The seasonal rental property maintenance checklist

Almost every four-figure repair bill started as a twenty-dollar problem somebody could see. Preventive maintenance is not about being handy; it is about looking at the building four times a year on a schedule instead of waiting for a phone call at 11pm.

Spring

• Clear gutters and downspouts; confirm water discharges away from the foundation.
• Inspect the roof from the ground with binoculars — lifted shingles, damaged flashing.
• Service the air conditioning before the first hot week, when every HVAC company is booked.
• Check exterior caulking around windows and doors, and reseal decks.
• Walk the grading: soil should slope away from the building on every side.

Summer

• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace batteries; log the date.
• Look under every sink and around the water heater for slow leaks and mineral crust.
• Trim branches back from the roof and service lines.
• Check for pest entry points — gaps at the sill plate, torn screens, unsealed vents.

Fall

• Service the heating system before the first cold snap, same logic as the AC.
• Clear gutters again after the leaves drop.
• Shut off and drain exterior spigots where you get freezing weather; a burst pipe is the most expensive line on this page.
• Replace furnace filters and check that vents are not blocked by furniture.
• Confirm exterior lighting works before it gets dark at 5pm.

Winter

• Watch for ice dams and attic condensation after the first big freeze.
• Confirm the tenant knows where the main water shut-off is — that one conversation has saved entire floors.
• Keep a written plan for snow and ice removal, and know whose responsibility the lease says it is.

Budget for it as a real line item

A common planning figure is 1% of the property value per year for maintenance, or roughly one month of rent annually, whichever is higher for an older building. Set that aside monthly rather than discovering it in October. Then add a capital reserve for the things that fail on a schedule you can predict: roofs, water heaters, furnaces, appliances.

Get the requests in writing

Verbal maintenance requests are how habitability disputes start — nobody can agree on when it was reported. Ask tenants to submit in writing, log the date received and the date resolved, and keep the invoice. It protects you legally and it turns every repair into a deductible expense with a paper trail, which matters again in April.

PLINTH logs maintenance requests against the property, keeps the vendor and the invoice attached, and puts lease and inspection dates on a calendar that nudges you. Walk through the demo to see how it fits together.