Many landlords hire building superintendents, or “supers,” to assist them in managing their rental properties. A building super is the primary keeper of a rental residence and is responsible for the overall upkeep and repair work.
When occupants have maintenance issues, they usually contact the building superintendent. But aside from maintenance, what are their responsibilities? Here are 10 of their main duties.
1. Cleaning the Property
A super must make sure that a property’s shared spaces are tidy or guarantee that the maintenance workers do so. Cleaning will include having to pick up trash, sweeping hallways and stairwells with a broom or vacuuming, and mopping and managing to keep all walkways free from anything.
2. Getting Rid of Garbage
In some more prominent rental properties, the super may not have to engage with this task directly. However, they are still mainly accountable for overseeing servicing staff in completing the job. They should know the city’s waste collection regulations, such as which days of the week garbage is gathered and when they can place the trash out for collection. Many cities and towns will impose fines if waste is not picked up on time. The super should know which days of the month the large quantities of items are dropped off or who to notify to request a bulk grab and the recycling timetable and protocols.
3. Removing Snow
In the winter, a super may have the added responsibility of clearing snow. In some regions of the country, supers may find themselves constantly shoveling snow, whereas, in others, this may happen only once or twice a year. It is part of the super’s duty to understand how quickly they should clean up pavements and passageways after a snowfall ends.
4. Taking care of minor issues and repairs
Building supers almost always handle minor repairs concerns themselves, such as changing door latches, repairing dripping water taps, or adding wood putty to small holes. However, a property owner may choose a super with more extensive upkeep skills to handle heating, cooling, or plumbing problems.
Building supers are not trained to handle bigger problems like leaks and damaged roofs. They are, however, responsible for calling repair experts who have a license to perform roofing repair work.
5. Performing Regular Preventive Maintenance
With regard to repair work, building superintendents are supposed to perform preventive maintenance on a frequent schedule. Household equipment or gadgets at a rental like our vehicles need regular maintenance. As a result, holding a preventative maintenance routine for such things will reduce the chances of failing. A simple preventive maintenance schedule can help you avoid an expensive replacement in the future, even more so if the problem goes unnoticed.
6. Taking charge of periodic checks and security
Each rental should start with a move-in audit performed by both the super and the leaseholders. However, this should not stop there. Supers should secure the business from destructive renters and make a comprehensive log if an eviction or security deposit issue needs to be taken to court by setting up a schedule of frequent and well-recorded checks.
7. Managing the turnover of tenants
When one lease runs out even before a new renter can start moving in, some repair work is recommended. A property owner may also choose to delegate this part of the property turnover to their building’s super. Jobs can range from cleaning, scrubbing, and mopping floors to replacing the busted floor or wall slabs. Supers may handle these tasks themselves, or the landlord may authorize them to employ skilled cleaners and repair contractors.
8. Taking care of tenant complaints
A building super acts primarily as a go-between for the property owner and his renters. When a leaseholder has a problem with the rental, he will first notify the super. Depending on the super’s skills and experience and the scope of the concern, they may be ready to manage some situations themselves, or they may need to phone the property owner to figure out how to proceed. It frequently enables property owners to eliminate engaging with minor issues, such as changing light a bulb.
9. Showing the rental property to potential tenants
A building super may be tasked with showing the property to potential renters during a vacancy, but they are not usually concerned with selecting the new renter. They’ll merely show potential tenants around the rental space and accumulate rental application forms for the property owner to evaluate. The landlord is responsible for filtering renters to ensure they are eligible to lease the property.
10. Serve as the eyes and ears of the property owner
Once there is a problem at the rental property, a super can alert the property owner, especially if they live on site. Tenants who cause problems, a tenant with an unauthorized pet, or a health and safety issue at the property are all possibilities.
Building supers seem to be an extra amenity for renters that may aid in advertising the building. However, they can resolve daily physical matters regarding the building’s heaters, electrical system, plumbing, and overall property management. Furthermore, most people don’t realize that building superintendent jobs offer good salaries and the chance to put your handyman skill sets to use every day.
