A distinguishing feature of Build to Rent from other rental housing schemes is its maintenance and repairs culture. This flows from the tenant-oriented ideology of the housing scheme. This focus on providing tenants with repairs and maintenance is undoubtedly paying off. As maintenance remains a popular topic among residents all over the UK in reviews where BtR residents continue to rank their developments higher than the average rental housing.
This makes it one of the leading sales benefits to BtR schemes in comparison to other forms of rental housing. However, merely carrying out repairs and maintenance do not directly translate to tenant satisfaction or better ratings – there is more to it. The promptness of response and the effectiveness of repairs and maintenance are equally as important. As Tenants expect all these and more to whatever housing issues they may have.
Three Fundamental Factors for Repairs and Maintenance Success
For Build to Rent developments to excel in the repairs and maintenance aspect of tenant satisfaction and boost retention rates of their apartments, the incorporation of these three factors is a must:
Online Portals
Technology in buildings should no longer be considered luxurious, as it now serves a more functional purpose. Online portals are one of those technological integrations. It is essential to large rental buildings like BtRs because it offers the management an efficient means to compile and attend to administrative matters.
Among other things, online portals allow residents to access rental documents, lodge or track maintenance issues, and other important information. With this, management can easily record, monitor, and process maintenance complaints lodged by residents. The importance of these portals was stated by a resident at Leodis Square by Dandara Living saying,
“There is a dedicated online residents’ portal that you can access for repairs and other services, which is great; we didn’t know this before moving.”
Even in developments where there was no online portal for residents, the need for such was recognised by residents. For instance,
“The only drawback I find is that there is no resident portal or booking system… this includes seeing in advance what rooms are booked for private functions.”
Consequently, online portals are key to providing excellent maintenance and repairs service in BtR developments.
Prompt Response
Without a prompt response to lodge complaints or requests by residents, the purpose of online portals is defeated. As online portals are to make it is easier for management to keep tabs on requests. However, without a competent or adequate maintenance and repairs staff/team, there is no way management can cater for its residents.
Not just regular maintenance but swift and hassle-free maintenance is particularly appreciated by residents. As said by a resident at Allegro Living, Birmingham,
“Maintenance is a call away should you require any addition, modification or repair to your flat. The management team is very responsive and proactive; nothing goes unattended.”
The slow response by maintenance can be damaging to the reputation of a BtR, especially for a long-term investment like BtR development. Setting up reliable maintenance is key to the overall performance of the scheme in the long run. Undoubtedly, having an effective maintenance team can improve not only the retention rates of the development but also its operational efficiency. Both of which are beneficial to profit margins.
Satisfactory Solutions
This is a final factor that completes a maintenance process and leaves the residents feeling valued. It is not enough to provide online portals for residents to conveniently lodge requests, and promptly respond to their requests without actually fixing the issue or providing a satisfactory solution.
The most important thing to residents is that satisfactory solutions are found for reported issues. As commented by a resident at The Wullcomb by Way of Life saying,
” We had a technical problem with the washing machine… the management responded immediately and arranged a repair service appointment which solved the issue within a few days.”
For maintenance to consistently deliver adequately, the team must be properly equipped with the right tools, training and retraining. Also, it is advisable to have a maintenance storeroom with supplies and spare parts to ensure that repairs are carried out swiftly.
From the foregoing, it is evident that technology has a significant influence on the repairs and maintenance aspect of any BtR development. Tech companies like SmartRent are constantly working on making the maintenance process more streamlined and possibly eliminate the need to even lodge complaints through predictive AI tech.
Whereby the overall health smart appliances within apartments in the BtR development can be monitored remotely, and maintenance teams can receive alerts whenever there is a malfunction ahead. So that, residents will never realise an issue has occurred because it would have already been identified and resolved before it happens.
Conclusion
Maintenance remains one of the key contributors to the quality of tenant experience in a BtR development. Therefore, managements must identify which areas need improvement to ensure the perceived value of the BtR remains excellent.
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