Having safety protocols is essential to ensuring tenant safety. As a property manager, it is your job to come up with evacuation procedures and plans and deliver them to tenants in an easy, accessible way. This way, both property managers and tenants can be prepared in the event of flood damage, fire damage, and other circumstances. Paul Davis Restoration of North Dallas is a restoration company that specializes in both residential and commercial services, like residential water damage restoration. Here, we discuss what property managers can do to better inform their tenants of their property management emergency plan.
Highlight the Importance of Renters Insurance
Tenants who have renters insurance are protected in case of a disaster, like fire or flood damage. Renters insurance is a type of insurance that pays for damages to belongings. It’s designed to cover the tenant’s valuables if water damage, natural disasters, or other circumstances affect their home. This can include items like:
- Appliances
- Clothes
- Electronics
- Furniture
- Jewelry
In addition, having renters insurance can cover the costs associated with having to find other living accommodations, if a space is severely impacted by a disaster. For example, it can pay for hotel bills or fund the rental of another property until the building becomes habitable again.
Encouraging tenants to have renters insurance allows them to be prepared if something drastic occurs. Property managers and landlords may incentivize having renters insurance by giving discounts on rent. In turn, this keeps tenants protected and makes things easier for property managers and landlords if an emergency impacts their space.
Provide Emergency Phone Numbers
Emergencies can occur at any time, including outside of office hours. That’s why it can be a good idea to ensure tenants have a variety of phone numbers to call in case of an emergency, like flood damage. For starters, property managers should include a phone number that they can be reached at during all hours of the day. It can also be beneficial to include other emergency numbers, such as those for local fire departments, medics, police, and other emergency services. These emergency phone numbers can be displayed beside evacuation procedures in hallways and other common areas to make information accessible to tenants. Here, you can also provide phone numbers for non-emergency situations like power outages.
Have Accessible Evacuation Plans
Landlords and property managers should always make sure to have sufficient and easily accessible exits on their property. This ensures tenants can safely leave the premises if fire damage or other event occurs that requires evacuation. As a property manager, you should also implement an evacuation plan in your buildings. By doing so, you can protect tenants by teaching them how to leave safely and in an organized manner.
While creating a property management emergency plan is one step in ensuring tenant safety, the next involves educating tenants on proper evacuation protocols. Property managers can do this in one of many ways. For example, they can email a detailed diagram and explanation on how to safely evacuate the building, which exits are closest to them, and what protocols they follow for safety. In addition, putting up emergency exit plans in hallways, shared common spaces, and other areas throughout the building can make evacuation plans accessible and easy to reference.
Complete Evacuation Drills
After organizing your evacuation plan, one of the best ways to ensure tenants are aware of this plan is by organizing annual evacuation drills. Evacuation drills not only make sure that your evacuation plan runs smoothly, but it also allows tenants to become comfortable with and understand how to safely exit the building. It can also play a role in keeping tenants comfortable if a real emergency occurs, as they know exactly what to do. This allows tenants to exit safely without panic because they are already familiar with the evacuation plan. Conducting these drills annually can give new tenants the chance to learn the evacuation procedures, and it can reinforce protocols for existing tenants.
Dealing with the Aftermath of Disaster
When disaster strikes, it can become overwhelming to deal with. Luckily, Paul Davis Restoration of North Dallas provides easy, efficient, and communicative residential flood restoration and other services. For those with the right property management emergency plan, you can minimize the damages of many disasters. Located in Carrollton, we deliver residential storm damage restoration to those across North Dallas and the surrounding areas. To learn more about what we offer, contact us today.
