Spring Maintenance Checklist for Auckland Rental Properties

Winter is hard on Auckland houses. By September the gutters are full, the paths are green, the heat pump has been running for months and the garden has grown while nobody was looking. Spring is when all of that is cheapest to put right, and when a small job stays small rather than turning into an insurance claim in January.

This checklist is the one our property managers work through with owners every spring. Use it to plan a single maintenance round rather than a string of call-outs, and to review the paperwork that quietly goes out of date.

Start outside: gutters, downpipes and drainage

Blocked gutters are the most common cause of the moisture problems we see in Auckland rentals. Water that should be going down the downpipe ends up running down the cladding, pooling at the base of walls and finding its way under the floor.

• Clear gutters and check that downpipes actually flow, not just that they are attached.
• Look for pooling water around the foundations after rain. Poor site drainage is a Healthy Homes issue, not only a cosmetic one.
• Check that ground-level vents and subfloor access are clear of soil, mulch and stored items.
• Water-blast paths, decks and steps. Slippery surfaces are a genuine injury risk and one of the easiest to remove.

If the property came through winter with any of the problems in our winter-ready guide, spring is when to book the repair rather than wait for the next storm.

Roof, cladding and moisture

Walk the exterior slowly. You are looking for lifted flashings, cracked or slipped roof tiles, rusted roofing screws, peeling paint on weatherboards and gaps around windows and doors.

Inside, check the ceilings of the rooms below the roof line and the walls of any bathroom or laundry for staining, bubbling paint or soft plasterboard. Moisture that arrived in winter shows itself in spring, and the fix is far cheaper before it reaches the framing.

The Healthy Homes standards require a rental to be free of unreasonable moisture ingress and to have adequate drainage, so a spring inspection is also how you keep the compliance statement on the tenancy agreement true.

Heating and ventilation

The heat pump has probably worked harder over the last three months than at any other time of year.

• Clean or replace the filters. A blocked filter costs the tenant money on power and shortens the unit’s life.
• Book a service if the unit is more than a couple of years old or has not been serviced. Technicians are busy in autumn and midsummer; spring is the quiet season.
• Test the extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom. A fan that runs but moves no air is a common finding at inspections, and ventilation is a Healthy Homes standard in its own right.
• Check that opening windows actually open and that stays and latches work. Tenants ventilate a house that is easy to ventilate.

Gardens, trees and lawns

Under most tenancy agreements the tenant keeps lawns and gardens tidy from week to week, while the bigger jobs sit with the owner. Spring is when the bigger jobs come due.

• Trim trees and shrubs away from the roof, gutters and power lines.
• Check fences, gates and retaining walls that took a battering over winter.
• Clear any overgrowth from boundaries, paths and the letterbox.
• If the garden is bigger than the tenant can reasonably manage, agree on a gardening service now rather than argue about it at the end of the tenancy.

Inside: smoke alarms, hot water and plumbing

Ten minutes with a torch prevents the most common urgent maintenance requests.

• Press the test button on every smoke alarm. Landlords are responsible for working smoke alarms at the start of every tenancy, and checking them at each inspection is good practice.
• Look under the kitchen and bathroom sinks for damp cabinetry, which usually means a slow leak.
• Check the hot water cylinder’s pressure relief valve for constant dripping, and the cupboard for moisture.
• Run every tap and flush every toilet. A cistern that runs continuously can add hundreds of dollars to the water bill.
• Check for cracked tiles, failed sealant around showers and baths, and loose towel rails.

Tenants can lodge anything they find through our maintenance request form, which is faster than a phone call and gives everyone a record.

The paperwork that goes out of date

Spring maintenance is also a good prompt to review the things that are not physical.

Insurance. Confirm the landlord policy is current, that the sum insured reflects today’s rebuild costs, and that you know what inspection frequency the insurer requires.

The rent. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months, with at least 60 days’ written notice, so an increase you miss is an increase you wait another year for. A free rental appraisal tells you where the property sits against the current Auckland market before you decide.

Healthy Homes records. Keep the compliance statement, the insulation and heating assessments, and any contractor invoices together. If a tenant or Tenancy Services ever asks, you want to be able to show the evidence in minutes, not weeks.

The inspection schedule. Book the next routine inspection and make sure the report from the last one has been actioned. Unfinished items from a winter inspection are the ones that become spring emergencies.

How 360 handles spring maintenance

Owners with 360 do not need to work through this list themselves. Our property managers schedule seasonal checks as part of the 360 process, use trades we already know and trust, and report back with photos so you can see what was done and why. If you are managing the property yourself and finding the seasonal round harder than it should be, our team can walk you through what switching involves.

Whichever way you manage it, the principle is the same: spend a little in spring so that summer, and next winter, cost a lot less.