With the holiday season right around the corner, it is time to plan for the last quarter of the business year. The holiday season is generally one of the most chaotic times of the year for property managers, and this year will prove no different. Undoubtedly, landlords and property managers will be busy collecting rent, organising repairs, and filling tenancies ahead of office closure. However, you need to prepare for unforeseen events that may occur whilst you’re away. Fortunately, here are some tasks you can do to prepare yourself for managing rental properties in the holiday season.

Notify everyone of your absence

Before you close the office and leave for your holiday, be sure to communicate your office holiday period to owners, tenants and contractors. Send out reminders through:

• a dedicated email
• a social media post (although it is beneficial to supplement this with a dedicated email)
• update your Google My Business listing hours
• a posted notice on the office door
• update your website page

These out-of-office updates keep tenants, owners and contractors in the loop and are significant to managing expectations during the holidays. Awareness goes a long way in keeping those you serve happy.

Nevertheless, although it would be great to have an uninterrupted holiday, you should still be accessible in case of an emergency. The easiest way to do this is to set up auto-replies for emails or a voicemail message on an office number. Your email should include the period you’ll be away and a number for the best person to contact in your absence. If you cannot find a person to handle any issues tenants and owners might have, you should leave your mobile number. However, you should specify that they should only contact you for emergencies.

In short, these are the people your tenants should have contact details for:

• repairers;
• utility providers (i.e., gas, water, internet, electricity);
• the best contact person in your absence; and
• yours for emergencies.

Plan for tenant repair and maintenance requests

Managing rental properties involves knowing which repairers are available throughout the holiday season for emergency repairs and maintenance. This means in the lead up to the holidays, you should nominate a repairer and outline their details to all owners and tenants in your office closure email. It should be noted that a courtesy reminder should be sent to owners and tenants outlining that they should only contact them for emergencies and also state what constitutes an emergency repair.

Importantly, if you want to reduce the likelihood of emergency repairs or maintenance, you should conduct a prior review of all properties. With Australia’s hot holiday season, tenants are likely to be amping up the air conditioning. Therefore, it may be worthwhile checking air conditioning units are fitted and operating well.

Ensure your rental properties’ security system is up-to-date

Unfortunately, the holiday season is the peak period for crimes such as robbery. With a 20% increase in crimes during the last month of the year, it is imperative to check in with tenants to increase preemptive security measures. Here are a few things you can ask owners and tenants do to protect the property:

• put a pause on mail and deliveries if they’re leaving the house vacant
• conceal valuables
• consider installing motion-activated lights or timers on internal lights
• keep locks and alarms in good condition or install them
• remind them always to lock up
• do not leave the packaging from newly purchased items outside (e.g. the box of a new flatscreen tv)
• if they’re going away, give a key to a trusted person to check the property if the alarm is set off

Tip: consider giving owners and tenants a security checklist to tick off.

Plan for rental properties’ damages – insurance coverage

When you’re renting out a property, the last thing you want to worry about is paying for any loss or damage to your investment. Thus, choosing the right insurance for your circumstances is essential.

Appropriate insurance coverage is a financial safeguard to protect you should anything happen while you’re away. The holiday season generally calls for parties and get-togethers. Therefore, it is essential to check your insurance policy covers tenant damage, malicious damage and theft, or loss of rent. Landlord insurance has been specifically tailored to protect your rental property and its contents. Therefore, it will be worthwhile researching the different types of landlord insurance to suit your letting situation (i.e., apartments or houses, short-term or long-term).

Furthermore, in your office closure email, it is beneficial to note that tenants should not be subletting if they are going away. This form of subletting is generally not covered by landlord insurance policies. Therefore, you will be held liable for anything that occurs.

All in all, be prepared for the worst. Being a property manager does not mean that vacations have to be skipped. The key to managing rental properties in the holiday season is planning ahead and being flexible. By following the above tasks, you will be sure to have peace of mind knowing your rental properties are protected.

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