Being a landlord is not as easy as many think. Starting out, many landlords think they can handle repairs themselves. What generally happens though is that once a property owner has more than a couple of properties in his portfolio, he hands over the responsibility of maintenance to a property management team. This is a smart move, and one that can help you avoid a lot of headaches. Read on to find out about landlord repairs as a commercial property owner.
Landlord Repairs : Commercial Leases
A commercial lease will generally state that it is the duty of the landlord to carry out maintenance and repairs. This may seem easy, but it can sometimes be difficult to carry out repairs without causing disruption. Other times, tenants may neglect to inform about landlord repairs. This is one reason it is beneficial to hire a property maintenance team as they will carry out routine inspection to ensure that repairs do not go unnoticed.
Conflict can also occur when maintenance is carried out. To avoid this from occurring at your property, a clause should be written into the lease that states maintenance of the property can be carried out while it is occupied. Tenants may complain about noise, loss of earnings, and more if repair work is being carried out during trading hours.
Landlord Repairs : Exercising your Rights as a Landlord
Where possible, to avoid problems arising with tenants, any maintenance should be discussed with them. Reducing the levels of interference to a minimum is essential if you do not want problems with tenants. From their point of view, if people cannot enter their shop or retail store because of works going on outside, they could lose hundreds of pounds each day. If a dispute arises, courts will generally favour the tenant, who is awarded damages.
Working with the tenant from the outset is the best way to carry out landlord repairs. By acting reasonably, you can avoid costly litigation in the long run.
Long standing tenants should be in agreement with you that certain repairs will need to be carried out. If something that was in disrepair was affecting their sales, they would be the first to complain. Overtime, electrical circuits and plumbing may need to be updated. The exterior of the build may need painting. It is essential to make sure that your premise is clean and safe at all times, as it was on the day you leased or rented it to your tenants.
Landlord repairs can cause disputes. Dispute litigation is just one area a property management team can help you with. When you employ the services of a property management team from the outset, you will not need to get involved at a first-hand level with your tenants. Everything will be taken care of for you by your property maintenance team. This will include regular inspections of your premise, and all dealing with the tenants being dealt with on your behalf. Employing a property management team makes sense. For just a small monthly fee, you can enjoy peace of mind and avoid the hassle of disgruntled tenants.