Chris Combs’ column below addresses a very confusing issue – who is responsible for the costs of putting up a pool barrier, the tenant or the landlord.
In the example Chris uses below, it seems that if the landlord had told the the prospective tenant that the tenant would have to pay for any required pool barriers, then the tenant would have had to pay for the barriers.
However, since the landlord didn’t inform the tenant about the cost, the landlord may have to pay for the pool barrier.
If a landlord has never had tenants with children before, he may not have pool barriers.
A landlord, of course, can not discriminate against tenants with children. He can’t say, “I’m sorry we don’t have pool barriers so we can’t rent to you since you have small children.”
If a new tenant with children plans to move in and triggers the pool safety requirements, somebody’s gotta pay for the pool barriers.
Who pays? Well… it depends. Just be aware it’s a super complex issue.