Most property managers comprehend they need to answer quickly when a resident calls with an emergency maintenance request. However, which maintenance requests are emergencies, involving immediate attention, and which are of lower urgency? This is among the more complicated matters that property owners experience since certain issues, even those that lead to discomfort or trouble, do not qualify as real emergencies. On the other hand, other maintenance issues are critical enough to be addressed immediately or risk violating Landlord/Tenant laws or habitability codes. Grasping the dissimilarity between the two can allow you to greatly handle all your renter’s maintenance requests.
What defines an emergency repair?
One way to know when you have a true emergency on your hands or not is to think of to what degree the maintenance issue could cause injury, severe property damage, or expose your resident’s health and safety to risk. Any issue that aligns with these criteria would usually be considered an emergency. Frequent emergencies incorporate:
- Gas Leak
- Frozen or Broken Water Lines
- Flooding or Water Emergencies
- Fire
- Carbon Monoxide Detection
- Sewer Back-up
- No Heat in Cold Weather
- No Air Conditioning in Extremely Hot Temperatures
- Extended Power Outage
- Intruder Break-In
Determining an Emergency from Non-Emergency
You need to know that certain maintenance items may be emergencies under one set of situations but not another. For instance, a broken air conditioner is not an emergency when the weather is cold. However, it unquestionably is during summer where temperatures reach dangerous levels.
Neglecting to respond immediately to emergencies like these – even those that transpire during the night – might violate habitability laws and, ultimately, bring about serious legal trouble. This is especially applicable if your lack of action prompts your tenant to take matters into their own hands and deal with or make the repairs themselves.
Non-Emergency Maintenance Types
Conversely, other maintenance issues that, although worrisome, are normally not observed as emergencies unless there are extenuating circumstances. For instance, a malfunctioning appliance, cold water, or minor leakages may be troublesome for your residents but largely do not match into the category of an emergency repair. These maintenance issues must be reported as regular maintenance requests, which you can perform during business hours.
For rental property owners, figuring out what constitutes an emergency maintenance issue and how to respond appropriately is an excellent factor in successful property management. If you are unable to deal with such inquiries immediately or have additional obligations, it may be advisable to hire a quality property management company operating in the Wildwood area and neighboring areas. Contact us online or call 407-378-7611 for details about what Real Property Management Alliancesdelivers for rental property owners such as yourself.
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