As an Orange County landlord, you’re going to be faced with emergency maintenance situations. It’s no one’s favorite thing to deal with, but it’s essential to understand how important it is to effectively address and manage these issues when they arise. In our guide, we’ll walk you through how to effectively manage emergency repairs, while giving you the information you need to protect your tenants and your property.
Key Takeaways
- Understand what emergency maintenance situations are to ensure tenant safety and prevent property damage.
- Non-emergency issues can be handled during regular business hours.
- Clear communication with tenants can reduce stress and ensure a smooth resolution.
- After-hours plans and a list of trusted service providers lets landlords efficiently handle urgent situations.
Table of Contents
- What Are Rental Property Maintenance Emergencies
- What Are Not Considered Maintenance Emergencies
- 7 Tips to Help Handle Rental Property Emergency Maintenance
- Communicating with Tenants During Emergency Repairs
- How to Handle After-Hour Calls from Tenants
- Free Emergency Maintenance Contact Sheet Download
- Emergency Maintenance FAQs
What Are Rental Property Maintenance Emergencies?
There are a lot of things that can go wrong at your rental property. As a landlord, it’s important to understand what situations fall into the “emergency” category and what situations can be dealt with at a less-than-breakneck pace.
Being able to quickly identify—and assess and address—an emergency situation, can not only protect your tenants well-being and safety, it can also help to minimize the damage to your property. So, what constitutes an emergency maintenance situation? This list of maintenance concerns should always be considered emergencies by landlords:
- Broken water lines: Any situation that involves a significant water leak or burst pipe that may lead to flooding or severe water damage is considered an emergency.
- Electrical issues: Sparks, exposed wires, or power outages are all issues that can cause electrical hazards and therefore pose a threat to your tenants safety.
- Fires: If there is any indication of a fire—smoke, flames, or even the smell of smoke—this is considered an emergency.
- Flooding: Whether caused by a burst pipe or a storm, it is an emergency when there is excessive water in the property.
- Gas leaks: The odor of gas or any other suspected signs of a gas leak should be treated as a potentially hazardous situation immediately.
- Lack of heating: While not a common issue in Orange County due to our climate, if a heating system fails and leaves tenants without the ability to warm the property, this is considered an emergency.
- Pest infestation: Whether you’re dealing with mice, cockroaches or another type of pest, a pest infestation poses potential health hazards and is seen as an emergency.
- Security breaches: If there are broken windows, malfunctioning alarm systems, or locks have been tampered with, this puts tenants at risk and is an emergency situation.
- Structural damage: Any damage to the building’s structure like a collapsed ceiling or broken roof is an emergency maintenance situation.
What Are Not Considered Maintenance Emergencies?
While it’s in your best interest to address all concerns in a timely manner, the above emergencies should be addressed within 24 to 48 hours of being notified by the tenants. But not all maintenance issues are created equal. There are some maintenance concerns that don’t require immediate action.
Here are some of the maintenance requests you may receive from tenants that are important but can be addressed during regular business hours as opposed to immediately.
- Parking disputes: If you have multiple units and your tenants each have a parking space, disputes over parking should be addressed but they are not emergencies.
- Burnt out lightbulb or fixture: While inconvenient, a burnt out lightbulb is not an emergency. You can instruct tenants on how to replace it and provide them with spare bulbs ahead of time.
- Minor leaks: If there is a small leak, under a sink for example, this is not an emergency, but should be addressed as soon as possible so it doesn’t become a bigger problem.
- Noise complaints: While noise complaints can be disruptive for tenants, they don’t require immediate attention and can be addressed during regular business hours.
- Appliance malfunction: Unless the issue poses a safety concern for the tenants, malfunctioning appliances are not seen as emergencies.
Remember, while these issues are not emergencies in the sense that they should be addressed immediately, it’s still important to address these issues in a timely manner. Giving your tenants a process to communicate these non-emergency concerns with you can help ensure your tenants are heard and that all concerns are dealt with at the appropriate time.
7 Tips to Help Landlords Handle Rental Property Emergency Maintenance
We know the stress you feel when you get a call from your tenant that you weren’t expecting—especially an after-hours call. When they tell you there’s been a flood, a fire, or a gas leak, it can be overwhelming. You need to be prepared to act quickly no matter what situation is thrown at you.
These practical tips can help you keep your head above water and give your tenant the best possible experience during an otherwise difficult time.
- Have a system in place: Be sure that your tenants know how to reach you or your property management company 24/7 in case of an emergency. Make sure they have multiple ways to reach you—phone, email, texting—and be sure that you are reachable at all times.
- Understand your responsibilities as a landlord: In California, landlords have specific responsibilities when it comes to maintaining a habitable rental property. Ensure your property is safe and habitable, and address any needed repairs to keep it in that condition as quickly as possible.
- Keep lines of communication open with your tenants: Once emergency repairs begin, it’s important that you keep tenants informed of the situation. Let them know what steps are being taken to fix the problems and give them updates on the repairs whenever possible.
- Document everything: We always recommend landlords keep clear documentation every step of the way. Keep records of communications, repairs, invoices, and more as this information is needed for insurance claims and can be helpful if there is ever a dispute.
- Build out your roster of emergency service providers: You’re only as strong as the people you can rely on. Establish relationships with reliable service providers such as electricians, plumbers, locksmiths, and more who are able to respond quickly when urgent repairs are needed.
- Prioritize the health and safety of your tenants: Above all else, when dealing with emergency maintenance concerns you should put the health and safety of your tenants above all else.
- Be proactive in preventing emergencies: There’s only so much you can do to avoid emergency situations. But being proactive and offering regular inspections can help you stop small issues before they become emergencies at 2 am on a Sunday morning.
Communicating with Tenants During Emergency Repairs
We mentioned how important it is to communicate clearly with tenants during emergency repairs. Being able to communicate and coordinate with your tenants can help ensure everyone is aligned during such a stressful time.
Your tenants should know from when they sign their lease how to get in contact with you to report both emergency and non-emergency corners. Be sure to communicate how important it is that they reach out to you as soon as there is an issue. Give your tenants more than one way to reach out to you—consider sharing an email address, phone number, and even an online maintenance request portal so they have multiple ways to reach out.
If you do find yourself in an emergency situation, remember to stay calm. It won’t help the situation if your tenant’s stress is met with your stress. Instead, take a moment to compose a response that acknowledges the seriousness of the issue, reassure them that you are addressing their situation, and go over any temporary solutions or inconveniences that may result from the issue. Be ready to answer their questions honestly, and if you don’t have the answer, be honest but work to get them an answer as soon as possible.
As we said before, document everything from communications, work orders, service provider details, and photos. This can help with insurance claims and any potential disputes.
Effective communication and coordination with your tenants can take a lot of the stress out of the situation for both parties. Staying calm and focused can help you navigate emergencies with a cool head.
How to Handle After-Hour Calls from Tenants
As a landlord, you’re going to have to manage after-hour calls from tenants—if you haven’t yet, don’t worry, it’s almost like a writ of passage. And while they tend to be stressful due to the unexpected nature, having a plan in place can help you handle these calls efficiently and professionally.
Provide a clear path for reporting emergencies
On the day your tenants sign their lease, they should be informed of how to reach you in case of an after-hours emergency. Clearly communicate the most effective way to get in contact with you after-hours so that your tenants can reach out to you quickly if they find themselves in an urgent situation.
To make this even easier, provide tenants with a printed emergency maintenance contact sheet as part of their welcome package. This ensures they always have key phone numbers on hand when they need them most.
Assess the severity of the situation
When you get a call from your tenants after-hours, it’s important to get as much information from them as possible. This can help you assess the situation and determine if it’s an emergency or if it falls in the non-emergency category. Ask your tenants about the severity of the issue, if they’ve attempted to address the problem, and if the issue has created any safety hazards. With this information in hand, assess the severity of the situation and determine your course of action.
Address situations in a timely manner
Now that you know what you’re dealing with, you must respond to the tenant’s call. While you might be able to fix the situation at that moment, acknowledging the issue and presenting a plan forward will show your tenants that you’re taking their concerns seriously. Outline the next steps you will take to resolve the issue, and provide a tentative timeline if possible.
Follow-up with tenants
As you move through the process of addressing the issue, be sure to keep communication open with your tenants. Keep them informed of the progress on repairs, when they can expect service providers to come by, and any other pertinent information. Keeping them in the loop will ensure the smoothest resolution possible.
Say Goodbye to Middle-of-the-Night Calls with Good Life Property Management
Part of being a landlord is being available to deal with emergency and non-emergency maintenance issues. And sometimes that means getting a call in the middle of the night that, frankly, you’d rather avoid. That’s where we come in.
At Good Life Property Management, we believe life should be enjoyed, not spent sweating the small—or not-so-small—stuff. Our property management services include a 24/7 emergency line that your tenants can call or text whenever they need, so we can make sure an emergency concern is never missed and dealt with around the clock if needed.
That’s just one of the many ways we set out to make property management easy. We care about you, your property, and your tenant. And we do it all so you can Live the Good Life.
Schedule a call to speak with one of our Good Life experts.
Emergency Maintenance FAQs
How long does a landlord have to make urgent repairs in California?
While California landlords have 30 days to address non-emergency issues, emergency repairs must be handled immediately. While there is no stated amount of time, 24-48 hours is a good rule of thumb.
What are the maintenance responsibilities of a landlord in California?
California law requires landlords to maintain “safe and habitable” rental properties, meeting standards like reliable access to utilities, structural integrity, and a pest-free environment.
What are uninhabitable living conditions in California?
A rental property may be considered uninhabitable in California if there are water leaks or flooding, issues with the plumbing, gas, heating or electrical systems, pest infestations, mold or other contaminants, or it lacks effective waterproofing.
What is considered emergency maintenance in a California rental property?
Emergency maintenance is any issue that impacts the habitability of a rental property. This includes but is not limited to pest infestation, broken windows, water leak or flooding, fire, gas leaks, structural damage, and more.
Steve Welty
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