3 Property Management Musts in the Heart of a Crisis

We will emerge stronger, both as an Arlington community and broader society, once we officially defeat COVID-19.

In the meantime, we have to keep moving forward with various aspects of our lives as best we can. 

And while this pandemic is certainly unlike anything we’ve collectively experienced in our lifetime, there are some core property management principles that are vitally important for the time being.

Here are three property management musts for weathering this COVID storm (or any crisis, for that matter):

• Over-communicate. Things are absolutely a two-way street - just as it is not the time for a tenant to cease communication with a landlord, your tenants are relying on you. There may be federal regulations, guidelines and seemingly everything in between that affect your property and tenant-landlord relationship. We’re in this together - everyone needs to be on the same page in terms of the latest informational landscape.

• Keep it clean. Now is not the time to go totally lax on any cleaning or maintenance measures in place. In fact, where possible and where feasible, it’s time to up your game even more. Do what you can to ensure your property’s cleanliness (contingent on whatever agreements may be in place) and make sure your tenants know what’s being done for their protection.

• Defer to the experts. In the case of COVID-19, our collective knowledge and understanding of the disease is rapidly evolving. If you do not know the answer to a specific question and to prevent a potential legal headache, your best bet is to defer to the latest guidelines as established by the U.S. government, local jurisdictions and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).