Space heaters have a hard-earned fame for provoking deadly accidents, that’s why they should certainly not be permitted in a rental home. We’ve all heard the stories: a family goes to bed on a cold winter evening, their space heater making the chilly air captured – and they never come alive. Either the electric heater has malfunctioned and loaded the home with toxic fumes or it has triggered an electrical fire from which there is little chance to flee. Tragedies like these are all too prevalent, and the last thing any Stonington property landlord wants is to find out that such a disaster has occurred to their own residents.
In general, electric heaters are designed more secure for residential use than fuel-based models. But even electric heaters must be utilized under stern administration and correspondent to the approved safety procedures. Children and pets are particularly susceptible to harm produced by space heaters, which lays any resident with a family or domesticated animal in danger. Furthermore, there’s no assurance that your residents will distinguish or adhere to suggested safety practices or use the space heater properly, which may result in catastrophic consequences.
Banning space heaters is not just a brilliant precaution but also an essential part of caring for yourself and your real estate asset. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has projected that more than 25,000 residential fires are caused by space heaters each year. These fires come from over 300 deaths and 6,000 emergency room visits annually. While certain wounds are blisters from touching a space heater unit, some are considerably more critical.
Being the rental property owner, you bear a great threat of liability if you let your residents use space heaters. Even though your landlord’s insurance provides for the impairment to the rental home itself, if a space heater has initiated any loss of life or serious injury, that may result in added legal action against you. Lawsuits alleging negligence or more awfully could compromise not only your source of revenue, but also your properties and, on some occasions, your free will.
Regular property evaluations are vital to safeguarding your property from the hazards exhibited by space heaters. At Real Property Management Hartford Metro/Greater New London, regular evaluations are a developmental part of our property management program. We trust that the well-being of your residents is an utmost importance, as is guarding you and your investment from the hazards of noncompliance. Contact us online or call us at 860-316-4388 to learn more about what we can do for you.
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