Snow removal for Cleveland double?

Question

Hey Cleveland REI's! Going into my first winter as a landlord and curious to hear about how you all handle snow removal. I've read multiple views and it seems I could write it into the lease to have tennants handle, handle it myself or hire someone. I prefer to hire someone or handle myself for liability reasons,  but curious what others do.

If you hire for snow removal, do they do the driveway only? Or will they shovel and salt the walkways, front steps and sidewalks as well?

Any recommendations for services or individuals to contact for this? The duplex is in Cleveland proper (west park).

Thank you!

James Wise · Answer

You dont need to take on the cost of snow removal on a duplex. A good rule of thumb to live by is anything 5 units & up with a dumpster & parking lot yes you need to pay. Anything smaller than that with the tenants dealing with their own garbage you don't need to worry about it.

Brian S. · Answer

Hi Casey,

When I managed my property in Parma, I paid for a snow removal service. The driveway is about 5-6 car lengths long so its quite big, I figured this would be a good way to get tenants in and try to avoid slips and falls. I paid $20 a push and they were quite reliable (the company is called Clutch). I think I could have paid $350 for the entire year, so its a gamble. For the few years I used them, it was cheaper paying per push. They come out when its 2" or more on the ground.

While they are reliable when it did snow more than 2", they were far from removing all the snow from the driveway. I rarely saw the cement and seems it was packed down with ice most of the winter. I could of paid extra for salt, but I didn't. I assume I would have this issue with any plow company in Cleveland.

Now that I use a PM company, it is written in their lease that they are responsible for the snow removal. I just changed to a PM company earlier this year, so I don't know how it will be now that the tenants are responsible for the snow removal. If the plow companies actually removed all of the snow, I would say its worth the extra money. But that wasn't the case. We'll see how this winter goes!