The most experienced and successful landlords in our community association know that tenants want to live in safe properties. No one should live in dangerous conditions and our members agree.
Most of our members used to rent and know finding a safe property who makes ‘house safety’ a priority is very important. This is why the latest news being discussed on our forums have many of our members unhappy and why we need to push hard to get landlords trained.
Wasaga Landlord Charged With Failing To Maintain Smoke Alarms
According to a report in Wasaga Sun via Simcoe news the owner a multi-unit rental faces nine charges.
The charges are under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act after firefighters were alerted to the situation in July.
Crews attended the building on 12th Street South on July 18, and arrived to find a resident attempting to put out a fire in one of the units with a garden hose.
In his monthly update to council, fire Chief Craig Williams said the fire was caused by a cellphone that malfunctioned while it was being charged. The resident who was trying to put out the fire was treated for smoke inhalation, and first- and second-degree burns on their hands.
The fire was contained to the one unit, though units above it had some smoke damage.
A further inspection of the entire building by firefighters led to the owner being charged with failing to install or maintain smoke alarms, a citation that carries a $360 fine for each charge if the person charged pays the fine rather than goes to court.
Should a charge go to court, Williams said, a conviction carries a fine of $50,000 per charge, and a year in jail.
“It serves as a reminder that landlords are responsible to provide working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms,” he said.
In an interview with Simcoe.com, Williams said an alarm system in the building that uses heat detectors did go off to alert the residents to evacuate.
“However, in that complex, there are also standalone smoke alarms in each individual unit, and what we found was those standalone smoke alarms were either missing or they weren’t working,” he said.
We started our association to educate small landlords to be the landlords we always wanted to find and rent from.
Time To Make Sure Your Rentals Are Fire-Safe (and the smoke detectors are working!)
Take action NOW!
Make sure you give proper notice to your tenants and create the safe and comfortable rentals that we always wanted to find.
OLA Members Will Make Our Rentals Safe and Secure To Improve The Rental Industry!
Our Members Will Become the Landlords We Always Wanted To Rent From!
