As Winter begins, it’s time for landlords to start thinking about getting their properties ready for the cold weather.

We’ve written this blog post to explain a few of the steps you can take to ensure your property is not affected by the adverse conditions.  

Check The Roof and Gutters

You should make sure that your property’s gutters are free of leaves and any other debris to prevent rain overflow. Water damage and damp can be particularly problematic as the results are not immediately obvious; tenants may therefore not report the issue until it has become a major problem. 

Damp and water ingress can also be caused by missing roof tiles. These are easy to spot and fix. Slightly harder to see are cracked tiles, so they require a thorough inspection. Splits can become far worse during winter, as water freezes and expands, breaking the tiles even further. 

Lights

As the nights get shorter, it’s worth ensuring that if your property has external lights, they are working properly. This will make tenants feel safer and should hopefully reduce the chance of break-ins. Whilst tenants are expected to change their own lightbulbs within their property, doing so in external fittings can sometimes be difficult. It might therefore be worth taking the time to change them yourself. 

Check Pipes 

You should check all the pipes to which you have access to ensure they are not leaking or broken. As they are prone to freeze up and burst during Winter, it may be worth fitting lagging  Ensure they are properly secured to the wall and that the brickwork around them is showing no sign of cracking where water might get in.  

Void Periods

It’s likely that student tenants will go home over the Christmas holidays. Before they vacate the property, you should advise them to set the heating to 7-10 degrees, to ensure that the property’s pipes don’t freeze up. Ask that they don’t leave any valuable items in sight in their rooms to reduce the chance of the property being broken into. Remind them to close and lock all windows and doors.  

Check the Heating

The property’s heating system may not have been used for quite some time, so it’s worth having the boiler serviced, checking all pipes and bleeding the radiators, which should warm up the house more efficiently. Take the time to ensure the property’s insulation is in order, especially in the loft, through which a quarter of the heat in a house can escape. Also consider fitting draught excluders to doors.

Ventilation

When it’s cold, tenants often don’t open their windows for months on end. However, if they remain closed, condensation can quickly build up. We’ve previously written a blog post about damp and condensation. You’ll find lots of helpful advice about protecting your property during the colder months there. 

Fix Small Issues

You may have let lots of little issues build up over time that you haven’t got round to doing. It’s a good idea to sort these issues out whilst you carry out your Winter checks. If they are not addressed, small problems can quickly become much worse when the cold weather sets in. 

Mistoria’s Services

If you have a Little Lever property to let, please contact Mistoria Estate Agents now.