Neighbor News
Raging House Fire Shows why Rent Permits are Important
There are many reasons why a landlord should obtain a rental permit before renting out to tenants, and preventing fires is a big one.
For landlords that rent without a permit in towns such as Southampton, East Hampton, Westhampton and Quogue, this house fire should be a wake up call. As the summer rental season approaches, it is well known that many local landlords will skip the rental permit and post their space on AirBNB or some other convenient site. However, a raging house fire on April 30, 2017, that ripped through a Suffolk County home in a matter of minutes and just barely gave the inhabitants time to escape, should give pause for consideration.
The CBS version of the incident highlights the need for adequate and working smoke detectors: "...she woke up to the chirp of smoke detectors and quickly helped her family of six escape."
As someone that helps to perform regular safety inspections and applications for rental permits, even if you do not rent out your home, I would encourage you to have your home reviewed by a licensed and professional home inspector with regard to fire safety and home safety in general. This could help to save not only your life, but the lives of firefighters as well. In the house fire on April 30, 2017, it was the firefighters that suffered more injuries than the occupants.
I have found that many homes have outdated and yellowed smoke detectors, ones without batteries, and inadequate carbon monoxide detectors as well. In 2014, one person died and several were injured on Long Island due to CO poisoning from a heating system.
Other safety issues relate to swimming pools. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there are over 7,000 drowning deaths nationally each year, and 80% of the drownings occur in residential pools or spas. Most landlords are not aware of basic pool code safety precautions, and a private and confidential safety review of a property is in the best interests of all.
If you are a landlord renting without a permit, consider not only the legal aspects of breaking the law, but how you would be able to sleep peacefully knowing that your negligence was possibly the reason why one or more people in your property died? Southampton Home Inspections can provide not only a safety inspection, but also rental permit expediting assistance.
Tags: house fire Suffolk County NY, rental permits, fire safety, house fire Long Island, carbon CO death Long Island, pool safety codes, pool deaths, rental permits Hamptons NY,
