How to Maintain Your Rental Property

Managing multifamily rental units requires a greater deal of property maintenance tasks given the size and number of residents.

If you have multiple occupants and a lot of rental rooms then it means more time must be dedicated to keeping the property habitable. According to Arizona landlord-tenant laws, both landlords and renters have regular tasks to perform. This article will focus on what these duties are.

What Are the Property Maintenance Responsibilities of a Landlord?

Providing Garbage Bins

To help maintain a hygienic rental unit, trash receptacles must be available around the rental. The number and size of the garbage containers can be decided based on the number of tenants you have and how often the garbage collection takes place in your area.

If the trash is collected once a week then you have to supply a larger bin but if it’s collected three times a week, fewer garbage bins can be distributed. Take time to review the local regulations in your neighborhood since some communities require building an enclosure around the trash.

Ensuring Running Water Is Available

Without enough running water in your rental, it can be tough for the tenants to maintain a clean home and conduct essential activities such as bathing or cooking.

As a landlord, you must make sure that a clean and sufficient water supply is always readily available. Make sure that the water pressure is stable in every unit.

Complying With Building Codes

Part of maintaining safety is restricting the number of residents in a given rental space. It’s important for landlords to follow security measures such as installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors around the rental. They should also strive to keep the unit clean so a pest infestation is unlikely.

In addition, ventilating your home is a vital step to avoid mold growth, which can be costly to resolve.

Coordinating Repairs

It’s expected that rental homes will sometimes face damage. When this happens, landlords must arrange for repairs right away. Confronting damages early results in less costly repairs. Should damage be caused by a tenant’s neglect or abuse, the security deposit can cover this situation. But, if the damage results from normal wear and tear, the landlord must pay for the repair fees.

The best way to coordinate repairs is to keep in contact with the tenants. It is up to you and the tenant if this should be through call, text, or email.

Assessing Essential Services Are Functional

To keep your rental unit a comfortable space for tenants to stay in, property inspections must remain consistent. Check these critical home systems: plumbing, electrical, gas, and structural integrity. Some integral inspections include: tenant walk-through inspections, scheduled inspections, and emergency inspections.

If a tenant feels safe in the unit, they are more likely to stay long term.

What Are the Legal Maintenance Duties of the Tenants?

Keeping a Sanitized Rental

No matter how many trash cans a landlord scatters around the rental space, renters must still make sure that they throw their trash in these receptacles. If not, pest infestation can occur and damage the rental home. Uncleanliness will also eventually affect the health of the residents, possibly in multiple units depending on the severity.

Maintaining a Hazard Free Unit

In rental spaces, property owners always include emergency exit access. But, some renters can at times place barriers in these areas. Though they can be temporary, they can still block a safe escape in case of break-in, fire, or other hazard. Time is very crucial during disasters and so, tenants must take care to pay attention to these safety features.

By the same token, it’s also important to refrain from tampering with smoke or carbon monoxide detectors since these are installed to keep the tenants safe.

Complying With Building and Housing Codes

Building and housing codes are created for a reason. Renters must abide by these since they should be outlined in the lease agreement. An example of housing codes includes restriction on the number of residents in one rental space.

If a renter ignores this rule, it can lead to a lot of issues. When a natural disaster happens, such as a fire or earthquake, it can slow down escape if there are too many people wanting to get out at one time.

Let’s also consider an arrangement where the landlord pays for the utility bill. Naturally, the bill payments are bound to be higher with additional people living in the unit. Not to mention that wear and tear is faster when multiple occupants are staying in a rental space.

Avoiding Mold Growth

Tenants can avoid dealing with mold issues by ensuring a properly ventilated unit. They can leave windows open or use an electric fan to dry off excess moisture. It’s also the duty of a renter to communicate the mold concern to the landlord so proper mold remediation is done right away.

Respecting the Property

Renters have a duty to keep the rental space reasonably clean. Any form of neglect or abuse is discouraged. Proper use of the items around the unit must be exercised so damages beyond wear and tear are minimal.

How Can Tenants Further Support Property Maintenance?

Here are ways renters can maintain their rental homes:

• Perform maintenance work each season
• Take out the garbage
• Keep the common areas in order
• Report property issues to landlords

What are the Landlord’s Duties When It Comes to Property Repairs?

Property damages are eventual and when this occurs, landlords must contact their network of vendors right away to fix it.

Passing this responsibility to the renter isn’t allowed unless a mutual understanding has been established between the renter and landlord over what maintenance duties to perform.

Bottom Line

Each landlord and renter has their own specific duties to conduct when it comes to property maintenance. Both must perform their designated tasks to keep the rental unit in top-notch condition.

You can also delegate this responsibility to a dedicated property manager such as get MULTIfamily Property Management. Contact us today!