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fireplace question

zrichsoon

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Sep 18, 2007
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If a fireplace is in a property as primary Or secondary heat... who should be responsible for getting the chimney swept?? Is that a Landlord or tenant expense?
 
QUOTE (zrichsoon @ Sep 19 2007, 09:29 PM) If a fireplace is in a property as primary Or secondary heat... who should be responsible for getting the chimney swept?? Is that a Landlord or tenant expense?


How much insurance do you have for the property? If you have so much insurance it doesn`t matter if the property burns down then you could leave it up to the tenant. On the other hand if you wish to ensure you keep the property up and running for many years you may want to take care of the expense yourself.

Getting the chimney cleaned regularly will be a very minor cost in the big picture.

Regards,
 
QUOTE (Bill @ Sep 20 2007, 01:58 AM) How much insurance do you have for the property? If you have so much insurance it doesn`t matter if the property burns down then you could leave it up to the tenant. On the other hand if you wish to ensure you keep the property up and running for many years you may want to take care of the expense yourself.

Getting the chimney cleaned regularly will be a very minor cost in the big picture.

Regards,


I would agree but for us, it`s about risk and liability. I am not comfortable with my tenants lighting fires in my properties in the winter months. I know from personal experience of fire places that embers fly out some times. In addition, there is a training liability issue we have to deal with and well... just something I am not interested in risking. We cap them all.

With that said, in a competitive market, a fire place might be a nice feature for marketing.

Hope this helps.
 
Just going on common sense here and I could be wrong!

If there is a problem with the ability to heat the home/apartment it would be the Landlords responsibility regardless if it is electic, gas, boiler or fireplace.

If a fireplace is required for heating the Landlord would be responsible to ensure the fireplace was in good repair; otherwise the tenants would be able to with-hold funds or break the lease.

On a personal note: if a landlord told me I was responsible to annually clean the chimney I would run not walk away from the place. No one wants a Landlord who will not adequately maintain the property and local governments have laws in place to protect Tenants.

If the fireplace isn`t required to heat a room and you don`t want the expense of cleaning it, you`d do best to cap it to prevent hazardous situations and potential lawsuits as a result of an accident.

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Could you put a gas insert in? They require less maintenance, are cleaner, more convenient, safer and you will reduce the chance of ants or termites moving in.
 
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