What Is Considered Emergency Maintenance for Florida Rental Property?

Florida PMServices • June 19, 2020

When you’re renting out a home in Florida, you want to be sure you’re responding promptly to all rental property repairs. Maintenance is part of owning an investment property, and protecting the condition of your property will ensure it increases in value. It also helps you with tenant retention because well-qualified renters do not like to have their calls for help ignored.

You’ll need to know how to separate emergencies from routine repairs.

Emergency Maintenance: Floods and Fires

In Florida, we have a lot of extreme weather. Hurricanes, tropical storms, and even torrential rains can cause big problems for property.

But flooding can happen even outside of a weather event, and you need to be prepared to respond to it immediately. Any water intrusion or leak must be treated as an emergency in your Florida rental property. Get a plumber over to the property immediately, whether it’s a water heater leak, a pipe that’s burst, or soaked floors due to heavy rain. Water can be extremely damaging. Not only do you have to repair the water damage, you also have to act quickly to prevent rot and mold.

Fires are also emergencies. While this is obvious, you want to make sure an emergency plan is in place for tenants who may have a fire at their property. If you own a multifamily building, be sure your tenants know how to exit the building safely. They should know to call the fire department before they call you.

Emergency Maintenance: Toilets and Sewage

A toilet that isn’t working will not be an emergency in a home that has three bathrooms. However, if you’re renting out a home with only one bathroom, that toilet that isn’t flushing has become an emergency. In order to keep the property habitable, you need to get it fixed right away.

Any time there’s sewage in the house or a sewer line breaks, that’s an emergency. It’s going to require an immediate response, and you’ll need to call in cleaning and restoration crews as soon as the problem is fixed.

Emergency Maintenance: Air Conditioning

One of the maintenance emergencies that is unique to Florida is air conditioning. Our HVAC units work over time in this state, thanks to temperatures that are hot and a climate that is humid for most of the year. If it’s the middle of August and your tenant calls to report the air conditioning is not working, you need to treat it as an emergency and get it fixed right away. Your tenants can be in danger if it’s 95 degrees outside and there’s no air, especially if you’re renting to people who are elderly or have compromised respiratory systems. Get the problem fixed right away.

It’s critical that you and your residents understand what qualifies as an emergency and how the response should be handled. While you might require a written notification during routine repairs, you’ll want your tenants to have your phone number or the phone number of your property managers in case an emergency occurs.

It’s also important that you have a reliable team of licensed and insured vendors to respond to any emergency. Any delay will mean trouble for your property and your tenant relationships.

We’d be happy to help you manage your maintenance responses. Please contact us at Florida Property Management Services.

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