Christmas time is a great opportunity to show your tenants a little love with a small gift/card and to offer them a few suggestions to keep their home safe over the festive season. Even if your tenants don’t celebrate Christmas, they’ll appreciate a little tenant appreciation and advice on having a relaxing holiday.
- Ensure lighting doesn’t turn into a fire hazard.
Most decorative lights don’t produce heat; however, older lights do and should be turned off when tenants are not home or sleeping. Also, it’s worth mentioning to keep stockings away from fireplaces. Lastly, have your tenants check the smoke/C02 detectors to ensure they work.
- Lock up
Even thieves get into the Christmas spirit. With decorations and gifts displayed out in the open, thieves can have a bird’s eye view of which places to send their elves. Bearing that in mind, close living room drapes, activate security features, and make sure to lock the doors to prevent unwelcome guests.
If your tenants plan to leave for a holiday vacation, make sure they notify you of the dates, lock all windows and doors, set the alarms/light timers, and have someone check in regularly to ensure safety and to satisfy your property insurance provider.
Speaking of locks, when people travel, they can lose their keys. Do you have a plan in place so that they know what to do rather than interrupting your good night’s sleep? Keyless entries provide a good solution since tenants can gain access with a code or cell phone.
- Check the plumbing, hot water tank, and furnace
The colder the temperatures, the greater the likelihood of pipes freezing and the furnace or hot water tank malfunctioning. Send in a technician to ensure the hot water tank and furnace are working efficiently and won’t shut down during a cold snap. Remind tenants to keep the thermostat set at 21-22 degrees to bypass frozen pipes and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage/switch off the main water supply.
- Holiday guests
The holidays are a time to celebrate with loved ones. It’s a good opportunity to offer Santa and his helpers a friendly reminder to take the same good care of the property as the tenants.
- Preparing for holiday emergencies
Most landlords dread Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve because that’s when emergencies always happen; burst water pipes, floods, furnaces, and hot water tanks all seem to malfunction during the most expensive (and frequently) coldest time of year. It’s good practice to align with a disaster and restoration company that is available 24/7 and can show up on-site within minutes of any type of flood or fire. Tenants will appreciate having their contact information too.
Part of being prepared and having a relaxing holiday free of tenant disasters is anticipating potential problems and putting contingency plans in place. With a little foresight and planning, you, your tenants, and your rental property can all have a Merry Christmas.
Do you give your tenants Christmas holiday gifts? I’d love to hear about them [email protected].
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