Snow removal expectations

[Jamie Brayton]

How do you manage snow removal and expectations?

By far, this is my biggest headache as a landlord. We’re on our second snow removal company and neither have been great, but it is so hard finding someone who is insured and is willing to shovel.

What does your contract look like with removal companies? We’re getting a big storm and tenants are getting impatient that our guy hasn’t shown up yet. Personally, I think it is unrealistic to expect immediate removal during a storm. Our lease states we remove anything over two inches, as does our contract work the snow removal company, but we can’t possibly expect he will be there exactly when two inches hits.

My biggest concern is always liability. We are adequately insured, but that doesn’t ease my mind much. We just got a text saying, “My husband almost slipped.” Any tips on managing this?

We do leave shovels and salt on the property, but I specifically try to avoid asking them to shovel. Some tenants just do pitch in, but I like to avoid that if possible.