NILES, Ohio (WKBN) — Winter in Northeast Ohio often brings cold, wet and frozen conditions that are here to stay. This weather makes it difficult to protect homes from damage.

Melvin Tenney, store manager at Handyman Supply in Niles, said now is the time to assess your home so it’s protected from the elements as winter continues.

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“Make sure all your shingles are on tight, make sure if you do have a leak, you have it sealed,” he said.

Tenney said all homeowners should have their furnace inspected, check any leaks and get your driveway sealed.

“Want to make sure your cracks are filled, driveway is sealed — with those new and old driveways, you want to use salt that isn’t damaging, which is calcium,” he said.

Spending more now to prepare your home for winter could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

“We’ve seen burst pipes each year account for thousands of dollars in insurance claims, per homeowner, that can be $5,000 or more,” said Sarah Dillingham with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Tenney said you should insulate those pipes to prevent cracking.

“You can do a foam insulation, or a wrap, even heat tape. Depending on your circumstances there is different levels of cost there,” he said.

Insulation materials are available at any local hardware store — and if you decide to do some holiday traveling, there’s a few things you can do ahead of time so you don’t return from your Christmas celebration to a disaster.

“Make sure that you don’t set your thermostat too low while you’re gone, you want to make sure it is set no lower than 55 degrees to ensure those pipes around your home are kept warmer,” Dillingham said.

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) – San Francisco supervisor Rafael Mandelman proposed an ordinance on Tuesday that would prohibit landlords from breaking leases by depriving tenants of amenities such as storage, parking, bike storage or laundry.

The proposed regulation would require landlords to provide a just cause for the removal of existing facilities, Mandelman said, and would effectively extend the same remedies that apply to unlawful evictions to cases of illegal removal of housing services.

Mandelman said landlords removed such services when converting garages and common spaces into new rental units known as additional housing units, or ADUs.

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He said he drafted the ordinance after hearing an increase in such cases over the past few months reported to his office by tenants in District 8.

“Adding one or two or more new units to existing buildings can be a great way to increase the number of homes in our neighborhoods, but adding new homes shouldn’t come at the expense of current tenants,” Mandelman said. “It’s not okay to take away storage rooms, parking lots, bike rooms or laundry that people have relied on for years and that have the right to continue to enjoy being part of their home.”

Mandelman said his office reached out to the San Francisco Housing Rights Committee – a tenant rights organization – which was aware of similar cases in at least 10 other residential buildings in the San Francisco area.

“Landlords should build ADUs to create new rent-controlled apartments, not to remove contracted housing services from existing tenants,” said Brad Hirn, a senior organizer of the group. “The problem becomes even more troubling when we see some of SF’s largest real estate investment firms using ADUs to segregate services and exacerbate long-term renters displacement.”

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