Hurricane Preparedness
Landlords with rental properties in areas that are at risk for hurricanes, flooding, and storm surges must take certain precautions to protect their properties and ensure tenant safety during storm season. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “The ability to quickly recover following a hurricane requires a focus on preparedness, advance planning, and knowing what to do in the event of a hurricane.”
While landlords with properties in at-risk areas may be used to dealing with hurricanes and flooding, some tenants may not be aware of the potential dangers from hurricanes and floods. Landlords can help protect the safety of their tenants and reduce damage to their properties by providing tenants with information to resources that address weather issues such as how to prepare for a hurricane, preparing an emergency kit, and tips for safe shelter during a storm. Basic information about evacuation routes, locations of emergency shelters, and property preparations in the event of a weather emergency should be discussed during tenant move-in and provided as a tenant hand-out for later reference during tenancy.
A landlord has a duty of care towards his tenants to be prepared to handle weather emergencies. Tenant safety and property protection should be the priority focus in developing emergency plans for shelter and supplies. Communication with tenants is important before and after a storm. Tenants should know what protections could be offered by sheltering in place, what should be done when the storm warning is issued, and what must be done for safety when the storm hits. Tenants should be advised that essential services to rental units such as power, water, and utilities, may be interrupted as a result of a storm. Tenants should be prepared with emergency kits and sufficient food and water supplies for a minimum of 72 hours as a precaution for outages or damages. If the tenant will have specific responsibilities under the lease agreement for safety measures and damage control – e.g., for a single-family home rental, the lease agreement should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of landlord and tenant.
Before the hurricane season arrives, a landlord should conduct a property inspection to identify repair or protective work that must be done. In simplest form, to hurricane proof the property, the landlord must be prepared to keep wind and water out, roof shingles secured, and any openings, cracks, or holes sealed against moisture.
As part of inspection and repairs a landlord should:
- Check the rental property for dead trees, damaged trees or large branches that could fall due to high winds.
- Clean the gutters and downspouts to allow water to drain properly. Making sure all gutters are clear from debris will help prevent water from pooling and causing roof leaks or other water damage issues.
- Check the roof for damage, leaks, or loose shingles. Install roof clips or hurricane straps to help keep the roof attached to the building structure.
- Consider installing permanent storm shutters for windows and doors.
- Consider purchasing a generator to power basic essentials if the power is out for a long period of time.
- Stockpile emergency protective materials such as plywood, sandbags, plastic sheeting for storm proofing or damage repairs.
There are critical tasks that should be done prior to the expected arrival of the storm:
- Board up windows and doors with plywood and/or close permanent storm shutters.
- Tape exposed glass to protect against breaking.
- Secure garage doors.
- Take in all outdoor furniture, umbrellas, garbage cans, or other loose objects that could be propelled into the air.
- Reduce the risk of damage from flooding by elevating critical utilities, such as electrical panels, switches, sockets, wiring, appliances and heating systems and place sandbags around the property’s perimeter, in front of the doors and entry points.
- Turn off propane tanks.
- Turn off the main gas valve.
There are some important tasks for both landlords and tenants to perform in order to proactively manage risk from natural disasters. They include routinely checking insurance coverages and updating an inventory of property and personal assets. Not only is adequate insurance coverage needed for protection of property and assets, a current inventory of assets can help determine the full amount of insurance coverage that is needed and support claims of losses.
Insurance Coverages
For landlords, adequate property insurance is a major property protection measure against risks. Identifying potential risks or determining under-insured areas are issues that can be addressed thorough insurance coverage review and strengthened with changes in coverage or additional policies. Insurance must be in place to be effective. It is too late to adjust coverage once an event is in progress. General insurance policies usually do not cover damage caused by hurricanes or flooding. Special policies for hurricane and flood insurance are needed for full coverage against weather disasters.
For tenants, renter insurance should have been purchased for personal property coverage against potential risks and/or as part of the landlord’s required terms and conditions as allowed by law. A tenant’s personal belongings are not generally covered by the landlord’s insurance.The tenant should review his renters insurance to determine coverages and exclusions. If there is no insurance in place the tenant will bear the costs for loss of possessions and could potentially incur liability for harm or damages to others caused by the tenant’s actions or inactions.
Inventory of Possessions
For landlords, a current inventory of property, fixtures, equipment, and other assets is needed for business purposes. In the event of a disaster, a detailed inventory can help in making insurance claims, applying for disaster aid, or substantiating business losses for tax purposes.
For tenants, a current inventory of personal possessions can help determine the amount of renter insurance coverage that should be purchased. The inventory should be detailed with the estimated financial value of the property. Receipts, photos, or video recording of personal property and valuables can be helpful in the event of making an insurance claim for damage or loss.
Important Documents
FEMA recommends that important documents such as copies of personal identification, insurance policies, bank account records, other financial documents, and any other type of document that could prove identity, ownership of assets, or restore account records lost or damaged by a weather event be kept in a waterproof container readily available to the individual. Original documents should always be safeguarded in a secured device preferably at an off-premise location or stored digitally through a trusted electronic service. It may be advisable to consider cash as important as certain documents to facilitate recovery after an event. Obviously precautions should be taken to secure all forms of documents.
General Purpose Information for Safety and Protections
- Always pay attention to storm alerts and warnings. Download a weather alert app to stay informed of the latest weather conditions and be prepared to evacuate as necessary.
- Keep cell phones charged in case the power goes out. It’s also a good idea to have fully charged rechargeable power sources for your important electronic devices.
- Create an emergency plan including evacuation routes and household communication protocols.
- Make a pet plan. Many emergency shelters do not allow pets. Make plans ahead of time on what to do with your pets if you are required to evacuate your residence.
- Create an emergency kit with supplies that may be needed for an extended period of time without power. The emergency kit can be used to shelter in place or function as a “grab and go bag” if evacuation to an emergency shelter becomes necessary.
- Vehicles should have full tanks of gas in the event evacuation is necessary.
- Make sure all pets are indoors.
- Close all windows and doors.
- Move all furniture away from exposed windows and doors.
- Fill bathtubs, sinks, washing machines, or other containers with water for emergency water supply and sanitation purposes.
- Set the refrigerator setting to the coldest setting to keep foods cold longer. Do not open refrigerator unless necessary.
- Move to a small, interior, windowless room in the center of the unit/building that is on the lowest level not subject to flooding.
It is important to be prepared to the extent of being over-prepared in order to protect personal safety and help mitigate damage to property. There are many online resources available from a variety of government and public service agencies, as well as from private companies, that can provide information on planning and preparation for weather emergencies.