Oakland, CA · Member since 2016 · 29 posts · 5 votes
Hi,
I'm a new landlord and a tenant in one of my units has clearly tampered with the smoke alarm. The wires are exposed and cut. Now the lease doesn't state anything about smoke alarms but it does mention smoking is prohibited. My question is is it still my responsibility to replace the smoke alarm that has been damages by the tenant?
I'm a new landlord and a tenant in one of my units has clearly tampered with the smoke alarm. The wires are exposed and cut. Now the lease doesn't state anything about smoke alarms but it does mention smoking is prohibited. My question is is it still my responsibility to replace the smoke alarm that has been damages by the tenant?
Thanks,
Fareed
Yes. As a landlord you're responsible for making sure you comply with local codes. You can always give them a first pass this time, but next time you can take it out of their security deposit for repairs. It will also be ground for breaking their lease if they do it again.
I'm a new landlord and a tenant in one of my units has clearly tampered with the smoke alarm. The wires are exposed and cut. Now the lease doesn't state anything about smoke alarms but it does mention smoking is prohibited. My question is is it still my responsibility to replace the smoke alarm that has been damages by the tenant?
Thanks,
Fareed
Yes. As a landlord you're responsible for making sure you comply with local codes. You can always give them a first pass this time, but next time you can take it out of their security deposit for repairs. It will also be ground for breaking their lease if they do it again.
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
7y
Yes. The fact that the tenant smokes does not free you of your baseline responsibility to keep your property in compliance with basic fire codes. How you choose to deal with the tenant and the cost of replacing the smoke detector is your business.