Periodic inspections of units for maint/damage - How often?

Question

How often are you performing inspections of your units to ensure nothing is damaged, no leaks, etc.. Any formal schedule? Or just here and there when you are already there?

I don't have a formal inspection policy or process right now, but have my handyman look around and report back to me when he goes in to fix anything. I want the tenants to feel like the house/apt is their home, and try to not to go inside their unit when not necessary. But have been considering more formal periodic inspections. I'd like to find the balance of not bothering people too much, and keeping up on what is going on with the condition of the unit.

Having been a renter for my whole life, and knowing a LOT of people who rent, I've never experienced, and never heard of a landlord doing frequent, regular inspections. I'm going to ask around, but I really think it would making living there a PITA if it were too frequent. So I'm thinking quarterly would be viewed as generally acceptable in my area, even though it is not a common practice in my experience.

I'm probably going to phrase the inspections as geared towards identifying any potential leaks (pipes, windows), moisture issues, etc, to protect the tenant's home, and ensure it stays safe and healthy for them and their family. Rather than making sure they haven't damaged anything.. Maybe quarterly.

"I'm looking over your shoulder, but only because I got your back" lol

Thoughts?

This came up in another thread , where @Joel Owens jumped in about performing regular inspections, but I didn't want to hijack the thread..  I searched the forums and couldn't find anything. (But maybe wasn't searching correctly.)

@Marcia Maynard , Elizabeth  Colegrove , I won't even ask! lol

Marcia Maynard · Answer

J. Martin   I'm with you.  The inspection is really a maintenance check and we label it as such.  While we are there we keep an eye open for any rental agreement violations, but our primary focus is the task at hand and we communicate that to the tenant beforehand.  We keep it friendly.  A Hogan's Heroes type of inspection would never cut it.

We do specific maintenance work annually at different times of the year, and that is when we proactively check for other needs.  Depending on the property and the occupying tenant, we have done inspections once a year, twice a year, or four times a year.  We typically do HVAC maintenance and gutter/drainage checks in the autumn, so we are in the units at that time.  We typically do chimney cleaning, pest control, foundation inspections and plumbing inspections in the spring, so we are in the units at that time.

If a tenant calls us for a maintenance need, we do some of our annual checks at the same time.  We also will do an immediate inspection if a tenant starts breaking the rules or starts causing us trouble.  We have found that when a tenant breaks one rule, they are likely breaking other rules.  Better to find out sooner than later.

An additional note, entering a tenant's domicile should not be taken lightly.  It is our property/house/apartment, but it is their home.  Respecting a person's right to quiet enjoyment of their own home and right to privacy is key.  Their home begins at the property line.  That means ask permission before you enter the yard too, especially fenced areas.  Of course this differs from multifamily properties that have common areas, but respect their private patio/porch areas as part of their unit.  Don't surprise the tenant with unnecessary intrusions.  Emergency entry situations and proper notice to enter at other times should be covered in the rental agreement.

Jeff Schluer · Answer

If you have not been in the home for a while (no maintenance issues, etc), perform an inspection 90 days prior to their lease expiring.  Then if they are not taking care of the home you can send them a 60 day notice to vacate.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Frank Romine  Section 8 inspectors are inspecting for their needs not for yours.  Some are thorough, some are too picky, some are too lax.  Imagine my surprise when a toilet in the unit of one of our Section 8 units almost fell through the floor because of a leak that had gone undetected for years.  At the time, I had thought I was covered by the Section 8 annual inspections.  Later the tenant told me he always asked for one particular inspector because that inspector would just ask the tenant if there were any problems with the unit.  If the tenant answered "no" the inspector would check off the form as passing inspection, without going into the unit past the front door.  The tenant thought it was great, but was annoyed by a different inspector that would actually do a thorough inspection. That was a wake up call for me.  Recently, our local housing authority has reduced their inspections to every two years to save money.  You must look out for your own needs.

Michele Fischer · Answer

We also call ours maintenance inspections.  When we schedule them we make it clear that it is not a housecleaning inspection, nothing special needs to happen by the tenant prior except making sure the smoke detectors are working.

We don't have a set schedule.  I try to do three months after they move in and make sure that we or our contractors have gotten a good look inside at least once a year, but within that range we leave flexibility.  I've been trying to do one inspection a month this year, which is manageable.

The most valuable part of timely inspection for us is that when a tenant gives notice, we have a pretty good idea of what work will be needed to get it rent ready again, so we can start making plans before we get possession.

Franklin Romine · Answer

I'm not performing inspections like I should.  That is why I like section 8.  They perform a yearly inspection and report the needed repairs by me or the tenant.  I guess I need more sec 8 properties...

Account Closed · Answer

We do inspections every 6 months. We are mainly looking for leaks, furniture blocking vents, damage, etc. At that time we talk to the tenants and ask them to point out anything else we should know about. We also look for evidence of extra people and pets not on the lease. I like the idea of calling them "maintenance checks". Seems less invasive that way.

My tenants all know to contact me if there are any issues at all. So, we rarely find any problems when we do the inspections.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

J. Martin  We keep a maintenance log on each unit.  If the tenant did something or failed to do something that caused a problem, we document it in the tenant file.  We will always uphold our responsibility to provide a habitable residence.  If the tenant makes it inhabitable, we will document the incident and charge them for the cost of repair/remedy.  We will also move a tenant out when necessary, by negotiation or by eviction.  We have never had a tenant make false reports to authorities.  If they did, we would have the documentation to prove them wrong.

Even if a tenant doesn't pay their utility bill and has their electricity, natural gas, or water turned off, we are in the clear and are not required to remedy.  However, in those instances we do inspect and keep a watch to make sure food is not rotting in a fridge, pipes are not freezing, candles are not being used as a light source, etc.  We also serve a 10-day Notice to Comply to the terms of the rental agreement about their duty to maintain the utilities.

Kathryn M. · Answer

Hey J. Martin checklist and schedule of inspections.

Joe Doxsey · Answer

Generally once a year for a general inspection.  You should have a standard check list for this to document findings.  On it you should have things like:

House keepingWindow glassRodentsPlumbing/WaterCarpetSmoke Detectors (Change the batteries too)DrainsToilets

You are trying to do a few things:

Document/correct on going damage

Find immediate issues that need addressed (water leaks, broken glass, infestations, house keeping issues etc) so you can issue lease violations or perform maintenance.

perform ongoing maintenance (furnace filters, smoke alarm batteries etc)

Document everything is fine hopefully!

The last one is key.  When you have a tenant get behind on rent and retaliate by calling hud or the health department to say they have no working toilet, smoker detectors and there is a bed bug infestation you will be glad you did that check 30 days ago that said all was well!

Not to mention certain issues won't be reported to you but can be important to know about, specifically in a multi tenant building.  If you go into an apartment to do a check and find bed bugs for example, while that sucks, it is something you want to know about before you have to treat an entire building.

The one thing I want to know here is if you have forced air HVAC you should be changing filters more frequently than you do an entire inspection.

Jerry W. · Answer

We check most houses twice a year to change the furnace filter.  I have a few houses that do not have forced air.  They do not get checked very often and one I know is in bad shape.  The tenant moves out next month and I expect a lot of work to do.

Periodic inspections of units for maint/damage - How often?

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