Property Safety Tips: Keep Your Rental Free of Hidden Dangers

property safety tips: black toolbox with red tools on hardwood floor

Whether you own an apartment building, a duplex, or just a rental house, if you are a landlord of any kind, the safety of your property falls on you. You are responsible for the health and safety of your renters. This includes everything from keeping your properties free from any illegal activities, but also ensuring the properties themselves are safe and secure for your tenants.

Thankfully, keeping your property safe doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. When you keep up with regular maintenance and take a few extra steps to let your tenants know you care about their safety, you can ensure your property is a secure place for whoever is living there.

If you’re not sure how to achieve that assurance and pass it on to your tenants, let’s look at a few property safety tips you can do to make it happen.

Consistent Maintenance of the Property

By keeping your property as up-to-date as possible, you’ll reduce the risk of accidents and hidden dangers that could cause big problems. On every property safety tips list should be regular property maintenance like:

Checking HVAC system filters
Testing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Looking for leaks
Testing sump pump
Flushing the water heater

Most of the time, simply having a standard inspection checklist of maintenance items to perform each year is good enough and will keep your property in top shape. There’s even property management software that can help you manage premium maintenance and requests (hint: that’s us).

In some cases, you may want to consider renovating or even remodeling your property. Renovations are easier as they don’t change the shape of the property. Instead, they mostly focus on updating and improving appearances.

If you want to remodel, however, you will likely be making structural changes. That could include knocking down walls, working on the roof, or making an addition. Remodeling is a great way to update an older home and make it more appealing to tenants, but be aware of potential hazards like asbestos exposure. If you’re tearing down walls in an older home, asbestos may have once been used as part of the construction process. Breathing it in could cause respiratory issues, and even put you at risk of mesothelioma.

Keeping Your Tenants Safe

No one wants to live in a rental property where they don’t feel safe and secure. By making upgrades and keeping your property up to code, you’ll be able to pass that information on to potential tenants.

You can also offer them peace of mind by going over a few requirements in your lease agreement.

For example, requiring renters insurance might seem like you’re “forcing” something on your tenants. But, it will keep both of you safe. Talk to the people interested in the property about how renters insurance can help them by covering:

Damaged possessions
Stolen items
Accidents/injuries that occur at the property

Renters insurance can also help them to replace or repair any items that were stolen or damaged. As a landlord, renters insurance can help you to feel better, too, knowing your tenants are protected.

Additionally, don’t be afraid to talk to potential tenants about what you’re doing to keep them safe, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything from contactless payments to developing new protocols for safely entering a unit can make those considering your property to feel better about keeping their risk low.