Property Management
A big decision for landlords is whether to manage their rentals themselves, or pay a property manager to do it for them.
Key takeaways
- Landlords can choose to manage their rental property themselves or use a property manager to handle day-to-day responsibilities.
- Property managers can assist with tasks such as finding tenants, collecting rent, arranging repairs, conducting inspections and managing tenant communication.
- Using a property manager can help landlords meet their landlord obligations, including responsibilities that may affect insurance requirements.
- Property owners keep control of their initio account, and the main login must remain in the insured owner’s name.
- Property managers cannot have their own initio account login but can be added as an authorised contact to assist with claims.
- The insured property owner must initially lodge any claim because the claim form includes legal declarations that only the insured can complete.
- After a claim has been submitted, the owner can nominate a property manager or another authorised person to assist with claim handling.
- Using a property manager may reduce the time and effort required to manage a rental, although landlords should consider the cost compared with self-management.
Managing your rental yourself can be more cost effective, but sometimes it can be demanding as attending to requests, queries, and maintenance can be frustrating and time consuming.
What services do Property Managers provide?
To keep your landlord insurance valid, your property manager should meet your landlord obligations so you don’t need to worry about them yourself.
Some of the other main services of a Property Manager include:
- Finding new tenants when the house is empty
- Assess prospective tenants’ suitability and review reference checks
- Collect rental payments from tenants
- Carry out regular property inspections to ensure you comply with your insurance policy.
- Deal with and look after tenants – answer queries, book tradespeople for repairs, and generally act as a go-to for tenants.
- Deal with the legislative ins and outs.
- Regular rent reviews
- Assess and recommend improvements to your property so that you can attract higher rents and better tenants
Can I give my property manager access to my initio account?
Yes – you’ll keep full control of your initio account as the property owner, but you can add your property manager as an authorised contact to help with day‑to‑day matters. The main login must remain in your name for security and legal reasons, as it allows managing policy details and payments. If you need to make a claim, you’ll need to submit the initial online claim yourself, then you can nominate your property manager within the claim form to assist with claim handling.
Your initio account is for you, the insured property owner. The main login always stays in your name so you can manage your policy, payments, and cover.
While your property manager can’t have their own login, you can add them as an authorised contact for claims. If you need to make a claim, you’ll start the process by submitting it online yourself. After that, you can nominate your property manager in the claim form so they can help manage the claim on your behalf.
This way, you keep control of your account, but your property manager can still support you when it comes to claims.
Can a property manager lodge a claim on my behalf?
Any claim must be initially lodged by yourself as the Insured, part of the claims form includes legal declarations and statements that only you can complete. You can, however, nominate a property manager or another agent as part of the lodgement who you authorise to act on your behalf once the claim has been submitted.
Pros and Cons of using a Property Manager
Managing your own rental can save on property management fees, but it also requires more time and involvement. A property manager can take care of many day-to-day tasks, but comes with an ongoing cost.
| Self-managing your rental | Using a property manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | No property management fee, but you manage the time and tasks yourself. | Management fees apply, but you pay for someone else to handle day-to-day tasks. |
| Time commitment | You are responsible for tenant queries, inspections, maintenance and repairs. | The property manager handles tenant communication, repairs and ongoing management. |
| Finding tenants | You manage advertising, applications and reference checks yourself. | The property manager can find tenants and assess suitability. |
| Rent collection | You collect and manage rental payments yourself. | The property manager collects rent and manages payment processes. |
| Inspections | You arrange and complete property inspections yourself. | The property manager carries out inspections and can help monitor property condition. |
| Tenant management | You deal directly with tenants and their requests. | The property manager acts as the main contact for tenants. |
| Legislation and obligations | You are responsible for keeping up with tenancy requirements. | The property manager helps manage legislative requirements and processes. |
| Rental income | You keep the full rental income but manage all responsibilities yourself. | A property manager may help identify improvements that could attract better tenants or higher rent. |
While self management might save you a property management fee, having the right property manager could mean higher rents and less days unoccupied meaning more rental income.
Frequently asked questions
What does a property manager do for landlords?
A property manager can help with tasks such as finding tenants, collecting rent, carrying out inspections, arranging repairs, responding to tenant queries and managing tenancy requirements.
Does using a property manager help with my landlord insurance?
A property manager can help you manage your landlord responsibilities, including inspections, maintenance and tenant management. However, the property owner remains responsible for meeting their obligations under the policy.
Can my property manager make an insurance claim for me?
No. The insured property owner must initially submit the claim because the claim form includes legal declarations that only the insured can complete. Once submitted, you can nominate your property manager to assist with claim handling.
Related articles
- How often do I need to do property inspections?
- What are my obligations as a landlord?
- Can I complete property inspections remotely?
Written by Megan Fisher. Initio’s Head of Marketing
Megan has been with initio since 2022 and creates customer-focused content that helps New Zealand homeowners and landlords understand insurance in plain English. She works closely with initio’s claims, customer support, and development teams to make sure content is accurate, useful, and easy to follow. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and product strategy.