Most landlords reasonably prioritize the most pragmatic aspects of their rental property management strategy. They want to choose viable properties with potential for appreciation, they want to maintain a good balance of income to expenses, and they want to keep their tenants satisfied.
One big element of that, namely property safety, sometimes goes unnoticed or underappreciated. But making a concentrated effort to keep your rental property safe for tenants can help you get more value out of your strategy overall.
Why You Need to Care About Property Safety
Why should you care about the safety of your property?
· Compliance. The obvious benefit here is remaining compliant with local laws and regulations. You’ll likely be responsible for keeping your property in safe, habitable condition according to local codes and statutes. Deviating from these rules and guidelines can be extremely costly for you and dangerous for your tenants.
· Liability mitigation. If a tenant is injured on your property, they may be able to sue you for damages. If you can prove that you kept the property in reasonably safe condition, you can mitigate a variety of legal risks.
· Maintenance and repair expense mitigation. If you don’t care about the condition of your property, you’ll open the door to greater maintenance and repair expenses. You might also make repairing maintenance issues more complicated, ultimately resulting in more headaches.
· Tenant happiness/satisfaction. Don’t forget that safety is a top priority for most tenants as well. If you keep the property in safer, more habitable condition, your tenants are going to be happier and less likely to leave.
Key Areas to Analyze
These are some of the most important areas to analyze if safety is one of your priorities:
· Physical hazards. Look for any physical hazards that could prevent tenants from moving freely or compromise their safety in other ways. For example, something as simple as a cracked sidewalk or a protrusion from the floor could pose a serious tripping hazard.
· Plumbing. Certain plumbing issues can pose significant dangers. For example, if your water heater isn’t properly maintained, it could present a significant danger to your tenants.
· Electricity. Electrical issues present significant fire hazards, and can introduce your tenants to risk of shock. Make sure all the wiring in your house is as up-to-date as possible, and take any electrical risks very seriously.
· Gas. Natural gas leaks kill a handful of people each year, and gas can present other problems as well. If you have natural gas in your home, it’s important to be extra mindful of potential leaks and fire hazards.
· Appliances. You also need to pay attention to appliances, especially if those appliances are old or not functioning properly. If not maintained or managed properly, appliances can pose electrical fire risks.
· Detection. Part of maintaining a safe property means giving tenants alerts to potential issues as they develop. It’s important to have active, reliable smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors on the property.
Your Action Plan
Develop an action plan so that you can identify potential safety issues and resolve them as quickly as possible. These are some of your most important keys to success in this area:
· Understand local requirements. First, make sure you understand all local requirements. Consider working with a lawyer or a property manager so you can better understand laws, regulations, and codes that might impact how you manage your property.
· Make it easy for tenants to report concerns. Next, make it as easy as possible for tenants to report potential areas of concern. For example, you can have them flag issues through an online portal and give them multiple ways to communicate with you. If tenants find and send you these issues, you’ll have an easier time identifying and fixing them.
· Pay close attention to flagged issues. Don’t allow reports to go unexplored. Pay very close attention to issues that your tenants flag, and resolve them as quickly and thoroughly as you can.
· Inspect periodically. Conduct a thorough property inspection periodically. Evaluate all areas of the property and scout for anything that might compromise the safety of the building.
· Handle repairs proactively. Manage repairs and maintenance as proactively as possible. Aim to prevent or mitigate issues, rather than only responding to them once they spiral out of control.
· Be thorough. Finally, be thorough and prioritize quality. It’s much better to resolve an issue thoroughly than to use a patchwork fix that requires a follow-up in the future.
Property safety needs to be high on your list of priorities, not only to remain compliant with the law and keep your tenants safe, but also to maximize tenant satisfaction and make your life easier. Keeping a unit safe isn’t always easy, but it is always important.
