Landlords and Premise Liability

Landlords have a duty to maintain their premises and keep tenants safe from several types of hazards.

There are a lot of landlords in the world that are better described as slum lords. Some of them endanger their tenants by not repairing parts of the apartment or home that are vital to security or to basic living standards. When this happens and you're injured, you may have cause to sue them for damages.

Faulty security.

A recent case in New York found in favor of a tenant who was assaulted in her home after repeatedly warning her landlord that her door locks needed to be fixed. The landlord never came through and, because of that, she suffered. Landlords do have responsibilities to their tenants. Of course, landlords are also famous for not living up to them and for seemingly wanting to cut corners whenever possible when they do. If your landlord did not take care of a security-related problem at your residence and your property was stolen or damaged or you were injured, talk to a personal injury attorney about it.

Faulty appliances.

When stoves, furnaces or other appliances aren't functioning correctly and the landlord has been repeatedly warned about it and you end up getting injured, you may want to talk to an attorney about the matter. There are plenty of cases where people end up being seriously injured because a landlord didn't bother to fix or clean a furnace before the heating season or because a gas stove was leaking and causing a hazard. There are plenty of other ways that faulty appliances can cause injuries, as well, and they can sometimes be deadly. Talk to a personal injury lawyer if you have been the victim of such negligence.

Getting kicked out.

One of the biggest concerns that a tenant always has is that their landlord will become vindictive about a complaint and come up with a reason to kick them out of their apartment. There's no honest way to say that this isn't a genuine risk, but it makes no sense to stay in an apartment if it is dangerous, anyway. The dangers could well be more significant than staying in the apartment is worth and, if you want to consider moving on, you still may be able to sue if you've already been injured. There are also strict laws that govern how landlords may treat their tenants and you may have recourse to avoid being kicked out. This may be something you want to speak with a lawyer about, as well.