If you rent property, whether it is an apartment or an office space for your business, the person or entity which owns that property has a legal responsibility to maintain safe premises. If the landlord fails to keep the property in good repair, that person or entity may be legally responsible for any injuries that occur because of unsafe conditions.
In order to hold a landlord responsible for an injury, the tenant must be able to prove several things. First, the tenant must show that the landlord owned the property and had a responsibility to keep it safe for tenants and guests. For example, if an injury is caused by a cracked sidewalk, the tenant would have to show that the landlord, and not the city, who was in charge of keeping that area maintained.
Second, the tenant must show that the landlord knew about the problem (or should have known about the problem), and failed to repair it. Under this requirement, the tenant must show that the landlord failed to take reasonable steps to repair the issue within a reasonable amount of time. What is characterized as reasonable varies by the situation. For instance, if a tenant’s furnace is broken in the dead of winter, the landlord would have a responsibility to fix it more quickly than he or she would during July. In the same way, a landlord only has a responsibility to make reasonable repairs—the landlord may be required to patch a leaky roof quickly, but would not likely be required to replace the entire roof within a week.
Third, the tenant must show that his or her injury was a direct result of the landlord’s failure to repair a problem, and that the injury was reasonably foreseeable. For instance, if a tenant complains to the landlord that the wooden basement stairs look rotten, but the landlord refuses to replace them, the tenant may be able to sue the landlord if he or she eventually falls through the stairs. If the injury is not connected to the problem the tenant complained about, or is so unexpected that no one could have predicted it, the landlord might not be legally responsible.
Finally, the tenant must be able to show that he or she was actually injured in some way that is compensable. This issue is often the sticking point for many tenants. For example, suppose that a tenant discovers that there is mold in the walls of her apartment. While a problem like mold in the walls is seriously concerning, and may be serious enough to warrant the tenant’s decision to stop paying rent until the problem is fixed, this alone is not enough to justify a premises liability or personal injury lawsuit against the landlord. Unless the tenant can show that she suffered some type of health problems, and that those health problems were directly caused by the mold in the walls, the tenant’s only remedy will likely be in small claims court.
When a landlord is aware of a dangerous problem on his or her property and fails to fix it, people who were injured by that problem may be able to sue for damages. When all of these conditions are met, the injured person can often recover compensation for his or her medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
At Fighting for People Injury Law, our Pennsylvania and New Jersey premises liability lawyers understand the complicated rules of landlord liability. If you suffered an injury because of a dangerous condition that your landlord should have fixed, we can help you file a lawsuit for your damages.
If you are unsure about your rights after an accident or an injury, call 215-396-9660 to speak with a Pennsylvania and New Jersey premises liability attorney today. At Fighting for People Injury Law, we fight for people and to protect the rights of injured victims and consumers.
