How to prevent damage to your rental property
As one of the most valuable financial investments you’re likely to have, it’s important to protect your investment property from damage.
And this damage can potentially occur in a number of ways, ranging from natural disasters to general deterioration and malicious or accidental damage that might happen during a rental period.
So how can you prevent damage to your rental property?
The right rental occupiers
The right rental occupiers are key to protecting your property against damage. At the outset of any rental period, all rental applicants should be properly screened to ascertain their track record when it comes to looking after a property.
Ideally, this track record will indicate they look after the home, notify the property manager of any required repairs or maintenance and take any necessary steps to prevent accidental damage (such as placing felt pads on furniture so it won’t scratch wooden floors etc).
Routine maintenance and repairs
While the occupiers have a responsibility not to maliciously damage the property and to also fix any accidental damage that might occur, you as the property owner are responsible for conducting any routine maintenance or repairs that might be required to maintain the condition of the property.
Routine maintenance and repairs also prevent potential damage or deterioration of the property over time. For example, simple routine maintenance, like having overhanging trees trimmed back regularly or having your gutters cleaned, mitigates the risk of a small thing leading to a big issue.
Meanwhile, timely repairs also prevent damage to the property. For example, fixing a leaking sink tap might stop potential water damage to the cabinetry beneath it.
Or, installing exhaust fans or additional ventilation in the bathroom or laundry might reduce the risk of mould.
Disaster preparedness
In addition to general repairs and ongoing maintenance, it also pays to consider whether your property might be prone to the impacts of natural disasters.
This includes storms, cyclones, flooding and bushfires. If so, you should have a disaster preparedness plan in place and discuss it with your property manager.
This plan might involve having trees trimmed back once a year to reduce the risk of branches falling on the house in a storm, or could include steps that need to be taken if an event such as a cyclone is pending.
In this example, shade sails might need to be taken down and the property occupier might also need to secure loose furniture.
Proper insurance
It should go without saying, but every investment property owner should have adequate insurance to protect their property.
This insurance covers damage to the building that might occur due to a natural disaster, a fire, or other event.
It will also extend to public liability insurance which covers people who might be injured at the property, and could potentially encompass insurance that covers you for lost rent should the property become unlivable due to damage.
A good property manager
While all of the above are steps you can take to protect your rental property from damage, perhaps the easiest and most important is to engage a good property manager.
Their role is to select the right rental occupiers, liaise with them, monitor the condition of the property and notify you of any required repairs or maintenance that will help protect the value of your asset and mitigate further damage.
How we can help
Our experienced property managers pride themselves on establishing great relationships with both rental occupiers and owners.
We manage every property as if it were our own and you can learn more about our property management services here.
Alternatively, if you are looking to rent a property, you can view the properties we currently have available here.
