How to Manage Repairs and Maintenance in a Rental Property
Repairs are where tenancies are won or lost. Handle them quickly and fairly, and tenants stay longer and look after the place. Let them drift, and small jobs turn into big bills, complaints and, increasingly, enforcement. Here’s how to stay on top of them.
⚖️ What landlords are responsible for
By law, landlords must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water. The property must also be fit to live in throughout the tenancy. Tenants are generally responsible for minor jobs and for damage they cause, such as changing light bulbs, unblocking a sink they’ve blocked or fixing something they’ve broken.
🚨 Emergency vs routine repairs
Emergencies need a same-day response: no heating or hot water in cold weather, a gas leak, a serious leak, unsafe electrics, or a property that can’t be secured.
Urgent repairs should be done within a few days, for example a broken oven, a leaking tap or a faulty extractor fan.
Routine repairs can be scheduled, but tenants should still know when they’ll be done.
Agree these categories in advance, and make sure tenants know how to report each one, including out of hours.
📲 Make reporting easy
A single route for reporting repairs, ideally with photos, saves time and avoids lost messages. It also gives you a time-stamped record of when you were told about a problem, which matters if there’s a dispute.
🔧 Find good contractors before you need them
Build a small list of trusted, insured contractors: a plumber, an electrician, a gas engineer, a locksmith and a general handyperson. Get quotes for bigger jobs, but don’t let the cheapest quote decide on its own. A job done properly once is cheaper than a job done twice.
💷 Keep costs under control
- Fix the cause, not just the symptom. A recurring leak is cheaper to solve than to keep patching.
- Do routine maintenance: annual boiler services, clearing gutters, bleeding radiators and checking seals.
- Use inspections to spot problems early, before tenants have to report them.
- Set a maintenance budget as a share of the rent, so repairs aren’t a nasty surprise.
🗂️ Keep records
Keep photos, invoices and dates for every job. They support deposit deductions at the end of a tenancy, help with tax, and show you dealt with problems promptly if standards are ever questioned. With tougher housing standards and enforcement coming in under the Renters’ Rights Act, a clear repair history is worth having.
🏘️ A note for HMO landlords
More occupants means more wear and more reports. Fire safety items, such as alarms, fire doors and emergency lighting, need regular checks, and shared areas are your responsibility to maintain.
👋 How Portus handles it
On our full property management service, tenants report issues through our portal. We triage each one, send the most suitable contractor and keep everyone updated until it’s done. We don’t use maintenance as a profit centre, and we’ll only spend up to £300 without your approval in a genuine emergency. Get in touch or call us on 0151 329 3538.
