Most property managers grasp they need to react promptly when a resident calls with an emergency maintenance request. Yet, which maintenance requests are emergencies, requiring immediate attention, and which are of lower priority? This is among the more difficult inquiries that property owners encounter since certain concerns, even those that lead to unease or trouble, do not qualify as genuine emergencies. On the flip side, other maintenance issues are significant enough to be addressed immediately or risk violating Landlord/Tenant laws or habitability codes. Understanding the dissimilarity between the two can empower you to excellently 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 contemplate to what degree the maintenance issue could cause injury, severe property damage, or expose your resident’s health and safety to danger. Any matter that aligns with this description would generally be considered an emergency. Frequent emergencies include:
- 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 be aware of that certain maintenance items may be emergencies under one set of conditions but not another. For example, a broken air conditioner is not an emergency when the weather is mild. Yet, it certainly is during summer where temperatures reach dangerous levels.
Ignoring to respond immediately to emergencies like these – even those that happen during the night – might violate habitability laws and, in the end, lead to serious legal trouble. This is particularly relevant if your lack of action prompts your tenant to take matters into their own hands and organize or make the repairs themselves.
Non-Emergency Maintenance Types
On the other hand, other maintenance issues that, although bothersome, are typically not regarded as emergencies unless there are extenuating circumstances. For example, a malfunctioning appliance, no hot water, or small leaks may be troublesome for your residents but generally do not fits into the category of an emergency repair. These maintenance issues ought to be reported as regular maintenance requests, which you can tackle during business hours.
For rental property owners, grasping what constitutes an emergency maintenance issue and how to respond appropriately is a good factor in efficient property management. If you are unable to address such inquiries promptly or have additional obligations, it may be the right moment to hire a quality property management company operating in the Cedar Park area and nearby. Contact us online or call 512-806-0606 to discover what Real Property Management All Connect provides for rental property owners such as yourself.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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