Autumn brings brightly colored trees and piles of fallen leaves. These fallen leaves raise the question of what to do with them when they have been raked up. A particular popular disposal method is to burn the unwanted leaves. But as a Bartlett rental property owner, should you allow your tenants to burn their leaves? While burning the leaves will help dispose of them quickly and aptly, it can indeed be a dangerous task to authorize your tenants to pull off. Through supporting your tenant to comprehend safe and proper leaf disposal, you can better shelter them and your property from havoc.
All and any tiny bit of open flame carries a certain amount of risk. Nonetheless, countless property owners seem to think that they can minimize the risks by following certain safety precautions. By way of illustration, property owners who are endeavoring to burn fallen leaves generally conduct it on a clear patch of dirt with no overhanging branches or power lines. They will additionally decide on a day that falls within a permitted burn timeline set by local governmental agencies, when winds are calm, and keep a garden hose on hand in case the flames get out of control.
But even these protective measures can provoke property damage if the fire gets out of control. In dry conditions, even the least amount of wind can carry sparks into dry foliage, sparking dry grasses and other materials that are often abundant during the fall. Open flames can perhaps likewise burn your tenant, pets, or others who are randomly in close proximity should the fire go above and beyond your property boundaries. In situations where injury or property destruction does happen, as the property owner, you would be held liable for medical costs, legal fees, and other related expenses. Right after combining that with the expense of the renovation you’ll need to make on your own rental house, the possible added expenses put together a risk that should strongly discourage you from permitting leaf burning as a disposal method.
Despite the fact that the risks alone provide a compelling reason, there are some other aspects that render a lot of compelling reasons to ban leaf burning on your rental property. By way of illustration, the smoke from burning leaves perhaps produces toxic gases that can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, and even trigger respiratory distress in individuals with asthma or other conditions. Burning leaves is also bad for the environment, releasing those same toxic gases into the atmosphere that have been revealed to have a bad influence on both local and global ecosystems. Perceiving the drawbacks of burning leaves, some local governments have banned leaf burning outright. Others may support it, nonetheless limit it to certain months, designated locations, or to a certain size. Violating these municipal restrictions can result in fines and other legal consequences.
When burning leaves is a bad idea, you need to find other safer ways to dispose of those fallen leaves. Many property owners surely reduce the number of fallen leaves they need to rake by shredding them with a mulching lawnmower instead. This practice may help manage the number of leaves that have to be removed by turning it into fertilizer for your lawn instead. If your property is big enough, you could as well think about composting your fallen leaves in an unused corner further away from the house. You, furthermore, can hire a clean-up crew to come up and haul your fallen leaves away, which is a productive option but will incur added costs.
Heedless of how it gets completed, it is relevant to check that the fallen leaves on your Bartlett rental property are being raked up and properly disposed of. Casting them aside all over the ground may provoke safety issues while attracting pests and killing your landscape. Nonetheless, leaf disposal must also be performed in a certain manner that does not create additional liability.
At Real Property Management Investors’ Choice, we can take on many of the more time-wasting functions – including leaf disposal – freeing you up to focus your energies on some other details of your real estate investing business. To understand more with regards to what we can do for you, contact us online or call 615-810-9578 today.
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