Are Frozen Pipes a Tenant’s Responsibility?
Pretty in a cave – not so pretty in your living room!
Severely cold weather can cause frozen and burst pipes. Even though you may not own your home and may be renting, it pays to be proactive in high-alert temperatures. While you may assume preventative measures are being taken to secure your home and contents, a drastic change in temperatures may catch everyone by surprise. A burst pipe can cause havoc by flooding your home. Personal items can be destroyed and clean up in cold weather is a nightmare not to mention that a claim could cause your insurance premiums to increase. Being an active participant in assisting your landlord/property manager can be a win-win for both of you.
Take steps to insure your home and personal things stay secured and safe from the cold weather burst-pipe threats. Stay informed by signing up for weather alerts. There are many resources for “being in the know” like NWA.com Homepage . In addition, there are important steps that will keep you ahead of the danger of frozen and burst pipes. Consumer Reports published this article, How to Prevent Your Pipes From Freezing with these helpful guidelines and an informative video.
- Keep garage doors closed
- Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors
- Let the cold water drip from a faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe—even at a trickle—helps prevent pipes from freezing
- Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature during day and night.
Here a few more great tips from a Family Handyman article on frozen pipe prevention.
- Set up fans to blow heat into cold rooms.
- Disconnect garden hoses from outdoor faucets. Even “frostproof” faucets can burst if a hose is connected.
If the worst happens and you do have an unfortunate incident of a burst pipe, there are steps you can take to help thaw them and contain the damage until your landlord/property management can get it repaired. Here are procedures and great advice from an article by the American Red Cross to assist with that. The most important thing to know is to communicate with your landlord/property management’s policies and procedures before arctic weather actually arrives. Some of the responsibility could be yours as a tenant so read your lease carefully and listen to updates and information that are distributed to make sure you and your property stay safe, sound and warm!
Summit Property Manage of NWA is a privately owned and operated company specializing in premier rental properties. Visit our website to see our available homes.
* Photo: via Kompareit.com
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