Property Management - Furnace filter replacement

[Nathan Broekhuizen]

Hi everyone, 

My name is Nate Broekhuizen and I just started as a Property Manager a few months ago and currently manage about 40 units. Consisting of single family, duplexes, and two fourplexes. The previous Property Manager would reach out to all the tenants for them to change the filter furnaces. It is stated in our lease that the "tenant agrees to replace furnace filters as needed in the rental property at tenants expense". If I ask the tenants to replace the furnace filters I feel like many of them will forget or just not do it. We do an annual inspection of each property in Jan or Feb so I am just wondering if I should reach out to each of the tenants and ask them to replace the filter furnaces and let them know that I will be inspecting the unit and making sure that the filter was in fact replaced. On the other hand, I could ask them for the filter size and change them out myself when I do the property inspections and charge their account. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks! 

[Craig Bellot]

I would build this into the rent somehow and make it part of your management company's maintenance routine.  

This may be easier for the single families to ask the resident to handle it, but for the multifams it definitely makes more sense to have a professional you trust handle it. You should qualify for a bulk discount as well.

Not worth having to make a phone call to an owner that the furnace needs to be replaced because the resident forgot to change the filter.

Here in Connecticut where winters are brutal this is even more important.