Water heater in master closet (Leave it or move it?)

[Phillip Rosin]

I recently acquired two duplexes and will be doing a live in reno on one of the units. It's a total gut job and I'm trying to plan everything out. One thing I personally dislike is that the master closet, which is your standard 5' wide closet, houses the water heater. However, I'm unsure if it will actually make a difference when it comes to renting this unit out in the future and if it would be worth relocating. 

There is only one viable idea I have come up with so far and that is to add an extra little closet in the living space, next to where the washer and dryer are housed. Since all plumbing is currently below the slab, I would then have to route new plumbing to the various fixtures through the attic. However, this is a small, 1080sqft 3/2 and the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms are all along a straight line path. It *should* be relatively simple to drop pipes at each location. All the kitchen and bathroom plumbing will be updated during this process anyway, so there wouldn't be more work than routing the pipes in the attic. The longest run in the attic, from the heater to the master shower, will be around 20ft. The other thing to note is the heater is from 2005, meaning it is nearing the end of useful life anyway. This is a B/B-, mostly blue-collar area in Clearwater, FL. Rent is $1,500.00. 

[Frank S.]

Originally posted by @Phillip Rosin:

@Frank S. Why is an electric water heater is a fire hazard and why would a vent be required? There is a drain, though the pan has an extra hole, which renders it generally useless. I'll fix that either way. Are you saying leave it because it isn't worth moving and won't impact tenant retention or getting the best quality tenants?

 All electrical appliances are prone to create a fire. In this case, you are mixing storage with an electrical appliance. Is this a 4kw dual element unit? What happens if there is a spark in a tight closet?  A fire. It's likely a code- compliant installation, however.  

The tenants won't care if there is a heater in a closet. Some will not even know what that cylinder is.  Some units in Chicago have them in the kitchen, like Shameless TV show. 

The vent on the wall is simply to get some of the heat (and smoke) out; it's not required but that closet may get hot and damaged clothes (or not...).   Add a smoke detector in that closet or immediately in front.

I'm glad you have a drain.  If the heater fails or the T&P valve goes off, you will be glad you had a drain. Relocating the heater will require to relocate the drain,  that's extra money. 

Good luck,

Frank