How to prepare tenants to deal with property problems
Preparing tenants to address property problems involves educating them on basic maintenance and providing clear communication
When there’s an emergency at your rental property, a big factor in keeping any resulting damage to a minimum is how quickly your tenants respond.
Of course, not every tenant does inform their landlord about problems at an early stage and sometimes you won’t find out about an issue until damage has been caused, which is why it’s vital that you have comprehensive landlord insurance cover, as well as good lines of communication with your tenants.
But there are things you can do to prepare your tenants in case issues arise.
As part of their check-in, make sure they know exactly what to do if something goes wrong.
Three key questions they must know the answers to, are:
What action should they take in the property?
Who do they need to contact?
Do they need to leave the property?
I do everything myself
I hire professionals for some tasks
I hire professionals for all tasks
I don't do any winter preparations
Here are some of the main issues your tenants could encounter over the winter and some suggestions as to how they might deal with them.
It’s worth drawing one up specifically for your rental and including it in your tenants’ welcome pack:
Event
Action
Primary contact
Leave the property?
Minor storm damage, e.g. cracked window, tree down
Take photos
Property manager
No
Major storm damage, e.g. structural damage to property
If unsure, yes
Boiler breakdown
Minor water leak
Turn off water
Flooding
Turn off water and electrics
Emergency plumber
Yes
Frozen pipes
Landlord/agent
Power cut
Check trip switch on fuse board
Electricity supplier
Heavy snow/ice build up
Attempted break in
101 - police
Burglary or vandalism
Intruder in the property
Leave the property
999 - police
Smell of gas
Emergency Gas Safe engineer/999
Fire
999 - Fire brigade
Also include on the sheet contact numbers for:
Property manager – whether that’s you or your agent
24/7 helpline, if you have emergency cover
Emergency 24/7 plumber, electrician and Gas Safe engineer
Emergency locksmith
Electricity and gas suppliers
Nearest doctor’s surgery and A&E department
And advise your tenants to save these numbers to their mobile phone.
Sometimes tenants – and even the occasional landlord – can misunderstand whose responsibility it is to fix property problems.
As a general rule of thumb, anything to do with the fabric of the property and health and safety is the responsibility of the landlord, regardless of how the problem arose and who caused it.
See our ultimate guide to legislation for landlords for details.
For example, if the tenant hasn’t been ventilating the property properly over winter and that’s led to damp and surface mould, it’s down to the landlord to fix the problem so that the property is safe for the tenant to continue living in.
On 8 September 2023, the Government published comprehensive guidance on damp and mould in homes.
The aim of the guidance is to make sure that landlords have a thorough understanding of their legal responsibilities and the serious health risks that damp and mould cause.
The guidance explicitly states that tenants should not be blamed for damp and mould and that it is the responsibility of landlords to identify and address the underlying causes of the problem, which may be structural or inadequate ventilation.
Our guide to damp, mould and condensation contains lots of advice and includes a tenant checklist for you to share with your tenants.
Tenants simply have a responsibility to look after their home in a ‘tenant like manner’. So they should expect to look after minor issues, such as:
Replacing a broken lightbulb
Wiping away condensation from window sills so mould doesn’t form
Keeping the property reasonably clean.