What Maintenance Issues Are Emergencies and What Can Wait for Regular Business Hours?

Unlike working in a normal job, a landlord can be forced to work odd hours, especially when attending to an emergency in your property. A tenant may call you at any time of day and report a broken heater during an extremely cold winter or a flood after a strong storm.

Landlords must learn how to handle after-hours emergencies to prevent harm to their renters and their property. This limits any safety risks and helps create calm. So, to be an effective landlord you must be able to distinguish a property emergency from a normal property issue.

At MN Property Nerds we believe this is an incredibly important skill all landlords should know, which is why we have written the following article:

Defining Rental Property Emergency Maintenance?

Some situations can be inconvenient and uncomfortable for the tenants but they don’t count as an emergency. So, instead of rushing around to resolve problems, you can still address them during business hours.

But if harm or injury is likely to result from a situation, creating severe damage to the rental property and placing the safety and health of the renters at risk, then this can be categorized as an emergency. Below are some listed examples of emergency maintenance concerns:

• Flooding
• Fire
• Frozen pipes
• Broken doors and locks
• Gas leaks
• No heat in winter
• No air conditioning
• Electrical issues
• Sewer backup and flood
• Leaking roof
• Extended power outage
• Intruder break-ins

What Isn’t Considered Emergency Maintenance?

If you find that your tenants and property remained unharmed, then this isn’t tagged as an emergency. If health and safety risks are not present, then it’s not qualified to be urgently treated like an emergency. You still have a bit of time to sort out the issue and plan how to address it.

Below are some listed examples that can be resolved during regular working hours:

• Lack of hot water
• Broken ice maker
• No air conditioning (if the outside temperature is below 90 degrees)
• No heat (if the outside temperature is below 50 degrees)
• Appliances that malfunction
• Complaints on noise
• Leaks that are considered minor
• Parking disputes

How to Manage Rental Property Emergency Maintenance?

Landlords must have a ready emergency maintenance procedure that they can employ at a moment’s notice – even if they live far away. This reduces pressure as emergencies can happen suddenly and the renters expect you to handle them right away.

If you take charge during a crisis, renters build more trust in you and may consider staying as a long-term occupant in your rental unit. It’s important to remember the following when managing a property emergency maintenance:

Be Easily Reached

Your presence is incredibly important during property emergencies. So, you should be available to address tenant concerns, provide guidance, answer questions, and offer support.

Have Access to Emergency Contractors

Aside from having information on police, fire, and utility services, you need to have access to vendors that you can contact 24/7 should urgent property situations occur in your rental unit. Being prepared leads to a quicker resolution.

Understand Your Responsibilities

It’s crucial for landlords to be aware of what property issues must be dealt with immediately and what can be delegated for renters to handle by themselves. If the health and safety of the renters are at risk, then this must be considered a priority.

Communicate With Your Tenants

Even after an emergency was reported, you still need to provide updates to the renters pertaining to the property issue. So, communicate with them clearly.

Answer Vital Questions

As a landlord, you are the person of authority in the renter’s approach to information. So, in an emergency, you must be able to acquire the necessary information and provide constant status updates.

Understand Your Tenant’s Concerns

During property emergencies, high emotions are common so you must practice more patience and provide an understanding mindset toward your renters. Continue assisting and giving useful guidance.

Document Everything

It’s easy to forget documentation during emergencies but you can still record the aftermath by performing a follow-up with your tenants. Put things on record by sending emails.

Cultivate Vendor Relationships

As it’s important to have a set of dependable contractors when dealing with property emergencies, you must then cultivate solid maintenance vendor relationships. Perform a vendor screening and check the following:

• Vendor reputation: Study the reviews and look for referrals to land a trusted vendor.
• Insurance coverage: Find a vendor that has proper general liability and worker’s compensation insurance to ensure that the job is properly handled.
• Learn about cost and timeline: Prior to hiring a vendor, ask for job estimates so you can reach a good decision.

Hire A Property Manager

Successful landlords often team up with reputable property managers to ensure that their rental operation is efficient. As a landlord, you need to pick the right property management company to partner with. Here are some aspects to consider:

1. Area of expertise: choose a property manager with experience in managing the type of rental home you have.
2. The number of support staff: review the human resources a company has to ensure efficiency.
3. Services available: weigh the property management services offered in relation to the management fees they’re collecting to maximize your benefits.

Bottom Line

Understanding what is and is not an emergency is imperative to the success of any landlord. But this is perhaps easier said than done, you need to understand the types of emergencies that may occur in your property and how they may impact your property and tenant.

As a full-service property management company, we at MN Property Nerds are on hand to help you manage your property successfully. Contact us today for more information!