Landlord Liability: After a Slip and Fall, Are You Liable?

As a landlord, you are responsible to provide safe living conditions for your tenants. This includes making all repairs in a timely manner and conducting regular maintenance inspections.

Even with your best efforts, there are still times when someone will slip and fall on your property. When this occurs, you might be curious about your liability risk.

There is much gray area when it comes to landlord/tenant responsibility for slips and falls. Each party plays a part in determining any potential lawsuit.

Let’s learn more details on landlord liability.

What is Landlord Liability

Landlord liability simply means, in certain situations, you are responsible to pay medical bills and other claims presented if your tenant is somehow injured on your property.

To win their case against you, they must prove you were negligent in maintaining the property and knew a dangerous condition existed and ignored it. If there was no way you could have known or had a chance to fix the problem, you will most likely prevail.

Who Qualifies as a Tenant

An important point in these lawsuits is to define tenant. A tenant is someone you allow to live on your property in exchange for payment of rent. There should always be a lease agreement.

In addition to the basic information regarding rules, payment, and obligations, this lease specifies all tenants allowed to live on the property. For someone to sue you for their slip and fall injuries, they must legally be a tenant included on the lease.

Visitors who are injured on your property will need to file a claim with your tenant’s renter’s insurance for compensation.

Common Slip and Fall Hazards

So, what are the most common hazards that result in someone having a slip and fall accident?

Wet Spills

One of the biggest reasons someone will fall is slipping on a wet surface. This can be from a water leak in the kitchen or bathroom, or snow/ice on a driveway.

If your tenant notifies you of a leak, it is your duty to fix it or have it fixed, as soon as possible. Puddled water on a floor from a leak left unattended could come back to haunt you.

As far as snow and ice, this depends on the wording of the lease. If the lease states you are responsible for keeping all walkways clear of any snow or ice, and you failed to do so, then you could be liable for any damages.

If there is no such stipulation and the tenant is responsible for the normal upkeep of their driveway, you should be in the clear.

Another reason for a fall could be something has spilled either outside or in a stairwell. In most of these instances, you would not be expected to know or be responsible for an unknown substance in the walkway.

Uneven Walkways

Uneven pathways are another hazard for falling. As a responsible landlord, you should fix any broken sections of a driveway or walkway. This is especially true if it is proven to be recent damage.

If the uneven pathways were there at the time when the tenants moved in, it might be more difficult for them to prove negligence on your part. They were aware of the situation from the beginning.

Broken Stairs or Handrails

If your property has stairs, it is your job to keep them in good shape. Missing or broken steps are definitely a tripping hazard.

Handrails should also accompany most stairways. If the handrails are unstable or even non-existent, you are opening yourself up for a potential liability lawsuit if someone is injured on the stairs.

What About Tenant Negligence

As previously mentioned, in order for a lawsuit to be brought against you, the tenant must prove you were negligent in repairs or maintenance. However, they must also use their best judgment.

Tenant negligence occurs when they are aware of a problem and ignore it themselves. An example would be if they know of a leak and don’t try to mediate their risk. They could be held partially responsible for their damages.

If they fell due to being under the influence of a substance or exhibiting reckless behavior, they could also be considered negligent. Their decisions contributed to their injuries.

In these cases, even if you are partially considered at fault for the unsafe condition, your judgment might be reduced based on the percentage of fault applied to the tenant. In other words, if they were found to be 50% at fault, then you would only be responsible for 50% of their claim.

Proactive Steps to Take

The best way to protect yourself and your tenants is to take proactive measures to keep your property safe and free from hazards.

If possible, you should do routine inspections on your property. Of course, you will need the tenant’s permission to go inside, but you can still check around the outside and perimeter for potential problems.

Then, as soon as a problem is reported you should act immediately. If you are unable to remedy the situation yourself, you must hire someone to do it.

For those repairs or instances that will take time to repair, you should also post adequate warning signs around the area. These signs could help mitigate your damages if sued.

Maintaining your property not only decreases your chances of a lawsuit, but it will also in turn increase the overall appeal of your property. Adding these amenities is another way to add value.

Liability of a Landlord

It is impossible to foresee every instance where someone could get hurt on your rental property. However, landlord liability requires due diligence on your part to properly maintain and repair.

If a tenant can prove you were negligent and knew of a problem and failed to react, you could be facing a lawsuit. Staying ahead of any issues and responding quickly to concerns is your best defense.

We genuinely care. For more information, advice, and help with all your property needs, we are just a phone call away.