11th
Dec 2016
It is costing landlords approximately £4.1 billion each year on maintenance, so claims an insurance company after collating their research. On average each landlord had to spend £2,360 per year on essential repairs and maintenance.
According to 24% of those that took part, a major factor in the high cost was because of tenants delays in telling them about maintenance issues and if 'nipped in the bud' would have drastically reduced their bill.
25% of the landlords said they did not use a letting agent and 39% of landlords totally rely on their tenants to let them know about issues with their 'homes'.
Surprisingly the 37% of tenants that were also polled, felt that there was no need to report any issues unless there was an emergency, so any issues that were deemed as 'niggles' would be left and in some cases would escalate into a hefty cost for the landlord. It seems that younger tenants were most likely to do this (18-34) and 21% said they had not reported any maintenance issues in the preceding twelve months.
Managing Director of Home and Landlord Insurance arm of the company, Selwyn Fernandes, said: "Keeping up with home maintenance can be a tough and time-consuming job at the best of times, but it can be especially tricky for landlords and their tenants as there may be confusion about where the responsibility lies. Generally landlords handle structural repairs and any issues with water, heating or electrical systems, but renters may be expected to do minor repairs, so should check their contract if they aren’t sure."
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