Building Fire Safety: Annual Inspections

At least once a year, landlords will need to have a fire inspection done in their unit or building; it’s your job as a landlord to ensure that the building and units you rent out are fitted with all of the necessary detectors, in working fashion. You’ll need both fire alarms, as well as carbon monoxide detectors. With that said, you’ll want to be careful about who you hire to do the job. Unfortunately, there are many contractors out there who like to cut corners, and this may put you in a liable spot if the mechanisms fail to function as they should.

It is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that their rental properties comply with the law, and it is illegal for a tenant of a rental property to remove the batteries or tamper with the alarm in any way. Failure to comply with the Fire Code smoke alarm requirements may result in a $360 ticket or a fine of up to $50,000 for individuals or $100,000 for corporations. Not to mention the guilt of putting someone’s life/lives in danger.

Some Things You Need To Know

Choosing the right alarms is crucial. If choosing an alarm that is electrically powered, it is recommended that it have a battery back-up in case of power failures. You may opt for an alarm that is fully battery powered. If so, this is fine, but you’ll need to ensure that the batteries are always working. Typically, you’ll want to install a new battery once a year, or as recommended by the manufacturer.

You’ll need a smoke alarm installed on every floor if you are renting out an entire house, or building. You’ll also need the alarms to be either on the ceiling, or high on the wall, as smoke rises.

You’ll need a carbon monoxide detector on every floor as well.

The smoke alarms must be less than 10 years old.

The carbon monoxide detectors must be less than 7 years old.

You should test your smoke alarms every single month. You can do this yourself as the landlord, or you can have your tenant do it and report back, provided you can trust that they will actually perform the task.

Dust can clog your alarms, and this is something that most people don’t think about. You’ll want to vacuum your alarms annually to avoid any excessive build up that may prevent them from functioning properly.

Another massive factor as a landlord is the fact that many alarms are overly sensitive. An overly sensitive alarm may go off from simple steam coming from a shower or smoke from a toaster or oven. The issue here is that your tenant may get frustrated with this and turn the alarm off, or tamper with it; yes, this would be illegal, but realistically, the tenant would simply get a slap on the wrist and possibly a small fine. They typically aren’t too worried as a result. Your best bet as a landlord is to handle these “nuisance alarms” before they cause issues. You can try relocating the alarm, you can install a “pause button” that would allow your tenant to temporarily deactivate it, or you can replace these alarms with photo-electric types.

Alarms will need to be situated directly outside of every bedroom/sleeping area of the home/unit.

One thing to avoid: avoid plug in carbon monoxide detectors. They may be convenient, but there is a good chance that your tenant will, eventually, unplug the detector because they “needed the plug”. They will forget to plug it back in, mark my words. Not because they’re stupid, but because people are incredibly absent minded.

Whatever alarms you choose to install in your unit/building/home, don’t skimp out. Buy products that are not easily tampered with, and come from reliable brands. It may cost you a little more up front, but it will cost a lot less than dealing with any legal issues that may come your way if your rental space catches fire. Not to mention, an early detection means less damage to deal with on the off chance that your space does encounter a fire; the proper authorities will be alerted much quicker. And lastly, nobody wants to live with the guilt of having put someone’s life in danger due to a preventable catastrophe.

So do yourself and your tenants a favor: pay them a visit, and make sure the rental spaces are all fitted properly. It just might save a life, and at very least, it will give you peace of mind knowing that you’ve handled your duties as a landlord.