3 Ways to Know If Your Rental Meets Safety Standards

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The idea of renting out your property can be exciting, but you should look into a few legalities you need to attend to before pitching a “for rent” sign. If you’re new to landlording, figuring out what’s right and what’s wrong can be a bit confusing. If you’re planning on renting out your property, here are three ways to ensure your rental meets safety standards.

Conduct an inspection.

Although the overall condition of your rental is important, it’s the structural value that matters most. This means you should inspect the walls, floors, roofing, stairs, and the foundation of your house. Cracks in floors and stairs, for example, could lead to an accident. Your tenant could fall through the floor or get hurt when walking over a cracked or broken spot.

Larger issues, such as damage in the foundation or roofing, could cause even greater damage to the house as a whole by causing cracks in the walls or possible flooding because of the faulty portions of the house. However, some of these issues such as wall cracks and other problems may not be because of structural damage. You must evaluate these issues before you move forward with any type of action.

When it comes to structural damage, these are major problems that you need to take care of immediately. Structural damage can lead to even more terrible disasters that may cost you tens of thousands of dollars to repair. This is especially true if structural damage leads to an accident during your tenant’s stay. If you spot structural damage, reach out to a professional who can help you with your problems, such as someone who knows how to repair flooring or someone who specializes in concrete raising and repair. You can find some things on your own, but it is highly recommended that you reach out to a professional inspector who can do a full inspection of your home and give you a full summary of what needs to be repaired before you are able to rent out your home.

Check out the interior.

Once you’ve taken care of any structural damage, you need to start taking a look at your interior and making sure that your interior meets safety standards, as well. Some of the major safety considerations to take a look at include the plumbing, the electricity, the appliances, and openings such as doors and windows.

The biggest concern that you should have with the interior of your house is that everything functions properly. Faulty wiring or issues with plumbing could easily turn into a disaster that could cause massive damage to your tenant as well as to your rental property. Smaller issues such as problems with doors, windows, and appliances throughout your house such as fire alarms and water heaters could prevent you from being able to rent out your house if your city doesn’t approve the safety conditions within your rental property.

With these types of issues, you have the choice to either repair or replace a large number of the problems that occur inside your house. If you’re looking into repairs, ask yourself if it is worth it to repair something or if it is so far gone that you’d much rather replace it. Repairing and replacing items and portions of your house have both advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage is price. If something is damaged and it is only a minor issue, see whether you can repair it before having to go out and buy something new. If something is so damaged that it would cost too much money to repair or is not worth repairing, go with replacing the object rather than trying to fix it.

These types of repairs are much easier to take care of and you can generally get them done on your own just by getting home improvement supplies in Lyndhurst, OH, and doing the repairs yourself. However, if you are building a property from the ground up, you are going to need to make sure that you meet all the requirements that you would get with a pre-owned property. If you’re unsure of what requirements those are, you may want to hire a company that specializes in residential construction in Lyndhurst, OH, so that it can make sure that you meet all safety requirements and expectations.

Don’t forget the nooks and crannies.

When you’ve finally looked over the exterior and interior of your home, you will have completed most of the work that you need to do to ensure safety for your tenant. However, you’re not quite done yet. Some sneaky places are hidden from sight, but they still might present potential safety hazards to the future renters of your property. A lot of hidden areas throughout your home are known for causing damage that few owners think to check. For example, one may check the foundation for cracks but probably wouldn’t think about built-up lint in a dryer as a potential fire hazard. Someone may repair large breaks and cracks in a staircase but they may not consider looking at built-up residue within a chimney, which could catch on fire and burn down a house. It’s important that you look in every nook and cranny to avoid missing out on possible safety hazards that could prevent you from renting out your house.

Once you’ve reached this point and you are beginning to look over small details rather than some of the larger issues that you have been tackling first, it is also important to make sure that you have gone through your entire property and cleaned out each section thoroughly. An overly dirty household or property can also pose a safety hazard if the situation is bad enough. While you’re cleaning, look for dangerous contaminants such as asbestos or mold. These should be taken care of immediately because they can have life-threatening consequences if you or anyone else is exposed to it. You should also search for any possible infestations as well as these can pose safety hazards to the tenant’s health.

Renting out your rental property is a serious process, and it is important that you make sure your property is safe to inhabit before you begin to let tenants move in. Using these three tips, you should be able to make sure that everything is safe and clean to prevent any future problems from occurring with future tenants. All that’s left to do is search through each online rental application, pick an individual, and start to rent out your house. Good luck!

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