Tenants guide to management visits

What is the importance of a management visit?

We cannot stress enough the importance of carrying out periodic visits throughout each tenancy to check the property is in the expected condition internally and externally and to ensure that tenants are adhering to the conditions set out in the tenancy agreement.

The main areas we assess have been detailed below:

Reactive/pre-emptive maintenance

Spotting maintenance issues early can often reduce costs of repair and the possible disruption a repair could cause the tenant. Therefore time is spent assessing the property externally and internally and it is important to know what to look out for. For example, the gutters: there may not be any water ingress internally, however, should plant growth be noticed in the gutters, this should be removed in order to prevent the possibility of rainwater overflowing and causing an internal leak.

Planned maintenance and improvement work

At Star Students, we find it equally as important to look at ways to improve the property and therefore use the management visit as an opportunity to suggest recommendations for future improvements. In the student market, there are windows of opportunity to carry out improvement works, for instance in the Christmas and Easter holidays (with the tenant’s consent) and clearly during the summer void period between tenancies. This not only keeps the property to a high standard but also hopefully the enjoyment derived from living in the house.

Tenants living conditions

In student shared housing and HMO’s it is often the case that the tenants need advice and encouragement on how to look after their house. If this is provided too late, then what could initially be considered wear and tear, can lead to damage and possible deposit deductions come the end of tenancy. The common concerns that we often pick up on include: condensation mould, blu-tack, poor cleanliness & waste build up. The more we can help advise on our concerns, the more chance the tenants will look after the house in the correct manner and consequently receive full deposit returns come end of tenancy.

In our Managed student accommodation, Star Students carry out managements in the early stages of the tenancy (to nip in the bud any early concerns that may be noticeable and start to build a relationship with the tenants), and then again in early spring. Reports are drawn up for both the landlord and tenant and also return visits are scheduled if necessary.

Chris Welch

July 2022