Winter is one of the seasons that can have a substantially negative impact on the overall condition of your investment property. As the weather gets worse, various components of the building can become damaged, often resulting in expensive and time-consuming repairs, which can not only affect your rental yield but can also inconvenience and frustrate your tenants.
To help you keep your property maintenance costs down this winter, online letting agents LetBritian, have compiled a handy guide on how to winter-proof your property so that you can carry out routine checks and inform your tenants now before it’s too late. When you let online with LetBritain, you can rest assured that we will carry out maintenance checks on your property this winter.
Read on to discover how you can winter-proof your buy-to-let property in our landlord blog below.
A major concern with poor ventilation and condensation is that it creates damp, which can cause the build-up of mould inside a property, creating an unhealthy environment for your tenants to live in. Not only that, but it’s often cited as a reason why tenants trigger the break clause early on in their tenancy agreement, which can result in a dreaded void period.
Condensation is one of the major causes of damp inside a property; one way that you can prevent it from occurring is to check that all of the extractor fans are working. Repair any inadequate ventilation zones in your rental property to increase the air circulation, such as replacing rotten windows, installing extra extractor fans or an attic vent.
Over summer and autumn, leaves, twigs and debris can build up inside the gutters and drains of your rental property, which can cause blockages, leaks and overflows. And this can get worse should the water freeze during the colder winter months. Perhaps think about investing in some gutter leaf guards to help prevent any build-up throughout the rest of the year and ensure that you further reduce the risk by getting drains and gutters checked regularly.
One of the best ways to winter-proof your property investment is to inform your tenants of what they are responsible for during cold weather. Many tenants aren’t aware of their responsibilities, so by creating a helpful tenant pack for winter, you can help ensure that they are looking after your rental property. Reminders to leave the heating on low when they leave the property over Christmas can help prevent the pipes from freezing and causing leaks.
The roof will be one of the most hard-working components of your property during winter, so take a look to see if there are any loose roof tiles, which will be vulnerable to falling off in a heavy winter storm. It’s always a good idea to consult a professional roofer, should you be in need of a second opinion.
Another way you can protect your roof from winter damage is to make a note of any trees and branches nearby your property. If there are some that are particularly old, then they could get blown off in a storm, potentially falling into your roof and causing serious damage. You could always consult a tree surgeon for an assessment and carry out maintenance work if the tree is located on your land.
The online letting agents at LetBritain can help you manage your rental property and carry out routine, regular maintenance checks so you won’t have to worry about doing this yourself. We also offer services for tenant finding, tenant reference checks, property maintenance checks, administration for statutory periodic tenancy and more.
Contact one of our online rental agents today to find out more.