Should a property manager attend every repair?

Property managers have a number of roles which includes attending to any repairs and maintenance needed at a rental property. It has been widely discussed whether or not property managers should be present when a repair is taking place at a property. In this article, I will discuss some the advantages and disadvantages on whether or not a property manager should attend every repair but also try to decipher if there is a more effective solution.

Repairs and maintenance would need to be carried out at some point during a tenancy and the frequency of this depends on the seasons as well as the current condition of the property. Property managers would need to find an appropriate contractor or handyman to carry out a repair and negotiate the cost of the repair. A lot of the time property managers may have to find a trades person to carry out a repair on more than one property thus it could be difficult to divide their time between each repair job. However, it could be worthwhile attending each repair job to ensure the correct repair is being done and to a high standard. This would ensure that the property manager is acting in the best interest of his client and reduce the chances of any liability claim. Although, it could be argued that property managers does not need to attend both repairs due to the fact that technology allows us to easily communicate, which means contractors can take photographs and video footage of the repairs without a property being there to inspect the quality and proof of the repair job.

Meanwhile, most contractors and tradesmen usually inspect a repair job before the property managers appoints them to carry out the work. Thus, this would effectively remove the chance of miscommunication - hence the property manager does not need to be at the final repair job but only prior to show the contractor the work needed to be done. Despite this, if there is a situation where the contractor is only available during the day when tenants are not at home, the property manager would need to be present for the contractor to gain access. Although, a spare key could be left with the contractor to gain access and carry out the work when the tenants are not home to avoid any disturbance.

Property managers need to be very responsive to repair and maintenance issues at a rental property with some being more urgent than others. For instance, if the roof of a property needs to be repaired or landscaping, these type of jobs tend to be less frequent but more labor intensive. It would be advantageous for the property manager to be present at the job in order to make sure there are no health and safety hazards at the property which can disrupt the work. This is because a client may not have adequate insurance that covers injury to a contractor or tenant at the property. As a result, this would ensure that the safety of the worker and anybody else at the property is considered to avoid any liability claims. However, other repairs and maintenance jobs such as boiler repair or fitting new bathroom taps would not pose much of a health and safety concern thus a property does not have be present.

To conclude, property managers should be able to attend every repair and maintenance job carried out but only to a certain extent. If the property manager is occupied and has more than one repair and maintenance job scheduled, it can attend the job that is more labor intensive and requires on sight inspection. Therefore, property managers does not always have to be present especially with the advancement of technology, communication has become easier thus contractors can send video footage along with pictures upon completion of a job. This would be helpful for the property manager to assess the quality of the job without actually being there which saves time and hassle.