Should we allow tenants to leave personal belongings in the basement

We manage hundreds of multifamily properties across greater Boston and what that means is lots of basements that must be cleaned, organized, and secured.  In relation to that, we often get this question: “Should we allow our tenants to leave personal belongings in the basements of the houses that we manage?” The answer is NO.

Why aren’t we allowing them?

Photo from @yanalya of Freepik

This opens up our clients to a lot of liabilities as well as complaints. And of course, the mess that needs to be cleaned up later on. In every single one of our leases, we put a section that states that there should be no personal belongings in basements.

What that allows us to do, is make sure that if there’s anything in the common areas, we throw it away. Year after year, we see tenants leaving things in the basements. Afterward, the basements get flooded with personal belongings that get stolen, which we get blamed for or worse yet, causing fire hazards when it is close to boilers or hot water tanks. These are all things that can be avoided with a very simple section in your place.

We provide storage bins for rent instead

Photo from @artursafronovvvv of Freepik

In any multifamily that has a basement that we manage, we will walk down into the basement to see if it is an area in which we can build storage bins. If there are areas, we can actually rent out these storage bins to the tenants. That way, it’s a win-win situation. The tenants get a space that they can leave their personal belongings, and we can make additional income for you, the landlord. It also keeps everything clean and organized.

If you or anyone else, you know, is looking for a property manager that is proactive and forward thinking that can solve problems and help you be more profitable, please think of Green Ocean Property Management, you get more than a property manager, you get peace of mind.