A summer checklist for rental owners.
With the days getting longer and the temperature rising, it’s a clear sign those heady days of summer are just around the corner.
But with summer comes some risks that are worth considering as the owner of a rental property. As we look towards the holidays and embrace the festive season ahead, here’s our essential summer checklist for rental owners.
Swimming pool compliance
If your property has a swimming pool, chances are it’s about to get some serious use. That makes now the time to consider its maintenance and compliance.
In most states, swimming pools in rental properties need to be checked each year to ensure safety features like pool fencing is up to par and resuscitation signage is in place.
If you’re not sure when your last pool assessment was conducted or whether it’s required, check in with your property manager to ascertain if anything needs to be done.
Gutter clean
Six-monthly or yearly gutter cleans should be on the annual maintenance list for every owner of a freestanding, duplex or townhouse rental property.
This is particularly important in the lead up to summer when a build up of leaf litter over winter has the potential to clog your gutters in the storm season ahead.
Clogged gutters can and do create a whole host of unnecessary problems, including the risk of water back flowing into the roof cavity, and broken gutters due to excess weight.
Tree trim
An established garden can give your rental property a whole host of street appeal, but each year trees should be trimmed back as required.
After the growing season of spring, now’s the perfect time to have this done. A good tree trim also helps mitigate some of the major risks associated with the bushfire and storm season ahead.
Bushfire risk
On that note, how well is your rental property prepared for bushfires? Both gutter cleans and tree trims are part of any solid bushfire risk mitigation strategy, but there are also other measures you can take, including implementing a plan for your property should a bushfire threaten.
This plan can be shared with your property manager and the renter, but might include the installation of roof sprinklers, having a dedicated hose at the property, and more.
Storm risk
Summer brings storms to many Australian states along with cyclones in the north. Again, this is worth considering as a rental owner, and again general maintenance such as gutter cleans and tree trimming are all part of mitigating the risk of storm damage.
But are there further measures that might need to be taken? For example, what structures are dotted around your rental property’s garden? In a severe storm or cyclone, that small backyard shed might become a hazard, or that shade sail might need to come down.
Consider your rental property, identify its risk factors, and create a plan for what should happen if bad weather strikes.
Insurance
As much as you might mitigate risks and maintain your rental property to the highest standard, sometimes life happens.
And that’s where proper insurance is paramount. As part of your pre-summer checklist, take a good look at your rental property insurance policy. Does it cover you for all the possible things that could happen to a property in that area? And are you insured well enough?
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.
