What would happen if you held an open house and someone got injured? It’s a nightmare scenario, but it can happen! If someone gets injured on property you own because of your neglect, you could be held liable and have to pay out a lot of money to your tenant. But there are some cases where it’s not so cut and dried. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Premises Liability
According to John Foy, founder of John Foy & Associates, four things need to be proven for an injured party to make a successful claim:
- The property is unsafe.
- You knew about it, or should have known about it if you were caring for the property.
- You didn’t fix it or warn the injured party about it.
- An injury happened because of the unsafe condition.
“If these four things can be proven, then it is quite likely that you will be liable for any accidents that happen on your property, unless there are extenuating circumstances or specific exceptions in your state’s laws”, says Foy.
When you have people coming and going out of your home when you’re trying to sell it, or have a broker holding open houses on your behalf, things can quickly get murky. Depending on your situation and your state laws, your broker could also be sued if they show your house and someone gets hurt.
Say, for instance, a potential buyer asks your broker if they can do some measurements and wanders somewhere unsafe and gets hurt. Does that make you responsible or your broker? If you are in this situation you should speak with a real estate lawyer immediately for advice.
Protection
The best way to protect yourself is to start with a home inspection before you begin your sale. Fix what issues you can and note the rest, then share this information with your broker so they can inform potential buyers.
One thing you should never do is hide a defect and hope you can pass it off to the seller before they discover it. If a purposefully hidden defect causes injury you could still be held liable after a sale. Additionally, depending on state law, if you disclose a dangerous part of the property you could still be held liable until the fix is done even after a sale.
Be an honest seller, even if it makes your sale less lucrative. Get an inspection and fix any dangerous issues before you try to sell.
Leasing
If you plan on leasing your home, that’s an entirely different area of law. Generally, landlords are not considered responsible for injuries that happen on premises because the tenant is responsible for their actions while using it. However, there are exceptions. If you learn about a defect on the property and don’t fix it, or conceal one, then you could still be held liable. Also, if you are performing repairs and do it in a negligent way, say by leaving the worksite unsafe and not warning the tenant about the unsafe condition, you could also be held liable depending on your state’s laws.
If you are at all worried about the safety of your home or about premises liability issues, speak with a real estate lawyer about your concerns. Also, you may want to examine your homeowner’s policy to see what coverage you have in these and other premises liability situations.
