With the 2020 hurricane season squarely upon us, most homeowners and tenants alike are concerned about making preparations and staying safe. One of the most common methods for keeping windows and doors in-tact is the installation of hurricane shutters.
These shutters – which are typically affixed to the outside of a structure – are used for preventing broken glass due to heavy winds and flying objects during violent storms. In some cases, hurricane shutters are motorized, and can easily fold away when they’re not in use.
But these preventive measures can also be somewhat costly – ranging anywhere from $2,300 to $7,900 to cover an average sized home. So, if you are the owner of residential rental property, who is responsible for installing hurricane shutters – you or your tenants?
The answer – not the property owner OR the tenant.
In fact, there is nothing in Florida law that requires landlords to protect their properties – or their tenants – in the event of a hurricane. In some rare cases, a residential lease agreement may include a provision regarding who is responsible for boarding up the windows and/or making other provisions.
Yet, while hurricane shutters can be somewhat pricey, they could end up saving money in the event that your property ends up with one or more broken windows to repair or replace, as well as any of the additional harm that could occur – such as wet walls and flooring – if the structure takes on interior water or wind damage.
If preparing your rental property(ies) for another hurricane season will take up a large block of time that you don’t have, turning over these – and other – duties to a property manager could be a good solution.
For more details on how an experienced and reputable Central Florida property management team could be right for you, give us a call.