Residents
Owners
The Fair Housing Act stipulates that landlords shouldn’t turn down families with kids in their desire to find a place to live. Discriminatory practices prohibited in the law include refusing people with children to rent an apartment on a higher floor. Landlords just want to avoid accidents involving kids, but unfortunately, there’s a law that tells them it’s discriminatory.
If you’re a landlord, all you can do to child-proof your rental home. Doing this can keep your anxieties in check about kids residing in your rental property. Here are some tips to make your rental home child-proof.
Install Window Guards and Locks
Apartments on higher-level floors should have window guards and locks to prevent fall accidents involving children. In New York, building regulations require rental properties of this type to implement child-safety measures if kids below 10 inhabit the property.
Installing window guards and locks can prevent a curious young kid from opening and falling out of the window. Fall accidents may result in severe injury or death. Since falling from a relatively lower floor can be dangerous to the health of a child, it’s recommended that guards and locks are installed on every window of your rental home.
This child-proofing method is a must even if your state doesn’t require you to install window guards and locks in your rental property.
Making Stairs Safe for Kids
Stairways are where accidents often happen. To ensure that everyone is safe, especially the little ones, you should install sturdy balconies and hand railings to resist the weight or force of a kid hanging on the railing. You should also remove obstacles on pathways leading to the stairs and install no-slip materials on outdoor or communal stairways.
You can also encourage tenants with kids to install a baby gate to prevent fall accidents on the stairs. A baby gate is an affordable safety measure, and your tenants can shoulder the expense for it. There are retractable, no-drill baby gates your tenants can buy for an affordable price.
Fencing and Pool Safety
Fencing can either keep your tenants safe or put them in danger, depending on how and where you install it. Fences serve as a barrier from the road or a safety barrier around a pool area. It’s crucial to know how to properly install your fencing to prevent safety hazards in your rental property.
For instance, in the pool area, fencing must be no less than four feet high and have rails not exceeding four inches apart. This type of fencing prevents kids from effortlessly climbing the barrier.
Don’t use chain-link fencing because it enables small children to put their hands or feet through the mesh. If you want this type of fencing, make sure that the mesh size is no more than 1.25 inches to prevent kids from putting their limbs through it.
In most states, there are regulations regarding proper pool safety. You can check these standards to ensure you set the correct safety fence and signage in your pool area. And, of course, pass the knowledge to your tenants.
Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors
Detectors and alarms in your rental property can significantly contribute to the health and safety of your tenants. Whether the residents in your apartment are all adults or families with children, you should install detectors and alarms and ensure that they’re fully functioning.
When doing your regular site inspection, always test the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Sometimes tenants disable these devices every time a false alarm happens. Some of your renters also tend to forget to replace the batteries of these detectors, so you need to check them regularly.
Be sure that these alarms are in good working order to avoid safety hazards that can be detrimental to the life of your tenants.
Eliminate Hazards on Everyday Items
Everyday items in your rental home can put kids in danger. As a landlord, you should inspect every room for potential safety hazards, such as sharp edges, live wires, uncovered electrical sockets, and reachable cabinet drawers.
These safety hazards can be eliminated using simple solutions. For electrical sockets, you can cover them with plastic guards, which are super easy to do. You can solve the problem of sharp edges by placing pads over them. For reachable cabinet drawers, you can install child locks to ensure that kids won’t access them.
Takeaway
Safety must be a top priority in your rental property, especially if you have tenants with children. There are many child-proofing methods you can implement to eliminate hazards in your rental home and ensure the health and safety of your residents.
You don’t need to spend a fortune to prioritize the safety of your property, and some of these child-proofing methods are super easy to do. Take note of the child safety tips we have discussed in this article if you want to learn.
