What Is A Unit?
HUD Regulations do not define a unit. The dictionary definition of unit is:
“a self-contained section of accommodations in a larger building or group of buildings that may contain food preparation or sanitary facilities, or both.”
Without specifics in the regulations, the industry normally defines a single family residence as one unit. Some contractors report that they use the number of water heaters as the number of units and some contractors charge for extra “units” when the single family residence has more than two bathrooms.
Attractive Nuisance
Under the attractive nuisance doctrine of the law of torts, a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by a hazardous object or condition on the land that is likely to attract children who are unable to appreciate the risk posed by the object or condition. The doctrine has been applied to hold landowners liable for injuries caused by abandoned cars, piles of lumber or sand, trampolines, and swimming pools. However, it can be applied to virtually anything on the property of the landowner.
According to the Restatement of Torts standard, which is followed in many jurisdictions, there are five conditions that must be met for a land owner to be liable for tort damages to a child trespasser. The five conditions are:
- The place where the condition exists is one on which the possessor knows or has reason to know that children are likely to trespass, and
- The condition is one of which the possessor knows or has reason to know and which he realizes or should realize will involve an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm to such children,
- The children, because of their youth, do not discover the condition or realize the risk involved in inter-meddling with it or in coming within the area made dangerous by it
- The utility to the possessor of maintaining the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight as compared with the risk to children involved, and
- The possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger or otherwise to protect the children
Sump Pump
A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a sump pit. A sump pit, commonly found in the home basement, is simply a hole to collect water. The water may enter via the perimeter drains of a basement waterproofing system, funneling into the pit, or may arrive because of rain or because of natural ground water, if the basement is below the water table level.
In some cases, a sump pump is used when a lower floor is below the municipal sewer lines, to pump greywater or blackwater waste from that floor to the sewer lines.
Sump pumps are installed particularly where basement flooding is seen as a problem, but are also used to ameliorate dampness where the water table is normally above the foundation of a home. Sump pumps send water away from a house to any place where it no longer presents a problem, such as a municipal storm drain or a dry well. Older properties may have their sump pumps connected to the sanitary sewer, but this is frowned upon now (and may be against the plumbing code) because it can overwhelm the municipal sewage treatment system. Sump pumps are usually hardwired into a home’s electrical system, and may have a battery backup. Some even use the home’s pressurized water supply to power the pump, eliminating the need for electricity. Since a sump pit may overflow if not constantly pumped, a backup system is important for cases when the main power is out for prolonged periods of time.
There are generally two types of sump pumps: pedestal and submersible. The pedestal pump’s motor is mounted above the pit, where it is more easily serviced but also more conspicuous. The submersible pump is entirely mounted inside the pit, and is specially sealed to prevent electrical short circuits.