Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am renting an apartment which is on the 2nd floor. There is a church on the ground floor, the landlord lives above the church then I live on the floor above that. I finally paid my security deposit and turned over the rent checks, I noticed that there are no bars on the window and there is a fire escape that leads to my window. The landlord said by law she can not put bars on the window. What is the law?
I have looked into security bars, and the only ordinance I can find says the bars must have a quick release from the inside in case if fire..! Fire departments have tools to remove the bars in case of a fire, but the resident must be able to get out in a hurry. You wouldn't want to toast your twinkies because you couldn't get past your safety bars...!
Most building/fire codes require a means of egress to the outside from every bedroom in the house. i have removed the bars from my rental, they were very old and had a key lock to open from the inside. a very stupid idea.
In every place I've lived, all major cities, bars on windows on lower floors are pretty standard. Even in upper class neighborhoods. Cities draw too many nefarious persons who can too easily move about doing bad things. If they are painted the right color they disappear and you don't even notice them.
They should definitely have an inside latch mechanism allowing a tenant inside to get out, even if the municipal code doesn't require it. For your own safety.
In every place I've lived, all major cities, bars on windows on lower floors are pretty standard. Even in upper class neighborhoods. Cities draw too many nefarious persons who can too easily move about doing bad things. If they are painted the right color they disappear and you don't even notice them.
They should definitely have an inside latch mechanism allowing a tenant inside to get out, even if the municipal code doesn't require it. For your own safety.
Um, yeah. A burglar or even WORSE a killer or rapist can easily access an apartment through a fire escape. As we have seen from many publicized murders and abductions, a criminal will try to get a target no matter now “nice” the neighborhood is.
For fire safety reasons, many apartment buildings are required to have fire escapes on upper floors, leaving tenants vulnerable to attack. I lived in an “affluent” and “Safe” suburb, but security was one of my main reasons for buying a house.
Anyone could have come through my windows in the middle of the night (esp considering the cheap plastic locks on the windows) and the maintenance men had free range of the complex. Maybe I scare easily, but I did NOT like that.
As a landlord as well, I try to make sure my tenants are very safe, and all of my rear windows have bars on them. Because this can cause a fire hazard, the tenants provide their own locks and sign a waiver. I also have lights in the back of the building.
If your landlady will not provide bars (they are expensive) you can:
get a window alarm kit. There are wireless ones for $25 bucks. I have used them and they work. You just attach the sensors to the window with double-sided tape. If your landlord doesn’t like this, tough. Your safety is worth a couple hundred off your deposit.
Ask for Motion sensing lights – I suspect your landlady is cheap, so she may say this is “illegal’ too. But she can spend 150 or so and have a motion-sensing light installed outside your window. You can offer to pay and set up the appt. if needed.
Make sure the window has decent locks. Unless you get a really crazy person who is out to get you personally, a lock can add a lot of safety. A locksmith can install the proper locks on your rear-facing windows.
Don’t delay in doing this. Your safety is important, and I think you should have thought about this before you accepted the apartment. But I’m not your mom, so I won’t yell at you. At least get the wireless alarm kit from Amazon (I think Walmart also sells them.)
Remember, you accepted the apartment knowing these things were not in place, so I think that you may probably end up paying a couple of hundred to have the lights and locks installed yourself. If she won’t install window bars, you may be SOL there.
kinkytoes I didn't say there weren't other places were bars were needed. Simply that they were standard on windows that are easily reachable from the ground. I completely agree with everything you said, I just didn't feel the need to be verbose about it.
I wasn't angry, but I get riled up about security. There are lots of wackos out there. I hate seeing people, esp young women, who seem to be more vulnerable to crime in the OP's situation. I will take a chill pill. Actually you would be surprised how many landlords don't put bars on even the ground floor windows. Okay, I'm getting excited again...
I live in los angeles, and the all the windows on the apartment complex where I live have security bars? does anyone know if these security bars (which I think might be illegal) are grounds for breaking the rental agreement? I know that in some instances problems such as missing window screens, **** roach infestations etc etc can make a yearly agreement turn into a month to month agreement automatically. Does anyone know about this? thank you
I live in los angeles, and the all the windows on the apartment complex where I live have security bars? does anyone know if these security bars (which I think might be illegal) are grounds for breaking the rental agreement? I know that in some instances problems such as missing window screens, **** roach infestations etc etc can make a yearly agreement turn into a month to month agreement automatically. Does anyone know about this? thank you
I'm in California, although, I don't rent in Los Angeles...
Window screens are not required unless the rent is subsidized as in Section 8... and then, it is only one screened window or door per room.
Security Bars are allowed as long as each room used for sleeping has one security bar with an approved release... the release cannot require a key or combination and must open with one simple action.
Roach Infestation is a problem... here it is not automatically the landlords problem... especially in single family homes where the resident caused the problem... Harder to prove in multi-unit buildings.
Normally, you submit a written request and the owner is allowed a reasonable time to address the problem... just keep a log or copies of your request should a paper trail be needed later.
As always... you need to determine the laws in your specific jurisdiction...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.