Avoiding a Common Danger in Rental Properties

by | Apr 15, 2013 | Rental Property Management Tips

Apartment fires are a nightmare for landlords and tenants alike.

Smoke detectors are a must-have safety feature for every rental property.

Despite the risk, some tenants take it upon themselves to disable smoke detectors, typically those near the kitchen that tend to go off while cooking a meal.

If that happens and tragedy strikes, it’s too late to prevent injury to tenants or damage to the property.

Avoid this risk by including language in your tenancy agreement or house rules prohibiting disabling of smoke detectors.

Inspect and test the detectors during each routine property inspection.

Consider placing a small warning sticker near the detector reminding tenants that by removing batteries or disconnecting wires, they are breaking the law.

Keep track of the schedule for battery changes.

Require tenants to report low batteries or other defects in the detectors.

This post is provided by Tenant Verification Service, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).

Click Here to Receive Landlord Credit Reports.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.

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