Rent Your House Out - It better be Safe says Town of Bethany Beach

If you own rental property in Bethany Beach, get ready for a new town mandated safety checklist to protect your tenant's (even weekly summer visitor's) safety.

Bethany Beach Town Council members voted 5-1 at their Jan. 16 meeting to adopt the new safety checklist, which will be sent out to property owners each year as part of their rental license package from the town.  Owners will be required to certify that every itme on the checklist is complete and in working order beginning with the 2010 summer rental season.

The required items include:

1. battery-operated smoke detectors for each bedroom in the rental home;
2. deadbolt locks that do not require interior keys;
3. ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection on all outdoor electrical receptacles, bathroom receptacles, garage wall outlets, kitchen receptacles and all receptacles in crawl spaces;
4. a minimum of 4-inch-high exterior house numbers; and
5. secure window locks for all windows within 12 feet of grade and second-story windows accessible by fire escapes or stairs.

Rental property owners will be required in 2010 to submit a completed checklist with their license application. The checklist must be signed by the owner, to attest to the accuracy of the form, and notarized.

The town is offering the service of town staff to perform that notarization, free of charge at town hall. The notarization requirement was offered so the town could allow a "self-inspection" with the checklist instead of requiring a town employee to inspect for compliance in person.