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Important
Rental Housing Quality Standards
Landlord FAQ and Checklist PART 1
If you own
or manage rental property, our rental housing quality standards
checklist and landlord FAQ will make sure that your rental home stays
in habitable condition according to the rental housing codes. Uncover
what are
the important rental standards that you and every landlord must know.
Since real estate laws in most areas tend to be more protective of
residential tenants, there will be certain health and
safety housing standards that your rental property has to meet. Read our
landlord FAQ below for more details:
What
are the Important and Common Fire Safety Codes for Rental
Properties?
In
most
areas, installing smoke detectors just to meet the minimum requirement
for housing quality standards. When installing smoke
detectors for your rental property, it's a good idea to follow the
official guidelines on where to place them.
Different areas will have their own rules on the location of
your smoke detectors but the general rule of thumb is to avoid
installing them in your kitchen and bathroom so that your tenants won't
end up triggering the alarms by mistake.
Most housing quality standards and fire safety codes will recommend
landlords to install smoke
detectors in on the ceilings of bedrooms and living areas such as
halls. Want some good news? Once you have smoke detectors in place,
most insurance companies will charge you less for your fire insurance.
Doing your part for fire safety also means removing any hazards
that are likely to spark off a fire when there are open flames. This
will include clearing away any combustible objects such as cupboard trash
lying in the hallways and locking up highly flammable items like
thinner and petrol in a safe place.
Even if
your landlord tenant laws do not demand it, our landlord FAQ still
recommends that you
include fire extinguishers in fire-prone areas of your rental
property
such as the kitchen or garage.
Fire extinguishers usually have a useful lifespan of 5 to 15 years. For
a more reliable way of checking your fire extinguisher, take a closer
look at the pressure gauge. If the needle is still in the green zone of the
pressure gauge, then it means that your extinguisher probably does not
requiring any servicing yet.
If you own a larger rental property with multiple units, you will have
to plan an emergency escape route in case of any fire and inform your
tenants of it. Your emergency exits should also be clearly
labeled.
For more details on how to keep your property flame-free, we highly recommend that you Click here for a complete Home Fire Safety Checklist.
What
are the Crucial and Major Electricity Safety Codes that You Should Know?
Most
landlord tenant laws and housing quality standards will require the
electrical installation and
wiring of your rental property to be in a safe working condition at all
times.
Exposed live wires are a huge no-no. Working lights and switches are also another basic requirement for most rental properties.
Some areas with stricter laws may require you to have a
certain number of electrical sockets in every room and that your
electrical wirings are protected by fuses and circuit breakers.
While you can definitely replace a faulty light bulb by yourself, you
will usually need to have a permit from your local housing authorities
for more complex repair jobs. This means if you want to rewire your
entire house for lease, you will have to hire a licensed electrician to
do the job for you.
Are you ready
to uncover other crucial housing quality standards such as gas safety
and health codes in the next part of this landlord FAQ?
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