Top Five Maintenance Emergencies in Apartments

What counts as a maintenance emergency in an apartment property? A situation that threatens the safety and well-being of tenants is one way to identify and emergency issue. These top five events listed below are cases that would need immediate attention. Educate tenants on these common, but serious issues and make a proactive plan on how to deal with these emergencies to stay ahead of repairs.

1. No heat or A/C: A broken heating or cooling system is cause for an emergency. If the HVAC system in your property fails to function, have the issue inspected quickly to ensure tenants stay safe from potential mechanical failures. In textreeme weather seasons, these utilities will be in high demand, so address the issue relief any discomfort.
2. Power outage: Whether it’s inside a unit or outside as well, electrical failure is another important reason to contact a maintenance professional. A power outage can quickly  lead to safety issues as tenants struggle to maintain reasonable property features in their units. Property managers can become liable for power outage issues surrounding untimely repairs or if the issue occurs frequently.
3. Smelling of gas: Natural gas is a huge hazard. Educate tenants by letting them know the importance in identifying this issue, and staying away from inhaling potentially poisonous gas. These issues should be addressed quickly, over all the other issues on your list since failure to do so can be fatal.
4. Plumbing issues and floods: If it’s more than a small leak, it is an emergency. Issues with plumbing can grow exponentially. In any case, turn the water valve off to ensure no further flooding ensues until a plumber checks out the issue.
5. Septic tank failure: A backed-up septic tank will overflow and allow spilled toxic waste to flow near or even into a property, which is dangerous and damaging. Septic tank failures are extremely important to address immediately to address the countless safety issues that may arise. Septic tank failures are also a larger and time-sensitive project to take on, so be sure to enlist an emergency maintenance professional for the job.
   

As a property manager, your top priority is to keep everyone in your building safe. A sure way to address maintenance emergency issues is by keeping a list of potential maintenance vendors ready for your or have someone on-call at all times to manage maintenance issues. Regardless of your tactic, be sure to remain aware of these five maintenance emergencies.