Keeping a rental property sound between tenancies
Rental properties need a maintenance rhythm that catches problems early, ideally between tenancies rather than mid-let.
Landlords across Torbay and Teignbridge manage everything from converted flats above shops to family houses let to long-term tenants, and the maintenance challenge is similar across most of them: small issues that a live-in owner would notice and fix quickly can go unreported for months in a tenanted property, especially with a longer-term tenant who has become used to a minor fault.
Getting maintenance right as a landlord is partly about the physical work and partly about timing. Repairs done reactively, after a tenant complaint, are almost always more disruptive and more expensive than the same work planned into a gap between tenancies, when the property is empty and trades can work through it without needing to fit around anyone's daily routine.
A sensible maintenance plan also protects the value of the property over time, since deferred repairs to roofs, windows and damp-prone areas tend to get considerably more expensive the longer they are left, particularly in the wetter South Devon climate.
What tends to get missed
Guttering blockages, minor roof slips and window seal failures are all things a tenant may not think to report until they cause a visible leak, by which point internal damage has often already started.
Extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens are another common one, since a fan that has stopped working effectively leads to condensation and mould that tenants sometimes attempt to manage themselves rather than reporting.
Working around tenancies
Where possible, larger repair or improvement work is best scheduled for the gap between tenancies, when the property is empty and access is unrestricted, rather than trying to work around a tenant's daily life.
For urgent repairs during a tenancy, clear communication about timing and access reduces disruption and tends to result in a smoother job, since trades are not having to renegotiate access every visit.
- Guttering and roof checks between tenancies, not just when a leak appears
- Extractor fan function checked to prevent condensation build-up
- Damp-prone areas inspected annually rather than only when reported
- Larger works scheduled into void periods where possible
Compliance-driven maintenance
Gas safety, electrical testing and smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements all apply to rented property in England and create a natural rhythm for wider maintenance checks at the same time.
Using a compliance visit as an opportunity to also check for damp, ventilation and general fabric condition avoids paying for a separate call-out for issues that could have been caught during a scheduled visit.
Protecting the property's condition long term
Damp and timber decay left unaddressed in a rental property tend to worsen faster than in an owner-occupied home simply because they are noticed later, so an annual fabric check is worth building into a landlord's routine.
Keeping a simple maintenance record for each property also helps when planning future works, since it shows which repairs are recurring symptoms of a larger underlying issue rather than one-off faults.
Common questions
How often should a rental property be inspected?
An annual check of the roof, guttering, windows and ventilation is a sensible minimum, ideally timed alongside gas safety or electrical testing visits that already need to happen regularly.
Is it cheaper to repair during or between tenancies?
Between tenancies is almost always more efficient, since trades have unrestricted access and are not working around a tenant's schedule, which usually reduces both time on site and disruption.
What maintenance issues do tenants most often under-report?
Minor roof and guttering faults, slow extractor fan failures and small window seal issues are commonly under-reported, since tenants may not realise how quickly they can lead to larger damp or timber problems.
Does deferred maintenance really cost more later?
Yes, particularly with damp and timber decay, which tend to spread while left unaddressed, so a repair that would have been straightforward when first noticed can become significantly more involved after a year or two.
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