Landlords: Is Your Property Ready For 2025?

Whether you manage one property or a wider portfolio, taking proactive steps allows you to help protect your investment, increase tenant satisfaction and ensure your properties adhere with current regulations. Want to know more? Here are some tips to get you started.

Think safety

There’s nothing more important than making sure that your properties are safe for your tenants to live in. Your property should be installed with a functional smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector and potentially a fire extinguisher, all of which need to be compliant with current safety standards. It’s important that these devices are regularly tested, and batteries are replaced when necessary. This not only helps to reduce the possibility of legal liabilities, but it could also help save lives (NRLA, 2025.)

Arrange a date with your boiler

Especially in these colder months, ensure that your property has a reliable heating system. British Gas recommend you arrange an annual professional boiler inspection to ensure your boiler is working as it should be, and radiators are functioning efficiently. This ensures that your tenants will have access to reliable heating, will likely lengthen the life of your boiler and may reduce the likelihood of costly repairs (Bluestone Properties, 2025.)

Are there gaps in your maintenance?

Any gaps in your windows and doors can cause chilly drafts, making your heating system work harder than it needs to. Check all doors and windows for drafts and seal any gaps you identify. This can also help prevent unwelcome pests from entering your property (which we’ll get onto later!) It’s also worth insulating any exposed pipes to prevent freezing and bursting in cold weather. To further protect your pipes in freezing temperatures, ask your tenants to keep heating on over these periods, even if just on a low level (NRLA, 2025.)

Be secure in your security

What measures do you use to secure your properties? There are plenty of smart options out there, from video doorbells to digital keys. No matter what you choose, regularly check that all locks, alarms, and other security systems work properly is essential. Ensure to let your tenants know how to properly secure the property when they’re away, especially for longer periods, to reduce the risk of break-ins (NRLA, 2025).

Don’t forget outside

Winter weather and storms can damage your garden, including trees, plants and ornaments. To keep the area safe and avoid blockages, ensure to clear gutters, pathways, and outdoor spaces of debris. Overhanging branches can be problematic in the event of extreme winds or a storm, so it’s important to keep them well maintained if they hang near your property ((Bluestone Properties, 2025.)

Keep talking to your tenants

Communication is key when it comes to resolving issues with your tenants. Without this, relationships can quickly break down. Equip your tenants with clear and up-to-date emergency contact information and ensure you get back to them quickly when they get in touch. Clear and honest communication builds trust and ensures minor issues don’t escalate into major problems.

Forgotten to block off entry points? Oh, rats!

Winter is a prime time for pests to seek shelter and food indoors, and unfortunately, they don’t fall under trespassing laws. If your tenants have raised concerns about pests, time is of the essence to ensure the problem doesn’t get worse. Make sure to arrange a professional pest inspection as even if you successfully set traps, this will not solve the underlying issue as to how the pests entered your property in the first place and how to prevent it from happening again.

Landlord insurance from Towergate

Maintaining your properties now will help to save time, money, and stress for landlords and tenants alike, and that includes keeping your insurance up to date. We provide landlord insurance for a wide range of properties and tenants including multi occupancy, students, local authority placements, unoccupied and much more. See our landlords insurance page or call 0330 828 1709 for more.

The information contained in this article is based on reliable sources. It is intended as general guidance and should not be taken as specific advice for individual situations.

About the author

Alison Wild BCom (Hons), FMAAT, MATT, Taxation Technician is a highly respected industry professional who has been working with and advising SMEs in areas including tax, pensions, insurance and marketing for over 25 years. She is a fellow member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and member of Association of Tax Technicians (ATT). She also has over 25 years' experience as a residential landlord.