Renters and wood heat

I am not sure. I worked with a guy that rented a house and it had a wood stove and so the owner took the doors off so the guy could not burn wood in it. When I asked why the guy would do that the renter said because "it was against the law in Maine for a landowner to rent a place out that was heated with wood." I have heard that other times as well, but it included "solid fuel".

With the amount of liability and liberal laws we have here, I am sure it is true. The laws against landlord's is pretty involved...

But I know this is NOT the case in New Hampshire because Katie rented an apartment heated with wood: and she had (2) young kids at the time.

 

Yeah that is the one! And I don't think there was a woodstove involved.

I know when I became a foster parent and the Fire Marshall's Office came and inspected my home, my windows did not meet requirements for size because they were 3x4 foot double hung windows...it was the sash in the center of the window that disqualified them. But he told me he was passing me because the window requirement was stupid; it was not so that people could get out, but sized so that firefighters could get in with their breathing apparatus on. And then he said, "of course they will just take an axe and knock that out anyway if they need to enter so the rule is stupid", and hence I passed.

So I feel for some of the rules Landlord's have to go by. Add in laws today that make evicting non-payers and damage prone tenants, and it does not seem like a good deal to me. As my attorney told me: "The laws are against the Landlord".

 

Geeze I think just taking the doors off is asking for more trouble!

I've heard it too, that's why I checked.

 

Wood stoves, combined with inexperience wood burners, can increase liability. I would not let tenants use the wood stove.

I've been a landlord for more than a decade with four homes, have a lot of experience in other areas of real estate, and have had many conversations with landlord attorneys. All my actions are based on the CYA concept....Cover Your A$$. My rentals are in Portland Oregon and we have some of the strictest landlord laws in the country. Laws are always changing to further benefit the tenant, especially here. Here tenants are viewed as the poor, helpless victims while the landlords are the greedy, money-hungry slumlords. There are a lot of tenant attorneys and are always poised to go after a landlord... they are in the same category as ambulance-chasing attorneys.

Let me start by saying I have great relationships with all my tenants. I treat them with respect, give privacy, provide prompt repairs, minimal rent increases, and haven't had a vacancy in three years. HOWEVER, most tenants are great until something occurs that doesn't benefit them. The best and simplest example is when a tenant moves out and damage has occurred in your home and you withhold some of their deposit. No matter how little it is, they always call and argue to get their money back and will sometimes threaten a lawsuit (which is why I always take before and after photos and never go after damages without evidence). I've never been sued but treat every tenant as if they might be the first to do so.

Long story short...if you give your tenant permission to use the wood stove, you could find yourself liable if any damages or injuries that occur due to it's use. If you provide the wood for them, you are inviting more liability. For example, if a chimney fire occurred, an attorney could argue you encouraged them to use the wood stove despite their inexperience. If you provided the wood, they would argue it wasn't seasoned properly which caused the fire. If you swept the chimney, they would argue you didn't have proper training, did it wrong, and contributed to the fire. Not worth the risk. It's kind of like giving your car keys to an unlicensed driver, providing the nitros, and adjusting the brakes yourself.

I would make it clear in the rental lease that the wood stove is not to be used (Cover Your A$$). However, if the tenants were experience wood burners, I would probably turn a blind-eye to them if they chose to burn wood despite the lease violation. I would let them use the wood stove but pretend I didn't know it was occurring...keep the liability on them. I would NEVER provide the wood for them. It would be wise to hire a licensed chimney sweep in the off season to prove it's in good, working order to further protect yourself....call it an inspection, followed by a friendly reminder in writing (email) that the wood stove isn't to be used, once again removing the liability from you.

With or without a wood stove, in my opinion all landlords should place the rental in an LLC or similar corporation and have umbrella insurance. These are small prices to pay to protect your personal assets and will let you sleep better at night.

 

Thanks for typing all that out, appreciate it.

 

I have a rental house with a wood stove and don't mind it being used. The house is fully insured. It is located in a small rural town where most people have enough good sense and experience to heat with wood. If I lived in the Seattle area I would have 2nd thoughts.

 

Lake Pemaquid Campground in Maine has several summer cottage rentals. They are rustic buildings with a bath, loft and a bedroom. the open areas all have a wood stove for heat. These are provided to renters for weekly or weekend use. They will sell you wood at the campstore.

 

I stayed in a rental condo at a ski area with a wood stove. Some of the folks there were friends of mine, others I barely knew. Wasn't my name on the rental, and was just crashing there for the one night, so fortunately I never touched the stove. Woke up in the morning, packed up my car and went to the ski hill. Went straight home from there. About a week later I get a call from the guy who rented the place, a guy I barely knew, and he's asking me a bunch of strange questions about the stove, how much wood I put in it, where I set it, etc. I'm like WTF are you even talking about?? Turns out the place burned down the next day and he was trying to find someone to pin it on. So glad I had decided to go straight home from the hill that day as apparently there was a big witch hunt to make someone financially responsible other than the owner.

I think there is too much that can go wrong with a wood stove if you don't have control over both the operation and maintainence of it. As a landlord, there is no way to control the operation. As a renter I wouldn't want to use a stove unless I knew for sure what sort of shape it was in.

 

You can burn wood in a stove without doors? It's basically a fireplace at that point

 

...just remembered, stayed at a place in Maine I think...long time ago...the room had a wood burning fireplace...if you wanted to use it then you had to pay an extra $30 or so for 'insurance'...but firewood was included at that price...did that money really go to an overnight insurance policy???

 

Hah! Wow. I’m gonna guess that it was something they called the insurance company night and day about it???sheesh. Well I guess if you wanted to burn you had to be responsible about it but if they had dry wood, they shouldn’t have to worry. How many bundles do you remember having ?

 

Maybe it is their own personal type insurance. You burn it down they won't bother you too much about it. Or maybe their insurance agent is a crook and charges them like another $150/ month for burning and their trying to collect that.

 

Haha. That’s like renting a car and crashing it. “Oh no worries we’ll get ya a new one, let’s get you to a hospital first and fix that booboo on your knee”

 

Hey Fat Boy...This happened way back when I was married...we were there for three nights and that was 3 fires...they actually had a person come in and set up the paper, kindling, and firewood. They did a great job and it only took me one match to get it all going. Inside my head I was cringing about paying the price, but on check out I learned that when you have a three night stay in a suite that the 'fire' was included...would have been nice to know that on the first night (no where in the brochure did they state that). Was an awesome fire place though.

 

Hey shack still it sounds like a good enough deal if you had a fire for each 3 nights. If I remember correctly that whatever you burn in a wood stove likely double or triple that amount of wood in a fireplace and with wood being pretty costly now...that likely had to have been worth it.

 

It's easy double. When I tried to heat my stove room before the insert with just fireplace I had to chuck the wood to it , and it barely heated in front of the fireplace. Now that same amount of wood can almost heat the whole house for 12 hours or more that I would burn in 6

 

Yeah I brought wood over to my parents and they have a fireplace. So I had to compare maybe what looked like a full firebox size was. Keeping in mind that mostly softwoods are burned here too but I did have my fair share of some black locust and little bit of maple in the mix. Either way my dad really enjoyed it this time around.
I guess he stopped worrying about me building big fires in his place.
I asked to put on a large yule log split that was about 18 inches wide and 2 feet long. He said go for it. I think now that he realized I split a lot of the wood and quite prior to having fires, he felt less risk. Sure enough, that wood fire kept us warm on Xmas eve and Xmas night until I had left. Nobody was laughing about it. It pays dividends when it gets prepared years in advance.

 

I love a fire place...no way I would cut wood for it all the time. I will stick with my Fisher Baby Bear, it does everything I need and more! Love that little stove!

 

I would require the renters to show proof that they are active members of the FHC forum for a minimum of 6 months prior to allowing them to use a wood stove... just sayin'

Seriously, I am of the age where being cautious is very important (and we still had a chimmney fire). In my brief stay here I have gleaned some powerful and useful information that 'the average Joe' is not going to know. I am still learning and value the voices in this community.

Given that even the same model stove in two different buildings can have different burn characteristics it just (from a liability standpoint*) doesn't seem safe to allow renters to use the wood stove.

* as someone else inferred it is the reality of our world that personal accountability for an individuals actions has gone to the wayside - oh wait, the Wayside's are disappearing also

 

I'd have an issue with it mainly because I was a 'landlord' for a short amount of time while my sister and her "man" were in the trailer on our property.

Now, I can attest that the "man" ran my 4-wheeler into a tree stump (bent front frame slightly) and would not 'fess up to it, he drove his harley in the WET yard, and tore it up while complaining about the mud, decided to 'clean' out the fuel oil tank and putting it on it's side.. the furnace still does not work properly even after a filter and all new lines were installed, and most recently he borrowed our ATV trailer that is rated for 800-1000lbs max, and then proceeded to have 1 TON of wood pellets put on the trailer. I asked about this.. he said he had a couple of "pallets" on there and it was only bent a little. Well the tongue on that trailer is at about a 35° angle. I only recently found out the truth when my sister made a mistake and let it slip out what he'd done.

NO WAY IN HE** will I ever rent to anyone EVER again, and unless said renter (that does not exist) could exhibit basic mental skills, there is NO WAY IN HE** that I would let them run a woodstove in any property I own.

I'd rather burn the place to the ground myself than to be responsible for some other dumba$$ doing it.

Chaz