A recent survey by Direct Line business insurance sheds light on the types of issues landlords are asked to resolve, from minor inconveniences to genuine emergencies.

The survey found that nearly two-thirds of landlords (65%) have been called to fix minor issues that a tenant could likely handle themselves. These include:

• Changing a lightbulb (22%)
• Removing carpet stains (18%)
• Helping a tenant who is locked out of their property after drinking (17%)
• Changing a dishwasher filter (15%)

Despite these frustrating non-urgent requests, landlords are also dealing with a high volume of genuine emergencies. In the last year, 62% of landlords had to call an emergency contractor, with 72% of those call-outs happening outside of normal business hours. The average cost of these emergency repairs is £621, though major issues like roofing or heating problems can cost over £2,500.

The most common emergency requests from tenants are:

• Boiler/heating not working (39%)
• Water leak (35%)
• No hot water (28%)
• Blocked toilet/drain (28%)

Interestingly, only about half of all reported emergencies required a professional tradesperson. In a fifth of cases (21%), the landlord was able to resolve the problem themselves, and in 11% of cases, they were able to guide the tenant through a fix over the phone.

The report also highlights a positive outcome: handling an emergency well can strengthen the landlord-tenant relationship, with 22% of landlords saying they now get on better with their tenants after sorting out a problem.