Tenants have certain protections under the law. Landlords typically cannot evict them without prior notice and reasonable justification. Tenants also have the right to expect their landlords to maintain their residences in safe, habitable conditions.
When landlords cut corners regarding property maintenance, tenants may end up suffering as a result. In some cases, tenants at a rental property could end up sickened due to carbon monoxide exposure. They may require hospitalization and emergency alternative housing after exposure to a carbon monoxide leak.
In scenarios where landlords contributed to the carbon monoxide poisoning through inadequate facility maintenance or regulatory noncompliance, tenants may have grounds to take legal action.
Landlords should install carbon monoxide detectors
Many tenants understand that landlords should have smoke detectors in every rental unit. Fewer tenants understand that the law also requires carbon monoxide detectors. There should be carbon monoxide detectors on every floor. There should also be units within 15 feet of every bedroom in the rental unit.
It is the landlord’s responsibility to install the carbon monoxide detectors initially. However, tenants may have a responsibility to check and replace the batteries in the detectors occasionally. Tenants who rent units without carbon monoxide detectors or with non-working units may end up sickened due to preventable carbon monoxide exposure.
Deferred maintenance also plays a role
When looking at the underlying cause of carbon monoxide poisoning, gas appliances and furnaces often contribute to risk levels. If landlords are proactive about maintaining and regularly inspecting appliances that could leak carbon monoxide, then they can prevent a scenario in which a dangerous level of this potentially toxic gas builds up in a residential unit.
The failure to maintain the facilities and to install carbon monoxide detectors may make a landlord liable for the illnesses developed by their tenants because of carbon monoxide exposure. Tenants may develop headaches or feel physically weak. As their exposure increases, they may experience dizziness, nausea, confusion, blurred vision and loss of consciousness.
Seeking compensation for medical expenses and lost wages can help people address unsafe property conditions and inappropriate landlord practices. Tenants sickened by carbon monoxide exposure in their rental homes may have rights under the law.