If you own a property to let, you need to make sure that you are fulfilling your obligations as a landlord and providing a safe place for your tenants to stay. As a result, there are some maintenance tasks that the landlord should carry out to ensure that everything is up to the right standards.
Fire Risk Assessment
Fire can be incredibly devastating, so you need to make sure that you are properly protecting your property and tenants against this hazard. It is so easy to start a fire, but the proper checks can help prevent them.
Contact a company like FireRiskManchester.co.uk to come in and assess the property as a whole. You should also look make sure you check any fire equipment that is provided with the property. There should be a fire extinguisher, and you might also have a fire blanket. You should check that these are in good working order. Finally, don’t forget about the smoke and CO2 detectors in the property. You need to ensure that these are thoroughly tested, and consider changing the batteries between long-term tenants if you are not sure when they would have last been done.
PAT Testing
If you have supplied any sort of white good or electrical appliance within your rental property, you need to make sure that it is PAT tested. Everything needs to be tested here, from a big appliance like a washing machine down to something as small as a charger. If it belongs to the property rather than the tenant, it needs to go on the list.
Luckily, these tests tend to be over quickly. You will also often find that companies who offer PAT testing are able to offer discounts for those who go through and get a lot of items all tested at the same time. If you have several properties within the same complex, you could even choose to get them all checked at once.
Emergency Repairs
Sometimes, we can’t predict when something is going to fail. A fuse might blow in a radiator, or the water might stop running, or the boiler could breakdown. These are all examples of emergency repairs that you as a landlord are going to have to deal with as soon as you can.
Of course, there is a chance that your tenants are able to help out. If you trust them, let them help to source a reputable tradesman to come and fix the issue as soon as possible. However, the responsibility does lie with you. As the landlord, you need to ensure that you are providing a safe place for your tenants to live. If something happens, you need to rectify it as soon as possible.
Becoming a landlord brings a slew of responsibilities with it, and part of that comes in the form of carrying out necessary maintenance around the property as and when it is needed. Make sure you always stay on top of this maintenance so you are always on the best terms with your tenants.
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