Effort and regular maintenance are required when caring for a rental home. A good quality tenant understands this and will help property owners keep their Pillager rental homes clean, maintained, and in good repair. But there will be occasions where well-intentioned tenants will accidentally damage a home’s interior surfaces.
Sometimes unintentional damage comes about because a tenant simply does not know that what they’re doing could cause harm. Other times, damage occurs due to accidents or as the result of a tenant’s poor decision. Property owners must know the most common ways a rental home’s interior surfaces can sustain inadvertent damage. This knowledge can be very helpful in keeping their tenants informed and maintaining the condition of their rental homes.
When surface damage goes beyond basic wear and tear, tenant negligence is usually the source. Countertops, floors, and even sinks and bathtubs are used every day yet will typically last for many years, even under heavy use. The difficulty is that tenants, although well-meaning, may not be informed that some of these surfaces need to be cared for and protected in a certain way.
To illustrate, kitchen and bathroom countertops can typically handle daily cleanings, food preparation activities, and a few spills with no issue. Yet, countertops don’t fair well when cleaned with harsh cleaning products, especially those containing bleach or ammonia. The type of cleaning product should be picked based on the variety of countertops that are in your rental home.
Countertops can be damaged in many ways, such as placing too much weight on a countertop. When there’s an unusually heavy appliance or even a person standing on it, the extreme weight could take a toll on it. Some countertops may be damaged by placing hot pans or appliances on them, such as a toaster oven or a slow cooker.
Even a curling iron can cause burn marks on a bathroom countertop and can be difficult to remove. Cutting and chopping directly on a countertop can damage the surface as well. They could create small indentations that can turn into larger problems down the road.
Floors are another interior surface that tenants often accidentally damage. There are some things that even a watchful tenant’s radar couldn’t detect. Things like small leaks under a refrigerator or a drip under the cabinet from a sink water supply line could be happening under their nose; these things could likely cause permanent water damage in a kitchen floor.
Moving furniture is one of the biggest culprits of unintentional floor damage. Dragging heavy items across a laminate or wood floor can cause scratches, gouging, and tears. This is usually the way most carpets get torn. Placing heavy furniture in the wrong spot can crack or chip tile floors, so too would dropping heavy items, such as exercise weights or even books. Similar to countertops, cleaning with the wrong cleaning products can permanently damage a floor, stripping off finishes and creating unsightly stains or bleach spots.
Bathtubs can also sustain accidental damage from harsh cleaning products. However, not cleaning often enough could also be damaging. It would allow mineral deposits from tap water to build up until it would be very difficult to remove, or worse, allow mildew to form. Exactly like tile, a bathtub is designed to hold up to a certain weight. Putting something too heavy in a bathtub can cause cracks; and its misuse can cause different kinds of problems, from unfixable scratches in a solid-surface unit to rust or coloring dye stains.
The most beneficial way to help tenants avoid unintentionally damaging your rental home’s interior surfaces is through information. When they understand how to properly clean countertops, move heavy furniture, and so on, they will then be greatly helpful toward preventing expensive repairs. At Real Property Management Deluxe, we serve with both tenants and property owners to make sure that all parties care for the rental home with more than just helpful intentions, but with real practical knowledge as well.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
