Tenant safety is important anytime you’re renting out a Daphne property, and with multi-family homes, it requires special attention. Whether you’re renting out a single unit or all of the homes in a small apartment building, you need to make sure that the living conditions are habitable and the tenants feel secure.
The larger the community, the larger the risk when it comes to keeping people and property safe. You have more units, more people coming and going, and wider access. If you’re prepared and proactive, keeping your tenants safe does not have to be a challenge.
Control Access to your Daphne Rental Property
One of the most common risks with your multi-family property is that a lot of units require a lot of keys. Consider installing security cameras at the building’s entrance. You can also implement a key control system so that all entries and exits are tracked and accessible. It’s safer for residents when only they can activate a key system. Guests will have to be admitted by the residents, which will keep your tenants accountable and feeling in control of their home’s safety.
Maintain Good Exterior Lighting
Make sure the common areas of your multi-family property are well-lit and safe. This includes the lobby, stairwells, elevators, walkways, and parking lots or garages. Even if your property is a duplex or a triplex, you need to have enough light outside of the property so that tenants are safe walking to and from their homes. Motion lights can be beneficial as well. If you have a vacant unit in your multi-family property, consider leaving a light on at night. You can set it to a timer so that the place does not look unoccupied and vulnerable.
Detailed Tenant Screening Protects Residents
Tenant screening is an important part of protecting your investment property and it also protects your tenants. In a multi-family property, renters are living next door to one another, upstairs and downstairs from each other. They want to know that their fellow tenants are not going to cause harm. Screen for criminal histories and be especially strict when it comes to violent crimes and drugs.
Always Inspect and Test Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Avoiding crime isn’t the only way to keep your tenants safe. You also have to ensure your property and your residents are safe from maintenance emergencies and catastrophes like fires and floods.
Fire is always a danger, and you should have smoke detectors in your rental properties that are functional and routinely inspected and tested. Carbon monoxide detectors can also help you you’re your tenants safe. According to the CDC, over 10,000 people are poisoned by carbon monoxide each year and more than 438 people in the U.S. die annually from carbon monoxide poisoning. This is not a risk you need to take. Install carbon monoxide detectors and make sure they work.
If you’d like some additional tips for keeping your tenants safe or you’d like to talk more about managing multi-family properties in Daphne, please contact us at IRBY Property Management.