Tenants and fumigation

[rudini]

Hello,

I'm a landlord/owner of a six unit dwelling in southern Florida, and my situation is:
We are putting up a termite fumigation tent (most likely with Truly Nolen), and as owners, if anything is stolen while the tent is up, can we be held liable for it? Should we hire a security firm for the couple of nights to watch the property?

Thank you in advance

 

[army judge]

Hello,

I'm a landlord/owner of a six unit dwelling in southern Florida, and my situation is:
We are putting up a termite fumigation tent (most likely with Truly Nolen), and as owners, if anything is stolen while the tent is up, can we be held liable for it? Should we hire a security firm for the couple of nights to watch the property?

Thank you in advance

You might not be liable, eventually, but you could be subjected to a prolonged legal battle.
And, no matter what you do, there is always that ONE person.
Let's hope you don't have that ONE person.
The legal battle alone, could be very expensive.

I suggest you advise the tenants to remove valuable and sentimental items during the fumigation process.
They should take Aunt Hilda's valuable gold Rolex, stock certificates, jewelry, cash, and any other item of obvious value with them.

You could arrange for a secure storage facility for a week, for some of their hard to secure items (as a courtesy).
Your people (or YOU), would arrange a time for your tenants to drop off their items.
YOU keep the key.
Then, YOU could arrange a time for them to retrieve their items.

Most of all, advise them over and over, to take their valuables with them.
Or, take advantage of your storage shed offer for some items.
You might arrange with a local storage facility for your tenants to rent for a week at a low cost themselves.

Whatever you do, be nice to your tenants.
The nicer you treat people, the less likely they are to sue you!
You sound like a smart, forward thinking landlord.
I'm sure you'll do just fine.

And, your idea about a security firm is also very smart.
It shows you're trying to do what's right.
I'd go ahead and hire an agency for a couple for days.
Maybe your fumigator would be willing to split some of the costs with you?
It protects his stuff, too!
If things go wrong, you did the best you could to prevent problems.
An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure!