Slow maintenance responses are driving tenant anxiety
New research from Adiuvo, the UK’s leading provider of 24/7 property management support, reveals that almost 60% of tenants report feeling increased stress or anxiety as a result of maintenance issues in their rental property, and for most, the lack of landlord action is more stressful than the maintenance issues itself.
Adiuvo has surveyed 1,.013 UK tenants* and found that 62% have experienced maintenance issues in their rental properties.
The good news is that 45% say that their landlord or property manager is ‘very efficient’ at responding to their calls, while a further 27% describe their landlords as ‘quite efficient’.
However, 28% still describe their landlord or property manager as inefficient.
As well as increasing the chances of maintenance issues getting worse and becoming more expensive to fix, landlords who fail to promptly address issues also run the risk of damaging their tenants’ mental wellbeing.
In fact, almost 60% of tenants (58%) say that their stress or anxiety levels have been negatively impacted by maintenance issues in their home.
The issues that are most likely to cause heightened stress and anxiety are heating, water, or boiler issues (24%), plumbing issues or leaks (21%), and damp or mould (18%).
When such issues arise, the biggest stressor for tenants is having to repeatedly chase for repairs (31%), which suggests that a lack of landlord action is more stressful than the maintenance problem itself.
This is further verified by tenants saying that the best thing a landlord can do to reduce the stress of maintenance issues is to respond to their call more quickly (27%), while 23% say clearer landlord updates and communication would ease their anxiety, followed by one fifth (19%) who say that a more proactive approach to inspections and preventative maintenance would make them feel better.
More than half of tenants report feeling increased stress and anxiety as a result of maintenance issues in their rental property, with most stating that a faster landlord/manager response would be the best cure.
Colin Stokes, Founder and MD of Adiuvo, commented:
“A fast response to maintenance issues, regardless of the time of day, makes an enormous difference to a tenant’s wellbeing. This, in turn, has a huge positive impact on the overall stability of a tenancy.
While landlords may not have a formal obligation to care for mental health, the reality is that tenants who feel supported are far more likely to stay put.
Quicker reactions don’t just resolve problems before they escalate; they also reduce turnover, void periods and the costs associated with finding new occupants. In today’s rental market, a prompt response isn’t just good practice, it’s good business.”
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