Should Landlords do Regular Inspections on Tenents?
Regular Inspections Are Important
The upkeep of rental property is vital to its continuing economic viability. Property that is inadequately maintained is not able to compete effectively for new tenants except with discounted rents. Taken to an extreme, a practice of deferring maintenance and the resulting need to lower rents and/or accept less qualified tenants, leads to a downward spiral that is hard to reverse.
Failing to stay on top of needed maintenance and repair, failing to perform preventive maintenance, and/or failing to make repairs when requested, is one of the most shortsighted and costly mistakes that landlords make. If the property is not kept in good repair, the tenant may have the right to withhold rent, sue for any injuries caused by defective conditions, or move out without notice. And who could blame them?
To help protect his property and his investment, a smart landlord makes regular periodic detailed inspections of his properties. Periods between inspections that are adequate will vary with the type and age of the property and the condition of the property when the current tenant moved in. Typically, inspections should be done at quarterly intervals.
Property inspections are a positive way to build strong relationships with your good tenants. Tenants who call with small problems are often viewed as pesky tenants. Inspections performed quarterly or at least semi-annually will likely make your tenants more interested in helping to properly maintain the property.
It is a good idea for the lease agreement to include a section regarding maintenance and another regarding inspections. The section regarding maintenance should include a list of the tenant’s responsibilities, including the duty to report problems requiring landlord action. The section regarding inspections should state that there will be periodic inspections by the landlord or by his/her agent, the approximate frequency of inspections, and the manner (method of communication and amount of advance notice) in which the landlord will schedule a proposed inspection date.
The periodic inspections will allow the landlord to inspect the property for a variety of maintenance issues, including those that may not be reported by the tenant but would be costly for the landlord if not taken care of. Inspection items usually include plumbing, furnace and air conditioning problems, roof or gutter repair and also for housekeeping items that need attention to maintain health and safety conditions.
These scheduled visits also alert the landlord to potential problems such as trash and garbage accumulating on the property, cracks in windows panes, or leaky faucets.
Rather than a nuisance, regular inspections can provide an opportunity to correct problems before they become disasters as well as create goodwill. Too, any tenant communication can open further dialogue to correct or prevent misunderstandings of any nature. Such interaction (1) allows the landlord to reinforce their concern for the tenant’s safety, security, etc. and (2) protects the landlord’s interest in the rental investment.
Preventive maintenance will save money in the long run. If needed maintenance is deferred, costs multiply when the repairs are finally made or replacement becomes necessary. The adage of penny wise and pound foolish is true.
Failure to take care of repairs, particularly those related to health or safety can result in withholding of rent, a government inspection, and/or citations with fines. You are guaranteed that an inspection will result in a number of items needing attention besides the one the tenant complained about. At a minimum, failure will result in a disgruntled tenant.
Inspections can result in catching other problems which might require a warning notice, a decision to not renew a lease, or an immediate eviction. Issues sometimes uncovered during inspections include (1) undisclosed pets or particular pets prohibited by the landlord or by the insurance policy, the latter being potentially worse because it might eliminate landlord protection upon damage or injury to other tenants or to the general public, (2) poor housekeeping to the degree that it can cause damage, (3) conditions that attract insects, mice, roaches and other vermin that can become an expensive problem, (4) unusually hard use by the tenant that is causing significantly more damage than “normal wear & tear,” (5) smoking in “smoke free” units, (5) smoke and carbon monoxide detectors with dead batteries, (6) running toilets or leaky faucets when water cost is paid by the landlord, (7) evidence of illegal drug use (resist the temptation to look into closets or drawers), (8) improper storage of dangerous chemicals, and (9) tenant-caused conditions that are potentially dangerous such as storing flammables near a gas appliance.
There are numerous ramifications related to inadequate maintenance.
First, the best tenants will not want to live in poorly maintained property. Prospective tenants who must accept such property often do so because they do not qualify to rent better quality properties where landlords use adequate screening and selection procedure. The same landlords who do inferior maintenance often also use inferior screening.
Second, tenants, like most of us, will usually take better care of something that is valued and it is human nature to value good things more than junk. When it appears to the tenant that the landlord doesn’t care about the condition of the property, how can the landlord expect that the tenant will care about it?
Third, if the property is not kept in good repair and the problems are not repaired during a vacancy, the new tenants will start out having a bad experience. Also, the fewer defects for a property when a tenant moves in, the less argument the tenant can have when the tenant moves out. Damage to a door or wall found at move-out is obviously the fault of the tenant if the door and wall were in excellent condition at move-in.
Fourth, many types of maintenance items that are not taken care of when initially discovered, not only become worse as time passes, but can eventually be the cause of other problems that are substantially more costly to correct.
For example, a small leak in a roof can often be repaired in 30 minutes using a few dollars-worth of patching materials. If not fixed, however, the leak will often eventually lead to discoloration of ceiling drywall. If still not fixed, one should expect eventual sagging of the drywall, then, finally, complete collapse of an area of the drywall. This can even cause damage to the carpet and/or damage to a tenant’s personal property. The cost of replacing the drywall, texturing, priming, and painting can easily run into hundreds of dollars. Damage to carpet can add many hundreds more. There is also the potential for creating mold problems. While landlords are not usually liable for loss of or damage to a tenant’s personal property, a judge may rule otherwise if it is the result of the landlord’s gross negligence and award substantial damages if the falling drywall broke the tenant’s valuable Ming vase.
Fifth, without a maintenance plan in place, you have less control over your expenses. Unplanned emergency repairs will almost always be more costly and be more stressful for both the landlord and the tenant.
It is important to maintain a detailed up-to-date maintenance log which provides information about every tenant request for service, the results of each inspection in detail, and what was done to correct any issues discovered.
Keeping a maintenance log helps to eliminate most problems associated with tenant maintenance complaints and it is powerful evidence if you end up in court or before a housing agency in spite of always attempting to provide safe and comfortable housing.
In summary, the positive benefits of good property maintenance include better tenants, increased tenant satisfaction that can lead to longer tenancies for good tenants, improved landlord-tenant relations, higher rents, less likelihood of complaints to regulatory agencies, and reduced costs for vacancies.