As has been mentioned, these appear to be being phased out by the manufacturers or the stores, for child safety reasons.

Do we have liability as landlords for still having these in the units? I had no plans to run out and replace all of mine.

I think next cabinets will not be allowed to have doors - kids ride them like a partial trip on the merry go round, then they fall off - I have seen it in person, perhaps preceded by removing indoor plumbing where kids watch doll hands flailing in the water just before going into the tiny round rubbish can - it produces about 8 minutes of laughter followed by days of agony from the kids as they try twisting the pipe and find other wet stinky stuff but not what they want. Imagine the ptsd the parents and kids will have...

I just had a friend advise me about this where he is from (apparently now it's illegal to have them in rentals). I don't know nor have I heard about this in NY yet (but I'm sure it's not far behind).

It's getting a bit crazy of the things that parents are just blaming landlords or other people for. Whatever happened to "watch your kids"?

People now are getting PAID to watch their own kids (well, ok - maybe a "family members kids") yet no one is still watching them. Now we, as landlords, need to kid proof OUR PROPERTIES because we are the ones that provide the housing?

I mean - I understand some but when will the responsibility truly lie on the person that did or didn't do what they were suppose to be doing?

They break the window - it's "our fault" that it's cracked or broken now - danger to the kid(s) or adults because they could now get hurt (yet, it wasn't broken until they broke it).

No battery in the smoke alarm? Why - it was there and operating. Falls on the landlord yet little Billie can play with his remote car/truck or Daddy can watch tv with the remote. Now we have 10 year non-removable batteries as a law in NYS. Well - all they are going to do now is remove the detector itself! Why?? Cuz when Momma cooks she make it go off and now we can't remove the battery so we'll just take the whole thing down and stuff it in a drawer or throw it out totally. Yeah, makes perfect sense.

I thought it was bad enough having to install these "anti tip brackets" under the ranges, LOL.

Oh yes, I forgot about those too (the brackets). Too much to even think about all. The first time I saw them I was like "what the heck are these things"?!

I guess a child could stand on the door while it's open and tip it over.

It says online that one child dies from blinds cord strangulation every two weeks in the US.

I don't remember hearing much about this issue in the past...but I can't remember if corded miniblinds were popular back in the '70s and '80s when I was growing up.

It says online that one child dies from blinds cord strangulation every two weeks in the US.

I don't remember hearing much about this issue in the past...but I can't remember if corded miniblinds were popular back in the '70s and '80s when I was growing up.

It is illegal to have them in rentals? But OK to have them in your own home?... hmm what does that say about "tenants" vs homeowners. (I won't even get into those that don't work and get assistance). Of course we can't discriminate against someone with kids.

There is always liability. Deep pockets get sued by those that can't take responsibility. It doesn't mean they will win the lawsuit, but there is always some lawyer willing to try. This is why we carry insurance, and I don't see my insurance policy saying anything about not covering blinds with cords.

Not illegal in NY as far as I know, but cjl said a friend somewhere else said they were illegal. Hence my ? after the statement.

Linda this is exactly how rumors get started.

WI house, the cords get tangled, making the loop.

I have always followed the instructions that come with the blinds, shortened the blinds to fit the window ( yes, I save the slats for later repairs. I enjoy putzy work, like to keep things out of landfills, ) moved the safety button to within one inch of the head rail, and shortened all of the cords to adult reach only. My understanding is the deaths that have occurred were either long cords left dangling way down, or, todller’s head got between slats of wooden blinds on cords.

I saw some photos of a house for rent just the other day in my city, cords dangling to the floor.

My understanding is one of the families whose toddler died was pushing the legislation. But, their child got stuck between slats of wooden blinds, not vinyl blinds, and that it was the wooden slats that hung the child. Vinyl slats might have given way and ripped, allowing the child to drop to floor. So, this change to remove the cords that are outside of the blinds does absolutely nothing to change that risk of getting stuck between wooden slats, unless there is a fabric cover over the slats to keep the kids’s head out. So, I’m thinking we may see more changes yet.

What about stairs? How many people fall down those a year WITH railings in place?