When preparing for a safety inspection, there are some simple things that you can do to prepare. First of those being ensuring that you have the proper amount of smoke detectors. A smoke detector should be in every living room and bedroom on new builds. Some older homes have smoke detectors within 5 feet of the bedroom doors, and that is sufficient as well. Another item that a homeowner can attend to is to make sure that all egress windows are operable. For example, each bedroom needs to have an operable window large enough for someone to get out of in case of a fire. Commonly as inspectors, we see these windows are painted shut and, as a result, are inoperable and will not meet the standards of egress.

As far as the decks go, the most common item we see is that the hot tub is not properly supported on a deck. Due to the weight, hot tubs require additional supports to ensure the safety of the deck. We also often see decks that do not have lag bolts or ledger boards. A qualified contractor can come out and evaluate your decks prior to you safety inspection. This way, you are already a step ahead of being able to get your short term rental in the market!