If your tenants are planning on going away for a short amount of time, there are a number of important items that may require addressing before they travel. If you are a property manager, you may want to send out an e-mail about travel tips for your residents.
Here are the top travel tips for home renters from RPM Platinum. It’s important that tenants and landlords work together if an extended vacation is planned.
Top Travel Tips for Tenants
- Prevent freezing pipes: If you have a property in a colder area, tenants may be encouraged to leave a trickle of water running to prevent pipes from freezing or encouraged to turn the water off on certain items. Read on for additional top travel tips for tenants.
- Having a plan for snow removal: If you live in a colder area, it’s also important that residents are prepared to handle snow removal unless it’s agreed upon that the landlord will handle snow removal. Working with another tenant or friend to handle snow removal and clearing of public sidewalks is important.
- Getting timers for lighting: Lighting timers can make your home more secure and make it seem as though the unit remains occupied.
- Adjusting Thermostats: Residents can set their thermostats lower but it’s important to consider leaving them on a safe level to prevent damage to the unit.
- Unplugging Appliances: Unplugging nonessential appliances will conserve energy in the rental unit.
- Have a Postal Plan: Stacked-up mail in the mailbox can be a huge sign that a rental unit is empty. Making sure that someone is able to remove the mail is important.
- A Rental Payment Plan: If a renter is going to be on vacation when rent is due, make sure that there is a plan in mind, such as a post-dated check or online payment reminder, to ensure rent is paid on time.
Disclosure: It is extremely important that a tenant discloses when they are going to be heading out of the rental unit for an extended amount of time. Even a vacation of a week or two should be disclosed to a landlord. With disclosure, a landlord may be able to check in on the rental unit and make sure that it is protected and safe. In certain areas, tenants may be required to notify the landlord over extended absences as well.
If you are a Real Property Management Platinum tenant, please notify the office at (559) 785-0373 if you are going to be traveling for an extended period of time.