When is a landlord liable for their tenant’s personal injuries?

It’s a commonly held belief that the majority of personal injuries typically happen in the home. When a person’s home is a rental, they may be interested in landlord liability.

Some examples of personal injuries in rentals include slipping and falling on wet or icy floor, hurting oneself on broken or defective stairs, or suffering as a result of a defective smoke alarm.

When a tenant suffers a personal injury in a rental property, the landlord may be held responsible. A landlord has a duty of care to provide their tenants with a safe living environment. What does that mean? It means that it is their responsibility to conduct inspections and ensure that the unit their are renting is reasonably safe from hazards.

Landlords are responsible for maintaining safe conditions that are up to building code inside and outside the units as well as in all common areas.

Upon inspection, if a landlord or manager finds an issue that could be a hazard, they must take steps in a timely manner to fix the issues or notify the tenant of the issue.

If a landlord does get the hazard fixed, but does so in a poor manner, then they may still be liable for accidents that result from that issue.

If a landlord knows about a hazard, does not take steps to fix it, and does not inform the tenant of the hazard, and their tenant or their tenant’s guests are injured in an accident as a result of that hazard, then the landlord may be liable for those injuries due to negligence.

While a landlord may be responsible in the above instances, a landlord is not always liable. If the hazard developed after a tenant had moved in and the tenant failed to report the issue, then the landlord may not be responsible for injuries that result from the hazard.

Additionally, it is not expected for a landlord to invest huge amounts of money to try to predict all potential issues that may come about. If something does arise, then they should take steps to inspect the issue.

If a tenant has been injured in a personal injury accident as a result of landlord negligence they should consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.

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