Don’t Let Your Property Fall Into Disrepair

By Ruth MacEachern

Product Manager

If you are a landlord you will know this cycle of change well, a tenant moves out and the repair and redecoration work begins, then as quickly as possible a new tenant is in – only for a few months or years down the line they move out and once more the repair work starts again. But is there a way of putting a stop to this cycle of disrepair?

Firstly, when we say repair and redecorate, we don’t mean touching up the skirting boards or giving the property a deep clean. Unfortunately, after a certain amount of time, especially in regards to a new tenancy these things are a necessity. Additionally, sometimes a landlord is required to carry out repairs as sadly nothing lasts forever and life gets in the way. What is an avoidable factor is replacing mould ridden furniture, damp-condensation ridden curtains, painting over mouldy walls, damp carpets and blaming it all on the previous tenants lifestyle. The cause of all this misery is poor ventilation, and no, unfortunately a basic extractor fan that makes more noise than it actually extracts air is not proper ventilation. 

While it is true that opening windows provides a small source of natural ventilation it won’t solve all the problems, especially if there isn't even a breeze. Additionally, how realistic is it, that anybody is going to want to open their windows in the British climate? 

The UK climate means that most of our weather is cold, wet and miserable, which doesn’t make you want to open your windows and let all the heat escape. Furthermore, why should you ask your tenants to choose between being warm or ventilated, and asking such a demand is not going to make you a favourable landlord. If you want to simply address the extractor fan issue, then look no further than the heatSava. 

The heatSava is an energy efficient, through the-wall mini heat exchange ventilation unit called a Single Room Heat Recovery unit (SRHR). It has been designed for people who are looking to remove moisture from their kitchen or bathroom without losing heat. 

Single Room Heat Recovery units work by continuously extracting moist air from rooms in the home, which is especially important in bathrooms, utility rooms and kitchens. This heat energy transfer can help save money on energy costs, because it keeps temperatures more constant than when opening windows for ventilation. 

The heatSava is an intelligent single room heat recovery unit which can achieve up to 75% efficiency and installing one in your property means your tenants will benefit from the improved ventilation and the unit will retain the warmth preventing cold air from entering your home. 

The long term benefit is that you are saving energy, which helps lower the tenants energy bills and prevent condensation and mould from building up. Likewise, with this addition, you can add it as an attractive feature when you come to listing the property again. 

Alternatively, if you want to renovate your property to the point where you want it ‘future-proofed’ (at least for a few years!) then maybe you should invest in a whole property ventilation solution. 

Of course, all properties are different in size and shape and each require a different solution; some more than others, you may find your property only needs an extractor fan in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. There are a lot of modern-day solutions to living situations that have greatly improved properties in different ways, under-floor heating for example. 

When it comes to renovating your property, you want to look at every little part, do it once and then be able to forget about it. Attractive factors to potential tenants are things like how warm the property is but also does it retain that warmth, so how well insulated it is, how much storage does it have and also little things like does it come with a dishwasher. 

Landlords and tenants can sometimes have a tense relationship, some landlords can impose a harsh tenancy agreement whilst some tenants can be disrespectful to the properties they are living in. Furthermore, this tension can even escalate and result in one party wishing to claim compensation from the other. Of course there is right and wrong on both sides, tenants shouldn’t cause housing disrepair and landlords shouldn’t impose such ridiculous tenancy terms that it doesn’t allow the tenant to properly live in the property.  

If you were to ask a tenant how important is ventilation to them in comparison to the above they’d probably say not very much, but if you were to ask them do you want a soaking wet bathroom, full of condensation that takes hours to dry and mould making your home and clothes smell musty and damp then they’d definitely change their priority and that’s what good ventilation is all about. 

It can often be hard to visualise the impact ventilation has as it gets so overlooked, especially in comparison to insulation. However, it is possible to create a simple equation to explain the importance of ventilation.

Put simply poor ventilation + a home’s daily use (cooking, showering, breathing) = condensation, then condensation + a short period of time - ventilation = damp, mould and property damage! 

If you want to invest in a permanent solution to the problem then ventilation is the best answer. No two properties are exactly the same which is why it is important to ensure the right product is specified and installed correctly. This is why we offer a free home survey as standard to ensure the correct ventilation product is installed. 

During a free home survey your local expert will assess any condensation, damp and mould problems that you may be facing in your property and take readings of the relative humidity levels throughout the property. All our ventilation specialists are highly trained in carrying out home surveys to identify any underlying problems and make recommendations to ensure the correct solution is provided, all complying with current Building Regulations.

You can rest assured that when you choose EnviroVent your ventilation problems will be solved and you will receive a professional service from your first call with your local ventilation specialist through to installation with our qualified ventilation engineers. This not only means you’ll be happy with our service but your tenants will too and surely happy tenants make for a happy landlord?