Here at Property Health, the majority of our clients are property investors from outside the Queenstown Otago area, who do not have the time to check their investments periodically.
Property Health takes care of this.
We are independent inspectors who have a pure understanding of an investment property and a home for a tenant.
We have found that being independent from both parties can give us full clarity on what’s required within the property, and have often found that being an intermediary gives a piece of mind to both the tenant and the landlord.
The best part about our periodic rental property inspections is that we are not just trained on one aspect.
Landlords can’t just come into your house or flat whenever they feel like it. Although they own the property, you’re the one with the legal right to have possession and use of the place. Your landlord can enter only in the following situations:
- With your permission – the landlord can enter if you’ve freely given permission for this, either at the time or immediately before.
- For inspections – if the landlord wants to inspect the property, including to see if you’ve fixed damage that you had caused, they can only do this between 8 am and 7 pm, and they must also have given you written notice in advance – at least 48 hours before, but not more than two weeks before. They can’t inspect the property more than once every four weeks.
- For testing – the landlord can enter to test for methamphetamine while you are living there, so long as they give you 48 hours’ notice to enter (or 24 hours for a boarding house). The landlord must tell you what they are testing for and share the results with you within seven days after they get them. See below “Safety: Smoke alarms and methamphetamine contamination”.
- For repairs and maintenance – if your landlord needs to come in to do repairs or maintenance, they have to give you at least 24 hours’ notice (either written or spoken) and tell you the reason. They can only come in between 8 am and 7 pm. Doing things just to improve the image or presentation of your place doesn’t count as “repairs and maintenance”, so for that they’ll need to get your permission to enter.
- When showing people through – the landlord can show a potential buyer or tenant, or a valuer or real estate agent, through your house or flat if it’s at a reasonable time and you’ve given permission. You can’t refuse unreasonably, but you can set some reasonable conditions – for example, you might limit these visits to certain times of day and days of the week, or refuse to have open homes and auctions on the site, or agree to open homes but say you want to be present while they’re happening.
- For agreed services – the landlord can come into your house or flat to provide you with any services that were agreed to under your tenancy agreement, so long as they also comply with any conditions to do with entry that are stated in your agreement.
- When checking if you’ve moved out – if you’re more than 14 days behind in the rent and the landlord has good reason to think you’ve moved out, they can come in to find out, but they have to give you 24 hours’ written notice first.
- In emergencies – the landlord can enter whenever there’s an emergency, like a fire.
- With a Tenancy Tribunal Order – the landlord can enter if the Tenancy Tribunal has made an order allowing them to do this.
For a Landlord
Periodic rental property inspections are one of the many essential ownership responsibilities. The technical aspect of a physical property inspection will vary from property to property and from landlord to landlord. The age of a property and the type of construction will impact the focus of a rental property inspection.
The landlord’s ownership experience with other properties will also impact the landlord’s inspection priorities. While the benefit of property inspections to the property upkeep cannot be overstated, the impact of property inspections on the tenant is often overlooked.
The beginning of any discussion about the impact of property inspection on the tenants, and thus the stability of the lease, starts with the purchase of a property by the landlord.
Typically, before the acquisition of a rental property, the property undergoes a lengthy inspection process. At first, the prospective landlord conducts the property inspection. The inspection is cursory. It simply involves a build-up of the landlord’s self-assurance that the property will meet acceptance by potential tenants.
After the buyer and the seller agree on the purchase agreement, a licensed real estate inspector inspects the property. This time the property inspection is very detailed. The real estate inspector will look at everything under the roof of a property, including the roof itself, and issue an inspection report.
Being a landlord can be an extremely rewarding job but it can also be a challenging one. Many tasks need doing and legal responsibilities to keep up to date with as well as being mindful of the duty of care you owe to your tenant.
Once the tenant has moved into your property, the best way to make them aware of their responsibilities and make sure they are following the rules set out in the tenancy agreement is to set up regular property inspections.
Contact us today if you would like to know more about our Periodic Rental Property Inspection service.
