There's a lot of talk around maintenance in rental homes during the winter. However, there are certainly steps that you can take during the summer to keep your home (and landlord) happy.
To help you understand your responsibilities towards your landlord this summer, specialist landlord insurance provider Just Landlords has put together the top tasks to complete during the warmer months:
1. Keep the gardens tidy
The most obvious place to start is outside, where the state of your rental property will likely have changed over the past few months. With plants blooming, and others dying as a result of the heatwave, your garden may need a little more TLC than normal.
Before the harsh weather of the winter arrives, your landlord will want to see that you’ve kept the outdoor space tidy and trimmed back all plants in order to keep the garden in the best condition possible. Don’t wait until summer has ended; enjoy being outside and get stuck in.
2. Highlight any damage that needs resolving
Both the winter and summer periods can be hard on homes, so it’s important that any damage or maintenance tasks are resolved before issues worsen. This will not only help your landlord out, but will also make your property more comfortable.
It is therefore wise to either get in touch with your landlord/letting agent with any concerns you have, or raise issues during a summer periodic inspection that your landlord may decide to conduct.
3. Protect the property if you’re on holiday
Summer is both a popular time for homes to be left empty due to holidays and for thieves to take advantage of these vacant properties by targeting them. For this reason, you should consider how you’re going to keep your rental home protected if you are going away.
Think about how you could make your property seem occupied – put lights on timers, leave a car parked on the driveway, and ask a family member to check the home regularly. Additionally, ensure that all windows and doors are locked fully before you leave – you’d be surprised how many people forget!
4. Ask about their policy on barbecues
Before you start inviting people round to your rental home for barbecue parties, it’s a good idea to check your landlord’s policies on such gatherings. Of course, you are entitled to have friends and family round, but there may be certain restrictions within your tenancy agreement or building policy (if you live in a block of flats) on barbecuing.
Rather than potentially causing damage to your property and therefore losing part of your deposit, it is worth just asking the question before you go ahead and light the charcoal.
5. Keep the property ventilated
While the hot weather the UK has recently experienced is welcome to most, sleeping or even just trying to chill inside your home is hard work. For not only your comfort, but also the general well being of your property, it is important to keep your rental well ventilated.
By opening windows and doors, you will ensure that fresh (albeit warm) air is getting inside, which will improve the overall indoor air quality. This provides long-term benefits to both your health, and the health of the bricks and mortar. Closing the curtains is a good way to block out the sun, while ensuring fresh air gets in.
6. Dry your washing outside
Your landlord cannot tell you how to live, however, they can call you out on decisions you’re making that could be damaging their property (and you may lose part or all of your deposit for it). Something that could be causing damage to the home is drying your washing on radiators or even just indoors.
Drying washing outside may not be easy during winter, but now that the weather is permitting, make sure to dry your washing outdoors, to avoid causing any unnecessary moisture build-up inside. Your landlord will thank you!
Summer may seem like a kinder season for your rental home than winter, but you still have a responsibility to look after your property while you’re living there. By ensuring that you stick to the above, you should fulfil all of your duties and keep your landlord happy.
If you're looking for a new rental property this summer, check out Spotahome.
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