Landlords must plan for repairs

No matter how carefully they’re chosen to be “low maintenance” or “inspected”, rental properties will require some upkeep and repairs from time to time.

Landlords need to remember this and accept the fact that there are times they will have to pay someone to repair a fault or replace something broken.

That’s much easier if they allow for it when calculating the expected net returns from their buy-to-let investments.

The generally accepted amount to set aside for maintenance and repairs is between 1% and 3% of the property’s value per year. So on a R1 million property, for example, the amount would be at least R10 000, which can be put into a savings or money market account to earn interest until needed – as long as it’s easily accessible.

Tenants also need to be reasonable, however, and not assume that their landlord will pay for every bit of wear and tear on the property while they live there, or call him about every little thing that goes wrong – especially if they’ve done the damage themselves.

They need to be prepared to keep the garden tidy, for example, and to clean the pool, clean up the oil their car leaked on the driveway and replace anything they break at their own cost.

The lease agreement should make it very clear who’s responsible for what, but common sense should also prevail on both sides. If the geyser bursts, for example, or the stove stops working, it isn’t fair for the landlord to make tenants wait days for it to be replaced or repaired.

On the other hand, tenants should never just go ahead with a big repair and then try to spring the bill on the landlord – or threaten to take the amount out of the next month’s rent.

Tobie Fourie is national rentals manager for Chas Everitt International.

Common sense should prevail on both sides. Tenants need to keep the garden tidy, and replace things they broke at their own cost.