Essential Autumn Property Maintenance Tips

Before the cold and dark winter months set in, set aside a little time for essential autumn property maintenance.

September and October provide the ideal opportunity to ensure your property is ready for the harsh weather ahead.

Autumn is the perfect time to catch minor issues before they escalate into expensive problems. Problems that can be hard to sort out when the weather isn’t on your side.

Follow our 5 top tips to get you started. They will keep your property in good condition and your tenants safe and warm.

5 Top Tips for Autumn Maintenance on Your Rental Property

1 – Tidy the Garden

A final session in the garden before the tools are put away for winter will benefit your property when spring returns next year.

Mowing the lawn before it becomes too cold and wet will help winter sunlight reach the grass. And fertilising it at least once in autumn will give it a good chance of growing strong and healthy when the warm weather returns.

Cutting back weeds that have flourished in warm (and often wet) summer months will help to prevent grubby, soggy plant matter from blocking drains and driveways. And autumn is also the perfect time to prune shrubs and trees, ensuring they grow back strong and colourful the following year.

2 – Check for Drafts

Ensuring your property stays draft-free will mean lower heating bills and a warm and cosy home for your tenants.

Check and fix wooden trims around windows and doors and think about fitting draft excluders throughout the house.

And plug any holes you can see in the insulation. Not only will it prevent drafts, but it also helps to avoid the arrival of unwelcome animals and other critters looking for warmth.

3 – Clean the Gutters

It’s a good idea to clear your gutters twice a year to keep them functioning well. Once in late autumn, when the majority of leaves have fallen. And then again in spring to clear away the winter debris.

Cleaning blocked gutters can pre-empt lots of costly problems such as water damage to your property. And keeping an eye on your guttering means you can replace any loose or leaky guttering before minor issues escalate.

4 – Check the Heating System

If the British summer has behaved itself, chances are the heating system will have been asleep for a few months. When the temperature then plummets and boilers fire up again, some systems struggle to get moving.

Unsurprisingly heating engineers will be booked solid towards the end of autumn. So inspect and (if needed) repair the heating system as soon as the leaves begin to fall. Not only will it save you stress and hassle, but your tenants will be thankful as they head into winter warm, cosy and with peace of mind.

5 – Smoke Detectors

Whenever you check your property, it’s always worth replacing batteries in smoke detectors to keep them in full working order.

As a reminder, by law, landlords must provide smoke detectors in rental homes.

Autumn Property Maintenance

So there we have it—a go-to list for getting your rental property into ship-shape condition for the harsh winter months ahead.