Backyard Deck Liability

[David Kuhlke]

Hey ya’ll,

I am finishing up a rehab on a single family property and one of the features of this property is an elevated deck in the back yard— meaning the access to the deck is from the second level. What kind of liability clauses should I put in the rental agreement? Right now I have “tenant agrees to max 15 people occupancy on back yard deck”. I have heard horror stories about decks being overloaded and collapsing. My worst nightmare is a tenant throwing a party and overloading the deck with a bunch of people. Anything else I should be considering here? Also one more note— the contractor who did most of the rehab also replaced some of the boards that were rotting and reinforced the main support posts, but I want to be extra sure that I’m covered here.

Best,

David