If you own Logan single-family rental properties, you might be pondering whether to allow tenants to have grills. Grills present a significant risk of fire damage and injury and can produce tricky grease messes, so you may not want to allow them on the property. The tenant’s ability to enjoy living in your rental property should be taken into consideration when weighing these risks. A tenant who disregards your requests out of frustration and brings a grill onto the property anyway can be a problem if you forbid grills. It’s important to assess the pros and cons of allowing grills for your tenants before making a decision.
Grills and smokers are used a lot in American culture. About seven out of ten own one in the U.S. Unfortunately, according to the National Fire Protection Association, grills cause an average of 10,600 home fires per year. Moreover, grill-related injuries send nearly 20,000 patients to the emergency room each year. A large number of these fires and injuries are caused by gas or propane grills, which are the most popular grills on the market. Clearly, there are compelling reasons to forbid grills on your property just based on the risk of injury or fire.
The potential for grills to create a mess is another disadvantage of allowing them. All grills can leave greasy messes on a deck or patio, and charcoal grills produce ashes. If your tenant does not know how to responsibly dispose of ashes and clean their grill with the proper cleaners, they might cause property damage. Many surfaces have a hard time being cleaned of grease, and ashes that have been left outside in the wind can coat the outside of the house. Both of the messes are hard to clean up. In addition, the heat from a grill can melt vinyl siding, scorch wooden decks or railings, and cause additional damage. You might think it’s best to tell your tenant they can’t have a grill on the property because it can be difficult to predict whether they’ll use it responsibly and take care of it well.
Nevertheless, allowing your tenants to have a grill has some benefits. The main advantage of allowing grills is that it will increase tenant satisfaction and foster positive tenant relations. Given the widespread popularity of grills, allowing your tenant to have one may encourage them to stay in your rental home longer, since tenants want to feel at home in their rental, and allowing them to have one may help.
When Logan property managers permit tenants to have a grill, it may also help avoid lease violations. Even if you tell your tenant they cannot have a grill, there is a high likelihood that they will bring one onto the property and then try to hide it. Rather, you may want to consider allowing a grill with some sensible precautions. Compared to other grill types, electric grills are safer and less likely to cause structural fires. This is due to the lack of open flames in electric grills. Although it may not be your tenant’s first choice, allowing them to have an electric grill may help you maintain good relations with them while avoiding the greater dangers posed by gas and charcoal grills. You may also want to include information on the correct maintenance and cleaning of their grill. Ultimately, you might discover that reaching a satisfactory agreement regarding the grills is better for you and your tenant in the long run, especially if it means they’ll be more likely to abide by the terms of their lease.
Whether you should allow your tenants to have a grill ultimately depends on your rental property, your preferences, and the circumstances. However, regardless of your decision, it is essential to establish good communication with your tenant, include clear language in the lease, and respond to your tenant’s requests promptly and professionally.
Would you like to know more about maintaining a successful Logan rental property and good tenant relations at the same time? Contact us online today or call us directly at 435-753-5200!
Originally published: March 12, 2021
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