The end of summer is a useful point in the year for landlords to take stock.
September often marks a return to normal routines after holidays, tenants are easier to reach, and the colder months are still far enough away to deal with maintenance without everything becoming urgent.
For landlords, this makes late August and early September a particularly good time to look at what is coming up across the property.
Not because everything needs doing now.
Simply because knowing what is coming gives you time to manage it properly.
Check What’s Due Before It Becomes Urgent
Property compliance rarely consists of one certificate or one annual appointment.
Depending on the property, a landlord may be managing Gas Safety, an EICR, boiler servicing, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, Legionella assessments, PAT testing and general maintenance alongside the tenancy itself.
Each has its own dates, records and possible follow-up actions.
A simple review now can identify anything due during autumn or winter and give you time to arrange access, book the appropriate contractor and deal with any work identified.
That is considerably easier than discovering something needs attention when a deadline is already approaching.
Gas Safety: Look Beyond the Expiry Date
For rented properties with relevant gas appliances, landlords must arrange an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Existing tenants must normally receive the record within 28 days of the check, while new tenants must receive it before moving in.
But good gas safety management is about more than remembering the expiry date.
The Health and Safety Executive makes an important distinction between the annual safety check and effective maintenance. It also describes the gas safety record as a “living document”, which should be supplemented by records of any follow-up work required.
That is exactly why planning ahead matters.
If access proves difficult, a defect is identified or further work is recommended, having some breathing room makes the process much easier to manage.
HSE guidance for landlords on gas safety
EICRs: Don’t Just File the Report Away
Electrical safety deserves the same approach.
Electrical installations in privately rented homes should be inspected and tested at intervals not exceeding five years, or sooner where the previous report specifies a shorter interval.
But the date on the EICR is only part of the picture.
If work has subsequently been carried out at the property, recommendations have been made, or electrical problems have been reported by a tenant, those records form part of the property’s wider electrical history.
Electrical Safety First also recommends periodic visual checks and advises landlords to use registered electricians and retain appropriate certification for work carried out.
Electrical Safety First guidance for landlords
Boiler Servicing: Autumn Is Better Than the First Cold Week
A boiler may have operated perfectly well through summer while seeing relatively little demand from the heating system.
That changes quickly once temperatures begin to fall.
For landlords, reviewing the boiler’s service history before autumn is therefore sensible preventative maintenance.
It provides an opportunity to identify developing issues before the heating is being relied upon every day and, importantly, before engineers enter their busiest period.
It is also worth remembering that a Gas Safety Inspection and a boiler service are not the same thing. HSE specifically warns landlords not to assume that an annual gas safety check alone amounts to effective maintenance.
Don’t Forget the Smaller Outstanding Jobs
Not everything on an autumn property review needs to be a statutory inspection.
Think back over the summer.
Was a radiator valve reported as sticking? Has a tenant mentioned intermittent boiler pressure? Was an advisory raised during an electrical inspection? Is there a repair that was deliberately left until after holidays?
Individually, these may be relatively small matters.
The benefit of reviewing them now is that landlords can make a considered decision about what needs attention rather than allowing a collection of minor jobs to become winter emergencies.
Good Records Make This Much Easier
Knowing something has been completed is useful.
Knowing what was completed, when it was completed, what was found and what happened afterwards is considerably more valuable.
This becomes particularly important as a property changes over time.
Certificates, remedial work, servicing, repairs and recommendations collectively create the compliance and maintenance history of the property.
Good records can also make it easier to answer questions from tenants, letting agents, contractors, buyers or solicitors without having to reconstruct years of information from emails and folders.
Use the End of Summer as a Reset Point
There is no need to turn the end of August into a huge property maintenance exercise.
Instead, use it as a checkpoint.
Look at what is due over the next few months. Check whether anything remains outstanding. Make sure important records are where they should be. Arrange anything that would be better completed before colder weather arrives.
A little organisation now can make autumn and winter considerably easier.
At CRS Matrix, we help landlords and letting agents across Leicester manage Gas Safety, EICRs, boiler servicing, PAT testing, Legionella assessments and ongoing property maintenance.
Through MyMatrixHub®, landlords can also keep their property’s compliance information, certificates and history together in one place.
Summer may be nearly over. Getting ahead now means your property doesn’t have to play catch-up later.
