Families are renting homes in more significant numbers than ever before. However, ensuring your children are safe in your rental can be difficult. The most important duty of a parent is to create a safe, risk-free environment for their family. However, you are not solely responsible for it all.
To protect your family’s health and make the house safer when renting, you must get along well with your landlord and know your legal rights. It might be challenging to request property adjustments, especially if they are pricey.
If you’re a tenant considering childproofing your rental property, this article has everything you should know. Let’s go!
Top 3 Reasons Why Childproofing Is Essential for your Rental Property
- Protection
The most apparent advantage of baby-proofing a home is this one. Of course, baby-proofing does not guarantee that your child won’t trip or fall because these things still happen. Still, at least because your home complies with the highest baby safety standards, your child won’t suffer a severe injury while doing so.
Being a parent is not always easy, but making your home baby-proof may give your child a joyful environment. This happens while reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. However, Bay Property Management Group in Washington, DC, agrees that childproofing can help avoid potential accidents in your rental.
- It Safeguards the Household Items
Although the baby’s safety is of the utmost importance, baby-proofing your home will also bring other advantages. The security of household items is one of these advantages. By doing this, you’ll avoid losing your cool whenever your child accidentally smashes a vase or ruins something within their grasp!
Because toddlers are so active, keeping the objects safe will also help you save a ton of money because you won’t need to replace the broken or destroyed item as frequently.
- Piece of mind
This has to be among the most apparent advantages of baby-proofing your home. Anything that can provide peace of mind is undoubtedly appreciated.
This is because raising a baby is a vast, full-time job, and it’s incredibly stressful for first-time parents. However, you can feel secure knowing your infant is protected in your home, even when you aren’t there.
Childproofing Guide: Checklist for Tenants
- Child-Proofing Advice for Stairs
Make sure handrails and balconies are strong enough to bear the weight of a stray child hanging on the rails or an adult grasping for a bar after slipping for the protection of people of all ages. Ensure that outdoor or community stairs have non-slip surfaces and that the routes are clear of obstructions to reduce the risk of further damage.
There are alternatives to most child and baby safety products that don’t require complex installation. Despite this, you should remember that pressure-mounted gates might not stop a young child from falling down the steps. Instead, consider installing a baby gate at the top of stairwells for childproofing inside a unit.
- Install Window Locks to Protect Children
A curious little child can’t open a window and fall out if the windows are locked securely. Therefore, it is advisable to ensure there are window locks on your property’s windows because even a fall from the first floor can hurt a small child.
Any windows on buildings with higher levels need to be childproofed to prevent severe injury or even death from a fall. In several states, window guards must be installed if a child under 10 lives in an apartment building with three or more units.
Window guards are undoubtedly an excellent solution to avoid a catastrophe if your state does not legally require them.
- Restrict Liability for Pools and Fencing
Depending on how and where it is installed, fencing can be a helpful safety tool or a safety concern. These recommendations help provide the best prevention for fences that enclose a resident pool or isolate your property from heavy traffic.
Watch out for chain-link fencing that a toddler may easily climb. Unless slatting is done, a chain-link fence should have a mesh size no larger than 1.25 inches.
To prevent young children from scaling the barrier, childproof pool fencing should be at least 4 feet high and have rails spaced no more than four inches apart. Educate yourself and check your local rules to ensure that you follow them when putting up the proper pool safety measures.
Conclusion
Renters can easily prevent injuries and mishaps with young children in the house by taking a few precautions and being open with their landlord.
Federal housing laws prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to families with kids. So even advice like telling a family with a toddler to avoid renting an apartment on a higher floor can be seen as discriminatory.
Early in the process, discuss child safety with your landlord. They’ll want to cooperate with you to avoid mishaps for which they could be held accountable.
