Dealing with repairs in your rental home can be a nuisance. Like when you’ve got a leaky tap and the drip drip drip drives you to distraction, or when your fridge packs up and food goes to waste. When things go wrong, it’s understandable you want them fixed ASAP. But what if you’re a tenant and you need repairs?
Repairs and maintenance in a rental property are usually a landlord’s responsibility. As a tenant, you’ve got to wait until they sort it out. So, what’s the best way to communicate with your landlord? How can you get them to fix things in a timely manner?
Who Manages The Rental Property
It may seem like an obvious question, but many tenants don’t know who to contact when things break down or need repairing. When you first move in, it’s good to get the details of who deals with repairs in your rental home and keep them in a safe place.
If an agent is managing a property, check what their maintenance report procedure is. Then follow the appropriate steps required to contact them to report maintenance issues. This could be via email, for example, or through an online reporting system.
If the landlord manages the property, speak to them directly.
Assess The Level Of Urgency
Problems in the home are a nuisance. As a tenant in a rental property, it is normal to want your repairs addressed quickly. However, there’s a difference between a loss of water pressure in the shower and a broken-down boiler. The latter will affect heating and hot water so should be classed as urgent. Contact your landlord as soon as you’re aware of the problem, so they can start the repair process.
For less urgent matters, such as a loose curtain pole or noisy dishwasher, you can report it at your next rental property inspection.
Provide Full Information
Even if you’ve got the best landlord in the world, they may not know the make and model of all the appliances within your property. So, whether you’re sending an email or typing out a text message, give them the full information. Include the make and model number of the appliance so they can order parts or let their maintenance person know. Also, when did the problem occur and how did it happen? The same applies to non-appliance-related issues. Provide more information so that the issue can be dealt with quicker.
If the issue doesn’t require urgent attention, it’s best to email/text your landlord in the first instance. If you don’t hear back within a couple of days, follow up on your message with a call.
Call Or E-mail?
In some cases, you might be happy to deal with a problem that arises yourself. However, it’s best to check your tenancy agreement to see if you need to do this.
If you’re looking to rent a property or you’re a landlord with a vacant residence, give our team at Belvoir Basingstoke a callat 01256 830 800.
If you are a Belvoir Basingstoke tenant, click here to report maintenance issues at your rental property.
