Councils have noticed that the best way to handle graffiti vandalism is to not tolerate it. If you take action quickly and remove graffiti as soon as it’s done, it sends a message to the perpetrators that we are not going to tolerate this, do it all you want but we are just going to remove it and paint over it every time.
If even a small tag is left on a property, it sends a message that it is OK to disrespect this property so at the end of 12 months, that property is completely vandalised.
Same with the management of your properties. Any small damage or marks on walls or stains on ovens etc should be removed and the property restored back to it’s former condition at the end of every lease. In our agency it is not OK for tenants to just wipe over things and call it clean.
Burn stains on ovens and stove tops, water stains on shower screens, marks on walls and switches, window sills and windows – the small detailed stuff have to be restored to their original condition and the property presented in as perfect a way as possible to the next tenant.
If a few marks are left on the wall and it is recorded in an ingoing inspection report as “slightly marked” or “skirting boards dusty” or “a few water stains on shower” – it is like leaving that small tag on a building and invites people to disrespect that home – this is done on an unconscious level.
By the end of the lease, there will be more marks and more stains and because they were there to begin with, it is difficult to hold tenants accountable to it.
To keep properties looking at their best, we hold tenants responsible for getting the entire house and carpets professionally cleaned after they vacate – we ask for receipts of professional carpet cleaning and house cleaning.
Also they should be using cleaning companies who specialise in vacate cleans for rental properties as they have a check list of what agents look for – not every cleaner knows what they are doing. Some of them offer a bond guarantee to the tenant and that means that property managers can then get the cleaning company back to re-clean any missed areas to the standard that we are looking for so that properties can stay looking better for longer.
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