Health and Safety Inspections

House operations managers conduct visual inspections. Staff will not search in drawers, closets, or through personal belongings, nor will they touch your belongings unless there is a serious safety concern present (e.g., confiscation of open-flame items). Your house operations manager will provide advanced notification of the timeframe for inspections on your floor, wing, or section of the building. Inspectors will lock all of the doors of the rooms they inspect, so make sure you have your room key.
 

If you have an ESA, please make sure you are following the ESA policy and that the animal is placed in their crate during the inspection time frame. There will be no private scheduling of inspections, so occupants with an ESA will need to plan accordingly using the timespan that your house operations manager shares with you. 

During the inspection, MIT staff will enter your room and check for:

• Unauthorized electrical appliances present in the bedroom (including toaster ovens, microwaves, hot plates, coffee makers, instapots/crockpots, and other appliances with open-coiled/exposed heating elements and/or non-UL listed. These items are allowed in a private/semi-private kitchen only within the suite/apartment.
• Electrical receptacle(s) overloaded (max 3 devices per wall outlet) and/or damaged or daisy-chained power strip(s)
• Refrigerator plugged into an extension cord (must be plugged directly into the wall outlet)
• Electric appliances and cords too close to the sink or stove heating elements
• Personal Wheels (PWs) not registered and/or left plugged in and charging unattended
• Flammable, combustible, toxic, or hazardous materials present in the room
• Candles, incense, or other open-flame item present in the room (these items will be confiscated by the inspector)
• Excessive combustible material covering walls, floor, ceiling, and door (no more than 40 inches by 40 inches per wall and no more than one-third of the doors may be covered with combustible decorative materials)
• Fire protection equipment is obstructed/tampered/damaged (including fire extinguishers, smoke and heat detectors, fire alarm horns and lights, fire sprinkler heads and pipes, with a minimum clearance of 18 inches around sprinkler heads)
• Furniture or combustible material placed in direct contact with heating elements or electronics
• Combustibles are present around the stove and/or in the oven (such as potholders, drapes, food packaging)
• Evidence of smoking
• Obstructed egress (the evacuation path inside the building must be clear with no obstructions)
• Room number covered/tampered/modified (must be visible for emergency services to properly identify and respond to emergency calls)
• Excessive trash debris and/or improperly sealed food
• Evidence of unauthorized pets (this excludes ESAs and service animals)
   

If a violation is found, you will find a form left in your room that explains the violation, the next steps needed to correct it, and a date range for the re-inspection. Residents are required to correct noted violations and are given the opportunity to do so, after which time the room may be re-inspected. If, in the course of a health and safety inspection, violations of any other Institute policies are observed, they will be documented on the inspection form for review and appropriate action.