A landlord or property manager is legally entitled to inspect a rental property every four weeks. This may not be feasible but other opportunities to see inside a rental unit are available such as when maintenance work is being carried out.
An outside look at a property can give you a general idea of how the tenants are treating the unit and also whether other people are also in residence if say children’s toys etc. are permanently outside when the couple renting have no children, pet bowls when no pets are allowed, more cars parked there than should be necessary for the people renting. No notice to tenants is required for landlords or property managers to be on the land, only interior inspections need this criteria.
Make the most of Tradesmen’s Right of Entry
When the plumber, electrician, builder or technician makes an appointment to carry out repairs for water leaks, building repairs or maintenance of any kind get them to advise you of the time of their appointment and go with them – an easy and legal method of seeing the inside of the property which can possibly double the amount of property inspections you would normally do.
Using this system any problems with the tenancy can be picked up more quickly and rectified before the problem becomes major. You will not be making an appointment for a property inspection so you will still be entitled to those visits. If the tenant is good you may be able to cut back on their visits giving you more time to concentrate on the not so good ones.
Visiting with tradesmen will also give you a chance to see the quality of their workmanship and what they have done to rectify the problem (which also means you will have a better understanding of their invoice).
To Recap
- Property inspections are very important and must be done regularly but using tradesmen’s access is an easy and legal way to increase the amount of inspections you can carry out.
- Extra viewing opportunities may help to identify problems which can be rectified before they escalate into critical issues.
- Actually inspecting the tradesman’s work either during or after repairs will enable you to check the quality of their rectification work.
This article was provided by Barry Bridgman from Bridgman Property Management – www.bridgmanpm.co.nz
