Landlord to blame in carbon monoxide deaths?

Here in Toledo, Ohio, our community suffered a great and needless tragedy this past week when four innocent lives were lost due to carbon monoxide poisoning in their rented home.

If you read the Toledo Blade story linked above, you'll find out that the family of four had recently moved into the rental home, and that the current landlord has owned the property himself only a short time. You'll also find out that the home had no water, electric or gas utility services, and that the landlord supplied the family with a gas-powered generator only hours before that same generator running indoors emitted toxic carbon monoxide fumes so powerful that they killed the entire family as they slept.

It turns out that the utilities were turned off before this particular landlord owned the property -- the electric, when a former tenant moved out; and the gas, at the request of a tenant, possibly due to an inability to pay a $200 bill balance. I've not seen any information about the property's water service.

Is the landlord culpable in these four tragic deaths?

I'm going to say yes, he is.

Any health department inspector would've found the property to be unfit for habitation. No water, no heat. As a landlord, you ought not rent out any property that's not fit for habitation. I'm sure this guy, the current landlord, wasn't thrilled to find out that at least one utility bill needed to be paid before service could be restored to the address, but that's one of those things you suck up and deal with when you're an investment property owner.

Expect a lawsuit to be filed by surviving family members, if not formal charges levied by authorities, in this case.


*

A new Renter's Repair Guide for newbie tenants: What to do when the power goes out in your apartment

When the power goes out in your apartment, there's a good chance that you've simply overloaded a circuit and tripped a breaker. Most experienced apartment dwellers have probably come up against this room-darkening, appliance-quieting nuisance a time or two before, and they know exactly how to locate their circuit breaker panels and flip a tripped breaker back on.

But if you've never done it, it can be a little intimidating. Even worse: You know it's supposed to be easy, so you might feel a little silly asking for help.

So I've written a new Renter's Repair Guide how-to especially for newbie tenants. "Help! My Power Went Out" features step-by-step guidance on fixing an isolated electrical outage for those who have never done it before.

It also includes tips on how to decide if your power outage really is something you can handle or if you'll need to call your apartment manager and schedule maintenance to come take a look.

Good luck! Follow the link above to my latest Renter's Repair Guide and I promise you'll do fine.




*