Summer Reminders for Rental Property Owners

Summer brings sun, sizzle… and safety responsibilities for landlords. In this episode, we are giving you a fast-paced roundup of our best summer reminders to protect your property, keep your tenants safe, and stay legally protected.

We cover everything from fireworks laws and grilling guidelines to guest liability and servicing your air conditioners. With the 4th of July approaching, it’s a great time to double-check your lease terms, share safety policies, and confirm insurance coverage. We also talk about how to help your tenants beat the heat, and why early prep can make or break your summer maintenance game.

You’ll also hear about tax-saving tips for employing your kids over break and why preventative maintenance should happen in the spring—so your summer is smooth sailing.

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👉 Download: 4th of July Tenant Safety PDF

📌 Download: Heatwave Email Template

✔️ Download: Spring Maintenance Inspection Checklist

🎧Listen: Episode 65, 4th of July and Summer Safety Tips for Tenants 

🎧 Listen: Episode 9 Helping Tenants Cope Through Heatwaves

🎧 Listen: Episode 5 The Advantages of Employing Your Children

🎧 Listen: Episode 3 Spring Maintenance Checklist for Rental Properties

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Transcript

Stacie: 0:00

The the next thing about summer is your tenants may invite guests over. So make sure your guest policy is noted in the lease. And you guys guest policies are not just to note how long someone can stay, although that is important to include. It's about the liability of having them in a property that you own and are responsible for. If they drink too much and fall down or cause a fight that injures someone, you could be liable. So again, make sure that your lease states that the tenant is responsible for anyone who they allow in as a guest. And of course, all tenants should have renter's insurance to cover them in the unlikely situation that their guest gets rowdy or injured.

0:47

Welcome to Your Landlord Resource podcast. Many moons ago when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lack confidence and the hands-on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping after many failed attempts. Fast forward to today, Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized. Professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelm to confident if you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making. Join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire. All well building is streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is Your Landlord Resource Podcast.

Stacie: 1:36

Hello landlords and thank you for tuning into the Your Landlord Resource Podcast. I'm your host, Stacie Casella, and I'm here with my co-host for the podcast and in life, Kevin Kilroy.

Kevin: 1:49

Hey there. I appreciate you all listening to what we have to say about being self-managing landlords.

Stacie: 1:55

So before we begin, I wanna remind everyone that we have a contest going on that is ending soon. So keep listening to the end and we will go over how you can enter to win one free hour of coaching from Kevin and I. So if you're like Kevin and I, you are super busy. So we are going to jump right into this week's episode, which is all of our summer reminders for you to remember about your rental properties. It should be a short episode, so that's a plus. We'll be covering some preventative maintenance items. How you can help your tenants cope during this hot season. And what to be mindful of and tips for your tenants for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.

Kevin: 2:43

Yeah, these are all things we've covered before in detail, but thought we'd do a quick recap in case you hadn't caught those episodes or needed to be reminded about these very important summer season issues. I think we should start with our 4th of July tips first. And some of these are reminders that tenants need to know about all summer long. It's just that the 4th of July kind of kicks off the season of them having guests and barbecues, and especially using fireworks.

Stacie: 3:14

Yeah. I don't know about your neighborhood, but we have here, we have fireworks going off all year long.

Kevin: 3:21

Yeah, and the people on the Nextdoor app have a field day and it, it never changes. It's every single day. I mean, was it a bomb? Was that gunfire and then the comments of nope, just someone setting off an M 80 or a pack of firecrackers.

Stacie: 3:40

Well, don't forget the comments about how someone's dog is scared to death and how they don't appreciate these youngsters setting off fireworks at all hours of the night.

Kevin: 3:49

Well, I can get some of those that have gone off at two or three in the morning

Stacie: 3:53

and scared the dickens

Kevin: 3:54

outta us. Yeah, we're with them on those.

Stacie: 3:57

Yeah. Well, I mean, I get it. A lot of pets do get frightened and you know, we're lucky. Our yellow lab, Gracie does not. Uh, the thing is, in our city, we're not allowed to set off fireworks. But the city next to us, which we are near the border of, does allow those so-called safe and sane fireworks to be set off all year long. And even though that's not what's being set off, we think that that's why we hear'em so often. Which leads us to our first tip. Remind your tenants of the fireworks laws for the city where your rental resides. Or if you have a rental in an HOA and they have specific rules about setting fireworks off. And along with this as a reminder about if you allow safe and insane fireworks at your rental, regardless of it being allowed in that city or HOA, because most landlords have a clause in their lease that states something along the lines of, no explosives are allowed on the property. And if that's you, cut and paste that clause into the email to remind tenants that they are not allowed to store nor set off fireworks on your property, whether it's legal to do so in the city or not. And here's why that's important. You know, people like to show off. They like to do a firework show for the kids or their guests or neighbors. And as we see in videos every single year, those fireworks cause a fire or they injure someone. If your tenant sets off a firework and things go awry, you could be liable for injuries or damage to someone else's property. That could be a home or a vehicle, all because you did not tell them they could not have explosives of any matter on your property. You know, and insurance companies are no dummies. They likely have a clause in your insurance policy that excludes coverage for fireworks or explosives and the renter's insurance policies as well. So if you do allow fireworks, please make sure that you have provided guidance on where on your property they can be set off, like only on cement areas, like a driveway towards the street. And also include tips for fire prevention and safe disposal of the fireworks, like having a hose or the fire extinguisher that you've provided nearby. And a bucket full of water to soak those fireworks and fully extinguish them before they toss'em in the trash.

Kevin: 6:26

Yeah. And if you think, oh, my tenants won't do that., Well, when Kid two bought the duplex and the previous tenants had moved out, he found fireworks all over the unit. I mean, mostly in the storage closet, but several in the garages and inside cabinets of the unit as well. And this is a decent area of Boise. You know, it's a relatively quiet neighborhood.

Stacie: 6:50

You know, I think Kid two took those home for his own use.

Kevin: 6:53

You know he did. And I'm not sure about where he lives, but in the city of Boise, they do allow safe and sane fireworks over two specific weeks during the year, one over the fourth, and I believe the other one is over New Year's. You know, most cities have firework shows and big cities have several locations for shows. So if you don't allow tenants to set off fireworks, see if there are shuttles in your area that are driving residents to one of these nearby firework shows. Even if it cost a few bucks for that ride, maybe offer to pay for it or something.

Stacie: 7:33

Yeah. Public transportation is the way to go for those shows. Driving in and then back out can take twice as long as the darn show. All right, I wanna take a quick minute and remind you all about pets and fireworks. And as we mentioned earlier with our little next door rant, pets get spooked by fireworks. Regardless of if it's your tenants setting them off or if they're being set off in the area of your property. Remind your tenants with pets to make sure that they are secure, especially if they are leaving them home alone at the property. You know, I will touch on guests in a moment, but guests can also be an issue for pets, especially dogs. So when they're amped up, because there are guests or fireworks, that irritation can cause them to bite or try to escape the property. You might wanna encourage your tenants to lock the dog or pet up in a bedroom and turn the TV on loud, so any noise from the outside is muffled. Make sure your tenant has their renter's insurance policy all paid and up to date.'cause if your tenant's dog bites someone, you can be liable for allowing that pet to live on your property.

Kevin: 8:45

Yeah, those are all great points. And as we have mentioned, your own insurance policy might have limitations on breeds and size, so make sure you're on top of that as well. Alright, another issue is grilling. So one poll we saw said 68% of people grill on the 4th of July. Now we grill often, I mean, not just on the 4th of July, so grilling tips and guidelines should also be addressed in your lease. And I'm gonna go over a few quickly. Never allow people to grill with wood or charcoal fired grills. Those are the ones that take forever to fully extinguish themselves and have the highest instance of injury and fire related accidents. Grilling should be only done on a cement or a gravel surface or something that will not catch fire should the grease drip down or the food being grilled cause a fire. Grill should be operated at least 10 feet from the home or any structure, again for fire issues. If you allow grilling, you should also provide a fire extinguisher that is serviced annually for those tenants to use in case of a fire. You know, these days people use grills for all kinds of cooking, not just for grilling meat, and many larger grills have a burner on the side to use, so don't think for a minute that tenants won't use that to make fried foods. Many people like to fry foods outside so they won't have a big mess to clean up in the kitchen later. And if they fill a pot too high, that oil is going over the side and down into the burner, which is attached to a propane tank. I mean, it's a fire hazard for sure.

Stacie: 10:32

The the next thing about summer is your tenants may invite guests over. So make sure your guest policy is noted in the lease. And you guys guest policies are not just to note how long someone can stay, although that is important to include. It's about the liability of having them in a property that you own and are responsible for. If they drink too much and fall down or cause a fight that injures someone, you could be liable. So again, make sure that your lease states that the tenant is responsible for anyone who they allow in as a guest. And of course, all tenants should have renter's insurance to cover them in the unlikely situation that their guest gets rowdy or injured. And listen, you guys, we've all been there. We've had multiple parties where someone drinks too much, everyone's having a great time, and for us, luckily nothing bad came of it. But we have friends who had guests that left drunk and drove. They got pulled over and thankfully they didn't get in an accident. But you know, any injuries caused from drinking that takes place at your property you can be liable for, especially if you're the one who's provided that alcohol. Alright, we got a little bit off base, but we wanted you to understand that responsibility can fall all the way down to the owner when the question of liability comes into play. You know we actually have a whole podcast on our 4th of July tips. Uh, it's episode 65 and we'll link it in the show notes and it's basically a deep dive on, on everything we just discussed.

Kevin: 12:06

And we also have a 4th of July tenant safety PDF, that you can send your tenants when doing a quick email reminder. Or if you have a multi-family property, you can post it around there too. It's free and you can find the link to download in the show notes as well. Alright, the next area of summer reminders we wanted to touch on is how to help your tenants stay cool during a heat wave. Now we have air conditioning units in all of our rentals, and every spring we have our HVAC tech go out to our Sacramento and Idaho properties and check those AC units to make sure they're all working properly. Listen, all it took was one tenant having no AC during 110 degree heatwave to get us to understand we need to make sure they are working before the hot weather hits. Because trying to get any air conditioning repair man out during a heatwave is pretty much impossible, believe us. So for us, our HVAC tech will need access to the unit to properly check the air conditioning and thermostat and make sure they are both working properly. They also check the vents to make sure that the airflow is good. So you'll want to make sure that your air vents are not covered by furniture, which can restrict the airflow. And lastly, for Idaho, the service we pay includes a new air filter. When an air filter is clogged, that reduces the airflow to your actual unit, which makes it work much harder than needed and can over time cause it to fail. I mean, it's like never changing your oil in your car. The dirty oil over time will clog lines and eventually cause your engine to fail. For us during each fall and each spring inspection, we install new air filters no matter what. This ensures that we are doing what we can to keep our heaters and air conditioners as healthy as possible. One thing that is recommended, and we have not done this in a couple years, but it's to have a tech go out and check the duct work.. It is very common for the tape around where the two ducts come together to tear or you know, loosen over time. When that happens, you will have leaks of air, whether hot or cold, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of your heating and air conditioning systems. According to the US Department of Energy, about 20% to 30% of the air that moves through the duct system can be lost due to leaks, holes, and poorly connected ducts. So simple steps like using metal tape or mastic sealant to seal any leaks and insulating ducts that pass through unheated spaces can make a big difference in your system's efficiency. And when your system is working at its highest efficiency, that will one, extend the life of your heaters and air conditioners. And two, be much more efficient for your tenants. Because they'll have units that work better, their costs could be less. When they save money, they're going to be thankful and wanna stay in your rental longer. It's no secret that the number one thing people leave rentals for is that they are not maintained properly. When your lack of preventative maintenance causes higher heating and cooling bills for your tenant, they will take notice and move to live in a unit where the landlord does have their best interest in mind. We also have an episode dedicated to helping tenants cope through heatwaves. So if you'd like to learn more, check out episode nine, which we have also linked in the show notes.

Stacie: 15:50

Yeah, there's a lot of things that landlords can do to help tenants deal with their hot summer heat. You know, ceiling fans are really helpful. Making sure that the windows, doors seal well to keep the hot air out and the cool air in is also important. Providing window coverings to block out sun is a huge help. You know, I used to tease my mom when I was a kid about how we lived in a dungeon because she'd draw all the drapes during heat waves and everything was so dark, but our house was a lot cooler. So, I mean, it's, it's definitely something that I have picked up and I do. Also advising tenants not to use the stove on hot days is, is important because that heat that comes from the oven is essentially like turning on a heater. These are a few of the tips that we have in an email template that we send every single year to our tenants about two or three days before the first summer heatwave. Now, if you'd like it, you can download that email template for free. We have it linked in the show notes for you. And listen, I wanna circle back real quick to what Kevin was saying about preventative maintenance. There are a lot of articles out there that say in the summer, you should be doing all your preventative maintenance on your properties, you know, your personal homes or even your rentals. And we kind of disagree. Early spring is the best time to get a lot of those jobs done., Unless you're dealing with high snow levels like in the mountains. Pruning and trimming trees and bushes, cleaning up landscaping, checking all the plumbing, prepping pools and barbecue areas, checking your smoke and your carbon monoxide detectors, servicing the air conditioning. Those are all things best done during a spring maintenance and inspection day. You know, for one, the heat of summer can make those jobs difficult. And two. A lot of locations in the US tenants begin to use their outdoor space in the spring, and they want it all spruced up before summer hits. And three, that is when it's hardest to get people to work on your property. You know, roofers don't wanna be inspecting or replacing roofs in the debt of summer. And bushes and landscaping is gonna look barren if you wait until summer to trim it. If you do it in the spring, they're gonna bloom and grow so there's ample growth and it's gonna look nicer once summer hits. And if you wanna know what we do during our spring inspection, check out episode three, where we break down each thing that we do during our spring inspection and why. We also offer a spring maintenance checklist that if you haven't done your spring inspections yet, might be useful to have and follow. We'll put a link to both of those in the show notes.

Kevin: 18:39

And one last tip we have is if you have kids who are able to do some work around your property, like, you know, mow lawns or power wash, or if you experience a turnover, maybe they can help clean or paint. Summer is a great time to show your kids what to do. I mean, give them some responsibility and in return, pay them for their time, because you and your kids get a huge tax break if they work in your rental property business. There are several things that your kids can do in your business over their summer break to earn some tax free money for tasks that you might have to pay someone else to handle. We did an episode way back, uh, episode five, where we talked all about the advantages of employing your children. There are many benefits to doing this and not just tax breaks. They learn new skills, you get to spend time with them, they learn to be responsible for tasks, and help be a part of and build your rental property business. In our episode, in addition to the tax breaks, we break different jobs down by age, showing that no matter how old they are, they can work and help. And it's not forever, it's just odd jobs for them to do a little here and there over their summer vacation. We will link that episode in the show notes for you also. All right, you guys, I want to remind you all that we have a contest to celebrate our 100th episode going on. So Stacie and I have decided to start doing a little landlord or property management coaching on the side. And to kick this off, we are giving away one free hour of coaching, which is valued at a hundred dollars. Get it a hundred dollars gift to celebrate our hundredth episode. To enter there is a link in the show notes, or you can go to your landlord resource.com. contest 100. So you can enter there and for a bonus entry, you can leave us a kind review for the podcast. You just want to make sure we're able to align your review with your online entry. So don't make an anonymous review. Make sure it has a way for us to connect them together so you get proper credit. Like use your first name and initial of your last name. The link to leave the review will be in the show notes. We are also announcing this contest on Instagram and Facebook.

Stacie: 21:01

And we are running this contest through the month of June in 2025. It ends at midnight Pacific Daylight Time, June 30th, 2025, specifically 11:59 PM Pacific on June 30th. So if you're listening to this episode in the future, you can still sign up for coaching, just not the contest for a free session. All right, let's do a quick recap. 4th of July is a prime day for barbecues, guests, and fireworks. All things that you as a landlord need to make sure that you are covering yourself for. Check your lease to make sure that you have addressed grilling, your guest policy, your rules on fireworks and explosives or hazardous materials. Also, make sure your tenant's rental insurance policy is up to date, has a correct address for coverage and includes you as an interested party on the policy. If you have not already, get over to your rental and do an inspection. When you do, and if applicable, hire an HVAC company to come and service your air conditioner and check the duct work. If you have young kids, and this does apply to grandkids too, have them work for you in your rental property business. They can clean, paint, do yard work and for the older ones, they can help in the office by organizing files and helping you stay organized for when tax season rolls around. And lastly, we have three free downloads to help you with all these tasks. A 4th of July safety tips PDF, that you can email to your tenants. An email template that you can send and communicate. How two tips for your tenants to stay cool during a heat wave. And our spring maintenance inspection checklist for you to use in case you have not yet done a property inspection this year. And all those are available in our show notes. Well, this brings us to the end of the episode, and we have a few housekeeping items to tell you about before we sign off. If you enjoyed this episode, would you do us a favor and leave us a kind review of the podcast because reviews help others find out we are the real deal. And if you wanna hear more, follow or subscribe to the podcast so that each week the episodes are downloaded right to your favorite podcast platform. We'd love to stay in contact with you. In the show notes, you can find links to all the free downloads that we offer. Many of those were mentioned here today, the heatwave email template, and the 4th of July safety Tips PDF. We also include ways to sign up for our free newsletter the wait list for our upcoming course on tenant screening. There's also links to our private Facebook group that's just for landlords and our social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, as well as YouTube, where we share very informative and detailed tips and tricks for landlords, so check those out. I think that's about it. Thanks again for tuning in. We really do appreciate each and every one of you listeners. So until next time, you've got this landlords.