Best Property Manager in Houston Texas discusses Landlord obligations and tips for when the heating and plumbing goes out in your Houston rental home during due to cold temperatures.
This time of year we are dealing with a lot of work orders tied to heating and cracked pipes. If you haven’t had to deal with these yet, you may want to take some preventative steps so that you are better prepared as a Houston Landlord if it happens to your rental property.
Heating goes out - Make sure you have a trusted vendor that you can call in the event the heating goes out in your Houston rental home. A trusted HVAC technician should be seen as similarly to an auto mechanic. Make sure you’re not taken advantage of and made to get an entire new HVAC system when you may have only needed to repair a part.
Purchase and keep space heaters at the property. This way your tenant has them in the event your heat does go out. This will not only keep your tenant happy; however, it will also help take care of your property as you will have heat in the home to help prevent freezing pipes.
Cracked pipes - call a plumber right away if your tenant calls with cracked pipes/a water leak. Also advise your tenant to turn off the main water shut off until the leak has been repaired.
Keep the heat on when out of town - Be proactive and reach out to your tenant to advise them to keep the heat on at a minimum of 60 degrees when they are not home. Sometimes tenants leave town and turn the heat off to save on energy costs. This can cause frozen/busted pipes and if no one is home to catch it, it can cause major water damage.
Open cabinets below sinks - If the heating does go out in your property, advise your tenant to open the cabinet doors below your sinks in order to keep whatever heat is in the home circulating into the areas below your sink.
Keep your faucets at a slow drip - Maintaining a slow drip with your faucets will prevent water from remaining stagnant in your plumbing which can help prevent freezing.
Keep your pool pumps running - This allows your water to keep moving and slow possible freezing.
Hope these tips and measures help. Feel free to reach out to us at www.HoustonPropertyManager.com or call us at (281)972-4566.
