Fire Safety Responsibilities of Landlords

Being a landlord is not an easy job. Yes, it is profitable but it comes with huge responsibilities and duties. One of your most important tasks (aside from ensuring that the tenants pay on time) is to ensure fire safety. Landlord fire safety is crucial not only to protect one's property from damage but more importantly, to keep people safe—to prevent injuries and to save lives.

If you are a landlord or if you plan to become one, it is a must to keep the basic principles of fire safety in mind. Here are some vital measures for you to oversee and implement.

1. Identify the fire hazards.

You may not notice it but fire hazards abound your home, and also the home you are going to rent out. Some of the possible fuel risks are furniture, clothing, furnishings, textiles, laundry, waste paper, flammable liquids, paint, and cooking oil. As for the ignition risks, watch out for cigarettes, naked flames, cookers, toasters, oven, electrical equipment, and arson.

1. Identify the people at risk.

The next thing you need to do is to identify who are the people at risk. The primary people at risk, are of course, the occupants of your property, otherwise known as the tenants. Also, guests who visit the premises, disabled people, children, people who are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication, and people who have difficulty in understanding English are also at risk.

1. Do the necessary steps to remove or reduce risks or protect against risks.

Fire safety would entail you to do a host of responsibilities which include but are not limited to the following:

• Ensure that all electrical sockets are adequate and silted properly.
• Keep furniture and other fuel risks away from heating equipment and other possible ignition sources.
• Check electrical appliances and see if they are in top working condition. Frayed cords, overloaded sockets, short circuits can all lead to fire.
• Store flammable liquids in safe places, away from the reach of children and pets.
• Install high quality fire fighting devices including fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, smoke detectors, fire ladders (if the property has more than one floor), and so on.

1. Inform and train

It is not enough that your property is fully equipped with the necessary firefighting equipment, people occupying the area should be properly well informed about the fire safety plan. You should do your part in educating and training the occupants by holding a fire drill, at least annually. Create a comprehensive escape route plan and be sure to enlighten your tenants about this. It would also be a good idea if you can have a professional train the occupant in the correct usage of fire extinguishers.

1. Review

Do not forget to review the fire risk assessment and fire safety plan regularly. Risks may vary from time to time so you need to keep your fire safety plan updated at all times.

Being a landlord is not a walk in the park, especially if you think about how the safety of your property and also your tenants fall in your hands. Keep these tips in mind to ensure fire protection.