Safety Issues Associated with Apartment Living

Apartment living can afford tenants many conveniences. Some perks of apartment living include on site fitness centers, and provided landscape maintenance. Life in an apartment complex can produce unique safety issues though, and it is good to be aware of these potential safety issues before choosing to live in an apartment.

Fire hazards – In a standalone house, the residents typically only need to be concerned with their own practices, and whether or not those practices pose any risk of starting a fire. However, since most apartment homes are connected to at least one other apartment. Some apartments share walls with up to six other apartments. This close proximity seriously increases the risk of fire damage to your apartment and danger to those who live inside. You have no control over whether or not your neighbors fall asleep while smoking, or leave children unattended who may play with fire (we once had teenage neighbors who set off fireworks inside their apartment when there were no adults home to supervise them).

Animal dangers – While most apartment complexes do implement some type of rules when it comes to the pets of tenants, there are times when tenants will ignore these rules. Management is not always of much assistance in these tenant pet situations. Even when tenants allow aggressive dogs to roam the property unleashed, management may not intervene because they do not want to lose tenants, or more accurately, their monthly rental payments. Unlike in a standalone house where you may have a fence that offers protection from the wandering pets of irresponsible owners, in an apartment you are unlikely to have the protection of fences, gates or other barriers.

Child safety – There are several aspects of apartment living which can create safety issues for tenants with children. Because play areas are common areas, children should not be left to play in these areas without adequate supervision. Clearly, in a standalone home with a fenced yard, children could play outdoors without constant parental supervision. However, the inability to control all of the variables in an apartment complex, leave unsupervised children at increased risk of harm. These variables include such as older children who may bully or harm younger kids, and child sex predators who live in the complex and who may or may not be registered offenders. Additionally, play structures in apartment playgrounds may not be broken or otherwise dangerous. Also, landscaping staff often spray dangerous chemicals on the lawns that child tenants run and play on, and tenants are not usually informed when this is done.