As a Norfolk landlord, completing a tenant maintenance request is one of your most important responsibilities. Every renter deserves to live in a property that is good and worth the rent they are paying.
An unchecked maintenance request can lead to unsatisfied tenants and discourages them from renewing their lease. To avoid conflict with renters, maintenance requests should be fixed quickly, without any hassle.
Here are a few practices in which you can make sure that tenant maintenance requests in Norfolk are completed.
Outline maintenance particulars in the lease
The lease itself must include all the maintenance specifics like maintenance plans and request submission method. The lease agreement should also be clear about what kind of maintenance is the occupant’s responsibility.
For e.g., minor leaks in pipes, replacing smoke detectors, or damaged window panes might fall under the care of the tenant. Make sure to enforce the renter’s responsibility in case of minor issues. For major issues, have a fixed budget to take care of the repairs for your tenant.
Maintain a formal maintenance request and record system
Your tenant could easily call you for repairs in the middle of the night. However, as a landlord, you should only accept those maintenance requests which are formally submitted. They can be in the form of thorough and detailed written documents, or in the form of emails.
By enforcing this organized approach, you can keep a detailed record of all pending, completed, and ongoing maintenance requests. This will help you verify if the tenant is telling the truth and not making multiple requests for the same repairs and maintenance issues.
Respond to each request promptly
The key to completing any maintenance request is clear communication between the landlord and the tenant.
As soon as the occupant submits a maintenance request, categorize it according to its urgency. If the issue is severe, the complaint must be fixed within the same day. If the issue is moderately severe, it can be fixed within a couple of days.
Before carrying out any repairs, be sure to ask questions and specifications. Knowing exactly what needs to be done will save a ton of time for the contractors.
Use professional repairmen and contractors
Although you may be a Do-It-Yourself kind of landlord, you can’t fix all maintenance issues by yourself. Depending on the type of task, you need to hire professionals.
Requests for issues like structural damage, the smell of gas, malfunctioning of lights, and others can’t be solved without the help of contractors. Make sure to inform the contractors about the issue in detail and discuss the budget with them beforehand.
Budget for Rental Property Maintenance
After the completion of any maintenance request, it is necessary to get the signature of the renter to verify that the request has been resolved. You also need to have a proper budget plan in place for your rental maintenance. It is not necessary that the monthly maintenance budget will be used, but it helps to have funds aside in case any major maintenance requests are made by your Norfolk renter.
Your maintenance requests can be handled by the right property management company with the help of automated systems. Having professional support when it comes to handling maintenance requests ensures that the issue is resolved quickly and painlessly.
At Doud Realty Services, we help you manage all tenant maintenance requests in a budget-friendly manner, assuring a happy and comfortable stay for your tenants.