Ways To Get Your Rental Property Ready For Inspection

Property management companies perform rental inspections to ensure rental properties are in good condition and obey the lease. If you have an inspection due on your home, this guide can help you prepare the property.

Preparing for a rental property inspection

If you rent a house or an apartment, it’s essential to make sure that you are ready for scheduled inspections.

Companies like this property manager in Phoenix carry out regular checks on behalf of owners to ensure that the tenants abide by the terms of their contract and identify potential issues that may need addressing, such as minor repairs.

As a tenant, preparing in advance is beneficial to ensure the property is ready for inspection. Steps to take include:

Cleaning should be on top of your routine rental inspection checklist

Cleaning the house before the inspection will ensure that the property looks well-cared-for and present a positive image.

Take care to clean every room. Pay particular attention to kitchens and bathrooms, and remove any stains you may be responsible for. Vacuum the floors, wipe down surfaces, mop the kitchen and spray some air freshener to add a fresh, clean scent.

In addition, you may need to hire a skip bin to remove excess clutter that’s no longer needed. Items like furniture, appliances, light green waste, and more can all go into a skip bin. Check out the Skip Bin Finder guide here for more information.

Check the terms of your rental agreement before your landlord's inspection

When getting ready for a rental property inspection, it’s critical to check the terms of your agreement and ensure you know which tasks you are responsible for and which jobs should be undertaken by the owner or the property management agency.

Some contracts may specify that tenants are responsible for maintaining lawns and patios, for example.

Once you have checked your agreement, write down any additional jobs that need doing, for example, cutting the grass, cleaning the driveway and removing rubbish or debris, and maintaining appliances or communal areas.

Minor repairs may be your responsibility

Many of us are guilty of letting minor repair jobs slip, and before we know it, weeks or even months have passed.

If you’ve forgotten to screw a door hinge tighter, a knob has fallen off the kitchen drawer, or you scuffed the paintwork on a door frame, you can carry out repairs before the inspection.

For more complex, more extensive jobs, it’s best to seek advice. Often, landlords will stipulate that jobs have to be done by approved contractors or companies.

If this is the case and you are responsible for the issue, you may have to cover the cost of repairs.

Write a list of issues and problems of your rental property

If you have any grievances or issues, a property inspection is ideal for raising them with the property management company. If there are leaks, faulty appliances (in cases where the owner provides appliances), or issues with plumbing or electrics, write down any concerns.

When the agent looks around the property, you can flag the issues on your list. It’s also a good idea to take photographs and to keep a record of any problems you have reported in the past which might not have been rectified yet.

Your agreement should contain all the relevant information about the property's condition when you moved in. If there are outstanding issues from that day or a previous inspection, don’t hesitate to mention them again.

Summary

Rental property inspections play an important role in ensuring that homes are well looked after, but they also offer an opportunity for tenants to raise issues or highlight problems.

If you have an inspection due, take these tips on board to make sure you’re ready and maximize the chances of passing with flying colors.

Have you read the rental property inspection laws?