One typical holiday tradition is to hang Christmas lights. But if your renters ask you to allow them to put up Christmas lights on your Stockbridge rental house by themselves, should you agree? This question needs to be given deeper thought before saying yes. There are many things that could go wrong, that’s why there are very good reasons for discouraging your tenants from hanging their own Christmas lights on the roof or on trees. This does not mean your tenants will have to miss out on the festivities. You can still help your tenants decorate their homes while making sure they are safe.
One of the best reasons to ask your tenants not to install Christmas lights on their own is to avoid the risk of injury that comes with it. From 2007 to 2013, more than 173,000 people in the U.S. were injured by hanging Christmas decorations in their homes. Hanging Christmas lights on a home’s exterior can be very dangerous.
Every holiday season, an estimated 13,000 people injure themselves by falling off the roof or getting shocked by Christmas lights. If your roof tiles are loose or slippery, you could be held responsible for your tenant’s injuries. There is also the danger of electrical shock or overloading breakers. Even when your property’s roof is not the issue, you could still land yourself in an ugly legal battle.
Another good reason against allowing your tenants to hang Christmas lights by themselves is the potential damage to your rental property. Nails, screws, and other hardware are often used to secure strings of lights, garlands, and other Christmas decorations, which can leave ugly holes in walls, both interior, and exterior.
Creating even small holes in exterior surfaces could cause insects to take harbor in or water to seep into the walls of the home leading to possible damages that would entail repair costs. Although there are many ways to decorate a home without damaging the walls or exterior surfaces, your tenant may not know about this. They may mean well, but typically, renters are less cautious about damage than owners are.
A more prudent way would be to offer your tenant a safer way to enjoy Christmas lights on their home. This way you can safeguard both your tenant’s safety as well as your rental property. Hiring a professional to hang Christmas lights on the home for your tenant is a good option. Because of the liability insurance they carry, professionals are typically more efficient at their job than your tenant would be.
Another good thing about it is that these professional light installers usually include taking down the installed Christmas lights after the holidays in their service packages. Given all of these, paying someone to do your Christmas lights installation on your rental house doesn’t seem so bad at all.
You not only keep your tenant & property safe, but you also save them some precious time during the holidays, therefore building goodwill and improving your landlord-tenant relationship.
Be it installing Christmas lights or routine property maintenance, managing a rental property can keep you a bit busier during the holidays. Why not let Real Property Management Anchor do it for you? Our property management professionals have the resources and expertise you need to feel confident that your investment and your tenant are both safe and sound this holiday season. Would you like to learn more? Call us at 770-506-1237 or contact us online today!
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
