How often should rental property managers do an inspection?

Periodic property inspections and notifications to owners about the state of their investment make one of the major services property managers provide. Apart from regular move-in and move-out inspections upon tenants’ arrival and leaving, property managers need to carry out a number of routine property visits during the lease term. 

Routine property inspections safeguard the overall value of a property. At the most basic level, regular visits help determine whether the tenant is maintaining the property to the expected standard. These visits can also reveal urgent repairs that may be necessary to prevent future large-scale damage. Finally, good property managers will use these regular inspections as an opportunity to identify suggestions for improvements or structural changes that can increase the property’s value in the long run. 

Striking the right number of property inspections per year can be tricky. 

Checking the property too often might irritate tenants. If they find the number of visits unacceptable it can even drive them away. On the other hand, neglecting the property for a little too long may lead to missing important issues that later result in otherwise preventable high costs. 

As a property management company, you need a good policy that will let you strike a balance in the frequency of property visits. Experience usually helps the most in this task, but here are some tips on how often should rental property managers do an inspection. 

How Often is Enough

The last thing you and the owner want is to lose responsible tenants because of mismanaged property inspections. Therefore, making sure you don’t overdo the visits is crucial. 

The average frequency of rental property inspections is one at every 16 weeks. In other words, most property managers typically carry out an inspection three times a year. 

It’s not an unheard-of practice among property managers to only visit the property once a year. This is usually too risky. If nothing else, quarterly visits stimulate renters to perform a periodical tidying that can benefit the property in itself. 

Four times a year is the absolute maximum, though. Inspecting a property more often than quarterly visits isn’t advisable and in many states, including Queensland, it isn’t even allowed. 

A good practice is to consider specifying the number of visits in the lease agreement itself.

Depends on the Property

You can’t have a one-fits-all solution to this dilemma. Every property has different needs and you alone need to decide about the number of visits on a case-by-case basis. Screen the property in the very beginning and determine its needs before writing up the inspection schedule. 

A property with expensive appliances and delicate interior design items may require more frequent visits than a basic apartment. The size matters too. While a small property may do well with two visits per year, a luxury four-bedroom house with a pool and a large garden will probably require three to four visits. 

Think about the worst-case scenario and brainstorm some issues that may come up that can be prevented by regular inspections. Analyze this first property screening and base your policy on the frequency of visits accordingly. 

Don’t base your decision about the frequency of visits on the tenants’ behaviour. A tenant that pays their rent on time and seems generally responsible can do a really poor job in maintaining the space. You’ll be mistaken to assume that regular payments equate overall responsibility and may be in for a surprise and find out poor property management on the tenant’s part. 

What Is the Proper Way to Do a Property Inspection?

You should always notify tenants about your visit to their current home for inspection. Tenants are entitled to receive a notification at least 24 or 48 hours before. Good practice on this advises property managers to notify home occupants about one week in advance.

Tenants may be intimidated by the news and feel uncomfortable to be inspected, especially if this hasn’t been spelled out in the lease agreement. Before the first visit, along with a proper notification, property managers should always explain the nature of property visits and everything that a property inspection involves. 

Sometimes property managers in communication with the owner may agree on an alternative strategy of communicating inspections with the tenants. In order to reassure tenants, they may choose to tell them that the checks occur for a specific issue, for instance, to check the AC filters. This strategy can backfire and honest communication is best.

After the visit, property managers prepare a written report for the owner. The extent and detail of this report will depend on the depth of services the owner is paying for. The report should usually include photos and the general findings from every routine inspection, noting any urgent maintenance required.

Most quality property managers will also include detailed comments about the current state of the property, as well as more comprehensive feedback and suggestions for property improvements or maintenance that’s advisable to be undertaken in the future. 

Property managers should immediately arrange urgent repairs if they deem it necessary upon inspection. How these matters are handled depends on the property management contract with the landlord. In any case, maintenance issues require a prompt reaction and not taking action for too long can lead tenants to feel neglected.  

What Does a Property Inspection Involve?

Rental property managers carry out regular property inspections to determine if tenants take proper care of the property in line with the contract, and to check for potential maintenance or safety issues. Regular property inspections can benefit both the owner and the tenants. 

Most of the time, property managers should ensure that basic property inspections involve:

Screening for Maintenance or Safety Issues 

Physical presence allows property managers to notice potential maintenance issues, but also to observe the state of repair required. Instead of hearing the information from the tenant, a responsible property manager will assess the extent of the damage and decide accordingly on how best to go about hiring for the repair. This can save owners money.

Paying attention to details is crucial for spotting maintenance issues. Peeling paint, mould under the sink or broken smoke alarms can all lead to serious and costly damages later if not spotted and treated in due course. 

Check the electrical circuit and meter. Sometimes, serious hazards can result from a simple malfunctioning or an overloaded circuit – and tenants can sometimes be unaware of these imperceptible issues. Also, watch out for possible excessive use of power that goes beyond usual domestic use.

Tenancy Rules Observance

Have the tenants broken any tenancy rules? For instance, have they sneaked in a pet despite a strict agreement against this? Another common rule non-compliance involves having an extra tenant. Watch out for potential evidence of a new unauthorised occupant that has moved in for longer than a normal guest period. In a more serious scenario that prompts immediate eviction, property managers should watch out for the presence of any drugs or illegal substances.  

Special-care Interior Design Pieces

If there is a specific segment of the interior that requires special care, check how well the tenants have cared for it. Examples include leather sofas or hardwood floors. Have they been maintained according to the given instructions? 

In case you discover irregularities, make sure you communicate properly. Avoid reacting angrily and threatening to withhold a part of the deposit. Instead, repeat the instructions and make sure the tenants understand them properly. If there has been some initial miscommunication, the responsibility lies with you.

Tenant’s Responsibilities

As per the lease agreement, the tenant has responsibilities with regards to the proper maintenance of the property. Check if the current occupants adequately abide by the terms of the lease. Have they failed to inform you of a major property issue that a timely reaction could have prevented? 

Other examples include the pool, lawn and garden maintenance. The lease agreement should specify whether these fall within the tenant’s responsibility. Check for their current state and react accordingly if neglected. Assess the tenants’ explanation and general attitude. You may want to re-negotiate this aspect and hire a professional service yourself.

An important note here: 

Keep in mind that there’re people living a regular life in the property. A routine inspection doesn’t mean judging the state of the tenants’ household. They may be tidy, but they also may be messy occupants and either way, it’s their right to be so. Even though tenants should clean their home before an inspection they were properly notified of, they are not expected to remove all signs of daily living. You cannot ask for more tidiness or comment on the state of the property as far as it concerns non-permanent changes that stem from regular daily living. 

Drive-In Inspections

Sometimes landlords themselves may choose to drive, walk or cycle by their property to quickly check and observe it from the outside. This type of checks is allowed, as long as they don’t enter or go onto the property. 

Making sure whether everything looks fine with their investment from the outside can be useful and it’s certainly understandable. However, watch out for the frequency of these visits. It’s best to make sure tenants don’t spot or recognize that a drive-by inspection is being performed. Otherwise, they may feel followed and this can have an adverse effect on the tenant – landlord the relationship.