Q: What are safety-related window screen requirements for rental homes?
Most of the windows in the one-story home I recently rented out do not have screens. The tenants have asked to have screens installed so that their pets don't escape. When I declined the request today, the rental management company told me that I need to have screens installed in all of the windows, in case someone falls out (and falls a few feet to the ground outside). There are no children living in the home. It seems odd to me that a pet-related request became an accident liability issue, two months into the lease. Do I have an obligation to install screens now, if the house didn't come with them and I've never agreed to install any?
A: I know of no legal requirements for a landlord to provide window screens, especially if on a single story. Your insurance company might want it (though how much protection from falling does a screen actually provide?) and in the interests of protecting yourself, with the new lease paperwork you may wish to include a notice (at least one or more Multifamily Northwest forms includes such notice/warning to tenants) warning tenants to keep a watch on children and anyone who might fall from the window. But keeping a pet inside while having a window open far enough for them to escape is the tenant's problem, not the landlord's. If it was important to them, they should have either rented elsewhere or, at a minimum, raised the issue with the landlord prior to signing a lease. Their failure to do their due diligence does not translate into the landlord's expense and problem.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
