Routine preventative maintenance is well worth the time and (small) cost as it ensures a safe environment for your tenants and longevity for your property systems and structure.
Preventative maintenance is important for any property, be it commercial, residential, a motor home, you name it. Taking care of the systems and bones of any property will lengthen its life and save you some serious headache.
As a landlord with people other than yourself living in your property, it’s even more important. Determining how well a prospective tenant will treat and maintain your property is tough, so maintenance and upkeep is something the landlord needs to own. Whether you’re running through a preventative maintenance checklist yourself or you hire a professional (it’s included with RentalRiff), it’s critical to stay on top of maintaining your property.
We recommend the following preventative maintenance checklist for every rental property:
Replace Furnace Filters
Do this at least once a year. Good for the furnace, good for the air your tenants breathe.
Change out smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries
Do this at least once a year as well.
Inspect/clear out your dryer vent
The dryer vent can be a fire hazard - check out our blog post on this task.
Make sure sinks and drains are clear
Tenants will usually let you know when there’s an issue, but it’s easy to check during an annual maintenance walkthrough.
Check gutters
Depending on the tree situation around your property, this may require a couple visits to the property throughout the year (needles from pine trees fall in the spring and autumn).
Check the siding and roof for deterioration/issues
You don’t have to hop on the roof to inspect, just know what to look for (check out our blog post on the topic).
Make sure the appliances are working properly
Generally speaking tenants will let you know of any appliance issues, but turning them on periodically to look/listen for problems is a good idea.
Inspect crawl space for pests and water damage
Here’s another blog post to reference.
Switch the GFIs
A good portion of the electrical calls we get can be solved by switching the GFI.
Check all systems, doors, ceilings, windows, walls, and floors
If you’re in for an annual property walkthrough, it goes without saying to make sure the bones of the property are functioning properly.
Happy landlording! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions on rental property maintenance best practices.
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