How to lower liability with Proactive Maintenance

As a landlord, planning ways on how to reduce your liability, prevent any accidents and injuries to your tenants is necessary. The best solution for every landlord is to have a proactive approach to property maintenance.  

The answer to reducing liability is to think proactive. Costly maintenance repairs can be lessened and legal concerns will not be a problem. The law is strict when it comes to landlords who ignore any safety and health hazard to their rental properties. Proactive maintenance promotes tenant retention as well. A satisfied tenant will most likely stay and keep renewing their leases if they know their landlord is always on top of doing property maintenance.

Always remember that the more expenses you have, the less profit you gain. Doing proactive property maintenance approach improves your income, attract more tenants and your rental revenues will go up. 

How to start with Proactive Maintenance

The first thing you have to do is a routine inspection. This way you can check the condition of the property in and out. Find out any small damages that can potentially be a bigger problem later on. It is better to spend on a $20 door stopper to prevent the door from making damage to your wall. Ignoring it may later cause you to spend more in patching up a cracked wall.

If there are any alarming issues that need to be addressed after the inspection, talk with your property manager to plan the needed repairs. Look for any repairs that are mandatory as per the law and get it prioritized.

A well planned proactive maintenance helps you achieve your ultimate goal of reducing expenses, liabilities and helps you to execute the property maintenance properly.

Proactive Maintenance items that help you reduce liability

A professional inspector provides you with a comprehensive report about the condition of your property after their inspection. This report includes the issues you need to work on. Ensuring that you perform all the recommended repairs is very crucial. Any damage may cause you a problem if you just leave them be. It is always better to fix smaller damages to prevent making it bigger and more expensive. This also reduces the chances of causing any accidents or injuries to your tenants or anyone visiting your property.

Important items you need to maintain inside your property are:

• Electrical Issues

Any electrical issues are dangerous as they can cause property damage (fire) or worse, serious injury to your tenants. Watch out for exposed or unsafe wiring, broken receptacles, faulty kitchen appliances such as stoves or ovens and dishwasher units. 

• Flooring Problems

Fix exposed carpet tacks, loose or cracked tiles, ripped linoleum. If your flooring becomes a trip hazard, consider replacing it as soon as possible.

• Install a drain line for water heaters
• Replace Air Conditioning filters frequently. If this is a maintenance task for a tenant, check if they do it regularly
• Always check the water supply in the bathroom and kitchen
• Maintain the smoke alarms. This must be working properly in any case of emergency. Check if it is still in good condition and the batteries are updated for back up. If it needs replacing, do it immediately.
• Check windows and window locks. Ensure that you can easily open it and the locks are working properly. Fix or replace it if needed. Windows are also necessary as escape routed in any case there are any burglars or fire.
• Regularly check for any mold issues. Remove any problem that could potentially cause mold growth. Any leaking, dripping faucets, broken bathroom fans or anything that produces moisture attracts mold growth. If needed, get an expert to handle the mold situation in your property.

Exterior Maintenance is important too. Any persons passing by your property may get injured if you have a trip hazard on your sidewalk. Some items to look out for are:

• Correct lighting around your property is very important. Replace light bulbs that are not working. To be energy and cost-efficient, use LED lights. They consume lower energy so as a result, you can use them for at least 10-15 years.
• Avoid trip hazards. Keep bushes and trees well-trimmed. Repair any cracks on your sidewalk. Remove any dangerous potholes or rocks. Check for any dangerous tree roots and remove them as this is another trip hazard. Trim branches away from your roof.
• Remove any safety hazards like hanging electrical wires, falling gutters or roof shingles
• Replace any unsafe fences, sheds or structures that can potentially cause injury

Performing maintenance on some of these items are simple and budget-friendly. It is better to fix them while they have not caused any injuries or bigger damages. All these items can help reduce your liabilities and prevent you from any costly legal issues. 

As a landlord aim to provide quality housing to your tenant by doing proactive maintenance. Doing so increases your profits as you have fewer expenses in dealing with maintenance and repair costs. You get fewer chances of spending costly medical bills due to accidents. Investing in proactive maintenance goes a long way and even increases the value of your property. It is a win-win situation for every landlord.

If you have any questions or interested in starting proactive maintenance to your rental property, give us a call. Green Ocean Property Management makes it a priority to promote safety for your tenants and secure your property. We protect your property through our efficient bi-annual routine inspection and proactive maintenance.

Our team of experts will ensure that your property is always in its best condition!

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Email us at hello@greenoceanpropertymanagement.com or call 617-487-4868.

You may visit our office at 268 Centre St Newton MA 02458.