Rental Property Maintenance & Owner DIY Guide

For owners: proactive maintenance is one of the simplest ways to protect your rental income, reduce unexpected repair costs, keep tenants longer, and maintain the long-term value of your investment.

Our property management team will coordinate repairs, communicate with tenants, keep records, and help you stay on top of compliance requirements.

Quick Summary for Rental Owners

• Owners are generally responsible for keeping rental properties safe, healthy, secure, and in reasonable repair.
• Preventative maintenance helps avoid larger repair bills and protects rental returns.
• Healthy Homes compliance is checked at inspections, not only at the start of a tenancy.

So how does it work?

• We receive and assess maintenance requests from tenants.
• We arrange suitable tradespeople where specialist repairs are required.
• We prioritise urgent health, safety, security, and weather-tightness issues.
• We provide updates and seek owner approval where required.
• We monitor recurring issues so preventative action can be considered.

Our goal is to resolve maintenance promptly, keep records clear, and help owners make informed decisions about repairs, upgrades, and preventative care.

Rental homes must also meet applicable building, health, safety, and Healthy Homes requirements.

In practical terms, this means owners should make sure the property remains safe, secure, weather-tight, warm, dry, and functional throughout the tenancy.

• Maintain the structure, roof, walls, floors, plumbing, electrical systems, locks, and supplied fixtures.
• Respond to repairs within a reasonable timeframe, with urgent issues treated as a priority.
• Keep the property compliant with Healthy Homes standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping.
• Provide working smoke alarms and ensure safety-related items are maintained.
• Address fair wear and tear, weather damage, and faults that are not caused by tenant damage or negligence.

Owner DIY Maintenance: What can an owner do themselves? 

Owners can carry out any work that does not require someone who holds a license to carry out the work such as electrical work, plumbing, gas, roofing, structural repairs, major tree work, asbestos-related work, and any safety-critical repair theses should be handled by suitably qualified professionals.

Who Pays for Repairs?

Owners cover fair wear and tear, age-related failures, building faults, and repairs needed to keep the property in reasonable condition. Tenants must report problems promptly and may be responsible for damage caused intentionally, carelessly, or through neglect.

Prompt reporting matters. A small leak, loose tile, blocked drain, or broken extractor fan can become expensive if ignored. 

General guide:

• Owner responsibility: fair wear and tear, weather-tightness, plumbing and electrical faults, fixed heating, structural issues, supplied chattels, locks, smoke alarms, and Healthy Homes compliance.
• Tenant responsibility: reporting repairs promptly, keeping the home reasonably clean and tidy, using ventilation and heating appropriately, preventing avoidable damage, and paying for damage they or their guests cause where applicable.
• Shared clarity: garden, lawn, and outdoor maintenance expectations should be clearly recorded in the tenancy agreement.

Urgent Repairs: What do you need to know? 

Urgent repairs are issues that may affect health, safety, security, essential services, or cause further damage if not addressed quickly. Examples include serious water leaks, no hot water, dangerous electrical faults, blocked toilets or drains, broken external locks, storm damage, or loss of essential services. If a tenant cannot reach the landlord or property manager after reasonable attempts, they may be able to arrange urgent repairs and seek reimbursement, depending on the circumstances.

Recommended Maintenance Schedule

What will your Property Manager do? 

A proactive property manager helps owners stay organised by coordinating maintenance requests, arranging reliable trades, documenting work, communicating with tenants, monitoring compliance, and identifying preventative maintenance opportunities. If you are unsure whether a repair is urgent, owner-funded, tenant-related, or part of a wider compliance issue, contact your property manager for guidance before delaying action.

Owner Maintenance FAQs

How quickly should rental repairs be handled?

Repairs should be handled within a reasonable timeframe, with urgent issues prioritised immediately. Anything affecting health, safety, security, weather-tightness, hot water, essential services, or further property damage should be treated as high priority.

Can an owner do their own rental property repairs?

Owners can complete simple checks and minor non-restricted maintenance where it is safe and appropriate. However, electrical, plumbing, gas, roofing, structural, asbestos-related, and safety-critical work should be completed by suitably qualified professionals.

Who is responsible for mould in a rental property?

Responsibility depends on the cause. Owners should address building-related causes such as leaks, poor drainage, inadequate ventilation, or maintenance defects. Tenants should ventilate, heat, and clean the home appropriately and report mould or dampness early.

How often should an owner review Healthy Homes compliance?

Healthy Homes compliance should be reviewed whenever a tenancy starts or renews, after relevant repairs or upgrades, during planned maintenance reviews, and whenever a property issue may affect heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress, drainage, or draught stopping.