceived trouble free leak can turn out to be a major problem for the flat below or cause damage to the property, electrics can be damaged because of this league because it’s been allowed to go on so this really advantage in doing inspections particularly if the tenants haven't reported issues.
Some tenants will report all kinds of issues however conversely, some will avoid reporting what they deem a really minor issue and will happily continue to live in their property all for not wanting to bother the landlord or various reasons for not reporting it. Major issues can be diverted and so a interim inspections will lead to a smoother checkout process at the end of the tenancy.
5) Take A Healthy Deposit
A large deposit can be a deterrent for the tenants more inclined to damage a property or not leave the property in a great state. Whilst we actually stopped taking deposits from tenants, instead relying on guarantors, it encourages most tenants to act appropriately and look after the property. For the student and young professional market where renters may have not rented before it’s harder to vet tenants in terms of their ability to rent well and look after their property, instead personal references may be another way to mitigate against problem tenants.
