A basic guide to property maintenance
For whatever financial reason you’ve bought your investment property, it is imperative it is well-maintained.
Tenants have rights, and residential properties are required to meet required minimum standards to ensure they are ‘fit for habitation’; anything less, and the property cannot be rented out.
But good maintenance goes beyond providing a good, quality home for tenants, a well-maintained property prevents more expense in putting things right later down the track.
There is also a legal aspect to maintenance; equipment failure or breakdowns are minimised, so there is less chance of accidents or incidents that may cause liabilities, legal problems, or fines.
Maintenance can also affect your rental income, and may also be the deciding factor as to whether to rent the property or renew the lease.
But what is essential, and what can wait?
Here’s our guide to property maintenance.
Types of property maintenance
Maintenance is very large, so we’ve broken it down into three types:
- Preventative maintenance
As the name suggests, this type of maintenance prevents issues from either occurring in the first place. It usually involves routine checks, servicing or replacement of old parts. For instance:
- Pest control
- Cleaning gutters to prevent blockages
- Servicing appliances such as smoke alarms and security systems and air conditioners
- Checking pipes and plumbing for signs of leakage or blockage
Generally, this type of maintenance should be carried out once or twice a year, and in some cases, such as checking smoke alarms, it is a legal obligation. It makes sense that if you’re on top of this maintenance, the chances are you’ll have a lot fewer, less expensive repairs later down the track.
- Corrective maintenance
Even though you may service items regularly, or clean gutters, problems do occur. Corrective maintenance is carried out when a problem arises and it needs immediately rectifying. For instance:
- Repairing broken appliances, fixtures and fittings
- Repairing leaks
- Addressing safety issues, such as electrical problems
Even the most maintenance-conscious of landlords are likely to be faced with corrective maintenance at some point. The most important thing is to get these types of maintenance put right in an acceptable time frame.
- Cosmetic maintenance
This type of maintenance refers to anything cosmetic that is designed to maintain and improve the property’s visual appeal. Cosmetic maintenance can include:
- old decor
- landscaping the garden
- replacing cracked or broken tiles
- refreshing old fittings and fixtures
While not immediately urgent, this type of maintenance can affect your rental income, particularly if you’re wanting to attract new tenants, or raise the rent. No-one really wants to move into a place and live with peeling wallpaper.
It stands to reason, that a well maintained and preserved property will help with increasing the property’s market value.
Furthermore, if the property is well maintained, and repairs are carried out in a timely way, it demonstrates the landlord cares about the tenant’s home, and often encourages the tenant to be respectful and care for the property too.
Having been in the business for nearly 50 years, we consider we’re the experts in what is essential, non-essential, and desirable repairs, maintenance and improvements that property investors should do. We carry out regular inspections, and highlight any potential maintenance issues to our landlords.
Our advice is to address any essential maintenance issues quickly, particularly if you’ve got long-term tenants and you want to keep them!
If you’d like to know how you can enhance your property to increase rental return, or have any queries regarding landlord obligations, please do get in touch. We believe we go above and beyond expectations which is why we are one of Newcastle’s longest established real estate companies.
Our motto is very simple – we treat every property entrusted into our care as if it’s one of our own.
With many of our team having investment properties themselves, we always go the extra mile.
Get in touch with us now, and we tell you how our property management services can make your life easier, and offer tips to increase your return on investment.
With nearly 50 years of property management experience behind us, we’ve helped thousands of people realise their dreams through property and our aim is to make your life easier. Simply give us a ring on 02 4956 9777, send us an email to mail@newcastlepropertymanagement.com.au or pop into our Cardiff office for a chat.
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