Do You Send your Tenants a Fall Maintenance Letter? What items should be included in the letter?

[Dan Brewer]

There is nothing like preventive maintenance!  Its natural human instinct to take better care of things we own, and less care of things we don't own.  Like a rental property.   I think its a good idea to contact your tenants and remind them of items that require their atention this time of the year.  If you don't remind them, there is a decent chance it won't get done.   Changing furnace filters on a regular basis can save you replacing a furnace before it should be replaced.  

If you have a property manager that manages your property, don't take it for granted that he/she is on top of this.  Remind the property manager too.  You are the one who will ultimately lose if proper mainteinance is not done

Below is the basics of a Tenant Fall Maintenance Letter.  The letter will be a little bit different for everyone, depending on the prioperty, area of the country, etc.  But this is a start.  Please add your maintenace items to it, so that all property owners can get a comprehensive list of items that should be considered for the letter.   Then you can construct your letter from the list of items. 

One final point - dont make the letter too long with too many items, then it will look like too much work for the tenant.  Employ the KISS principle.  

Dear Tenants,

As the fall weather will soon be approaching please take this moment to review a few items around your home:

1) Lawn and leaf clean up: Remove all leaves in your yard, in landscape beds, along the foundation of the home, etc. Please also check your gutters and let us know if they need to be cleared. When checking your gutters, make your downspouts are attached, directed to the splash blocks, and properly filtering water away from the foundation of the home.

2) Sprinklers: We are creating turn off work orders this week. Thus, by Monday, if you have a sprinkler system at the property and have not yet received a call from a vendor to have them turned on, please contact our office to get that arranged.

3) Air conditioning units/Furnace: If you have not done so already, please take a moment to turn on your furnace for a test. You might also take this time, as a reminder, to change the batteries in your thermostat, replace your furnace filter, and clear your air vents to ensure your unit is working to the best of its ability.

4) This is also a good time to disconnect your exterior hoses.

5) It is also now time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Thanks in advance for your attention to these matters. As always we appreciate your tenancy. If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to reach our office at xxx-xxxx.

Landlord