How to Encourage Tenants to Report Repairs Promptly

Key Takeaways

• Tending to repairs promptly is an effective way to safeguard your property.
• When left untreated, property damage can spiral into much larger and most costly concerns, compromising tenant safety, satisfaction, and jeopardizing your financial security.
• The most secure way to operate your rental property is to partner with a property management team.

The maintenance costs of a rental property largely depend on how quickly the problems in the building are detected. For instance, the difference in the cost of fixing a damaged pipe before it bursts versus fixing that pipe hours after it has burst can run into hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

This is why any strategy or mechanism that helps landlords detect their building’s maintenance issues before they cause damage and disruptions must be welcomed. In most cases, the tenants in the rental property are best placed to identify and report the problems in your building on time.

Tenants interact with the building every day. They are in the best position to identify those subtle changes that might be the first warning signs of impending trouble in the building’s structures, systems and appliances. When tenants embrace this role, it impacts a rental’s operations in many positive ways.

• Prevents escalation: Small problems are denied the chance to grow into bigger issues that eventually cause emergencies in the building.
• Lower maintenance costs: The cost of fixing the problem is minimal since the damage is limited to the item being replaced or repaired.
• Satisfied tenants: Prompt detection and resolution of maintenance issues solves one of the biggest problems tenants have with landlords.
• Higher tenant retention: Tenants who are happy with how their rented home is maintained are more likely to renew their lease.
• Property value protection: With fewer incidents that can damage the structures of the building, the value of the rental property is preserved.
• Higher returns: The overall effect of these benefits is improved financial performance due to the rental’s lower costs and higher occupancy.

In light of these, it makes sense for landlords to try and recruit their tenants as partners in the effective maintenance of their property. How can you, as a landlord, get your tenants to report the problems in their rental units more promptly? To answer the question, it is necessary to first understand why tenants don’t report repairs on time. Continue reading this guide by Campus Connection Property Management to learn more.

How To Get Tenants To Report Repairs Promptly

Tenants may avoid reporting repairs if:

• They don’t want to be blamed: If tenants think their landlord will blame them for any repair they report, they will delay reporting it or not report it at all.
• They have had bad experiences in the past: Tenants won't see the point in reporting repairs if they think the landlord is not going to do anything about the problem.
• They are unclear on the process: If tenants have to jump through hoops to submit a repair request, they will postpone reporting the issue.
• They underestimate the problem: Tenants may not understand the impact that seemingly minor problems can have on the building and operations of the rental.

The following steps will help you overcome these problems and other issues that keep your tenants from reporting the maintenance issues in your rental property promptly.

Include It In The Lease

The lease agreement should serve as a reliable roadmap to help tenants and landlords navigate any issues that may arise in the rental property. Among other things, the lease should explain how maintenance will be done, steps for reporting the problems in the building, and tenants’ and landlords' responsibilities in this regard.

Design A Detailed Onboarding Process

A detailed move-in inspection, done in the presence of the tenant, provides a baseline of the condition of the property at the start of the lease. This should be accompanied by a detailed explanation of the lease terms, the rental’s communication protocols, and a demo of how to handle and operate key components of the building, to prevent damage.

Choose The Right Tenants

With the right kind of tenants in your rental, maintenance can become a lot easier. With proper tenant screening, it is possible to uncover the warning signs that a prospective renter will cause problems in your rental property. Renting to tenants with a history of paying the rent on time and protecting their rented home will save you money and stress.

Make Reporting Easy

The processes for reporting repairs matter. If they are not designed with tenants in mind, they will compound the very issues they are meant to solve. The system should use familiar tools like email, phone, chat, and text. Tenants should know which numbers to call for specific issues. A dedicated tenant portal also makes it easier for tenants to report repairs.

Respond To Requests Quickly

When they submit requests, tenants want acknowledgement that you have received their requests. They want to know what steps are being taken to solve the problem and how long it will take to fix the issue. After the repair is completed, tenants also value it when their landlord reaches out to confirm if the problem has been solved to their satisfaction.

Conduct Seasonal Inspections

These inspections help to keep your tenants on their toes. If tenants know that their landlord will be inspecting the home and evaluating their use of the property, they will take better care of the rental. Seasonal inspections should be included as a clause in the lease agreement, and tenants must be given adequate notice before the day of the inspection.

Do Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance aims to find the problems in a rental property when those issues are in their early stages. Discovering and solving problems on time helps to lower rental expenses and improve overall tenant satisfaction. Tenants in rental properties where the landlord practices preventive maintenance usually have fewer repair requests.

Avoid Blaming Your Tenants

If a landlord is more interested in keeping their building in top condition and ensuring tenants’ comfort, versus looking for who to blame when things go wrong, tenants will be more likely to report problems. Creating a no-blame culture in your rental will allow your tenants to report problems quickly, giving you the chance to respond quickly and save costs.

Bottom Line

To sum up, the best way to get your tenants to report the issues in your rental property on time is to cultivate a positive landlord-tenant relationship. If tenants are made to feel like humans, instead of a source of rental income, they will reciprocate by treating your building as their home, instead of just another rental property. Contact Campus Connection Property Management today to learn more.