Space heaters have a hard-earned distinction for initiating deadly accidents, hence they should certainly not be approved in a rental home. We’ve all become aware of the stories: a family goes to bed on a snowy winter night, their space heater making the freezing air confined – and they never wake up. Either the electric heater has malfunctioned and distributed the home with toxic fumes or it has generated an electrical fire from which there is little hope to get off. Calamities like these are all too regular, and the least that any Catonsville property owner wants is to hear is that such a disaster has stumbled upon to their very own residents.
In most cases, electric heaters are deemed reliable for residential use compared to fuel-based models. But even electric heaters should be handled under stern regulation and conforming to the sanctioned safety drills. Children and pets are explicitly unguarded to distress because of space heaters, which set any resident with a family or domesticated animal endangered. Likewise, there’s no certainty that your residents will recognize or adhere to the proposed safety practices or use the space heater properly, which may bring about terrible effects.
Banning space heaters is not only a rational safety provision but also an invaluable way of insulating yourself and your real estate asset. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has classified that more than 25,000 residential fires are caused by space heaters each year. These fires result in over 300 deaths and 6,000 emergency room visits annually. While some of these injuries are burns from striking a space heater unit, others are much more tragic.
Being rental property owner, you shoulder a high danger of liability if you agree to your residents to use space heaters. While your landlord’s insurance covers the wreckage to the rental home itself if a space heater has compelled any loss of life or serious injury, which may point to further legal action against you. Lawsuits alleging negligence or more awfully could jeopardize not only your sustenance, but also your equities and, in some situations, your liberty.
Regular property evaluations are key to protecting your property from the jeopardies inferred by space heaters. At Real Property Management Metro, regular evaluations are an integral piece of our property management program. We accept that the well-being of your residents is an unconditional priority, as is guarding you and your investment from the risks of noncompliance. Contact us online or call us at 443-718-9832 to find out more about what we can do for you.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
