Business Law 101 / THIRD PARTIES ON PROPERTY

By Albert L. Kelley

Who has responsibility when someone is injured on private property? The answer changes based on how the property is being used, who controls the property and who was injured.

The first issue to look at is the way the property is being used. Is it residential property or commercial? This has some bearing as the statutes put more responsibility on owners when it comes to residential property. The statute has less rules when it comes to commercial property as the legislature feels that parties to a commercial lease have more power to negotiate the terms of the lease, including responsibility.

Control of the property may be the property owner, the tenant or a separate entity. If the property is owner occupied, usually the owner has liability. If the property is leased, the responsible party can be the landlord or the tenant. If the property is part of a condominium or HOA, the association may be responsible, especially if the injury occurs on common areas.

Finally we look at who was injured. First, we need to define the types of people who may be on the property. Aside from the owner (landlord) there are four types of people we may find on the property. First we have tenants. A tenant has a special standing due to their contractual rights to possession of the property. Next are invitees. These are people that the property owner or the tenant has asked to come onto the property and have the highest level of protection. Third are the licensees. These are people who have not been invited onto the property, but are allowed to stay. An example would be a neighbor who comes over to borrow a cup of sugar. Finally, are trespassers. These people have no authority or right to be on the property. Never the less, trespassers have certain rights against property owners for injuries that occur on their property (Hey, I don’t make the rules; I just report them).

Owners generally have no responsibility for injuries that occur to tenants on the property that has been placed under the control of the tenant. This is true even if the property has defective conditions. This may be modified if the defects are hidden and not disclosed. Further, the landlord is not responsible to the tenant for injuries that occur due to obvious conditions or hazards. For example, if there is a stairwell with no railing, there is an obvious dangerous condition. Once the property has been leased to a tenant, the liability of the property owner is essentially eliminated. The tenant steps into the property owners’ shoes for the purposes of liability to third parties. This means that the tenant takes over the responsibility for defective conditions on the property and may be held liable for those injured on the property.

Invitees get the highest level of protection. Next are licensees. Trespassers get the least amount of protection. A guest’s status may change once they are on the property if they use the property in a way it was not intended. An example is too often seen in hotels during spring break. When a hotel guest invites friends to their room and one of the friends climbs over the patio railing to climb to another room, the student is changing their status. The purpose of the railing is to prevent people from falling off the patio. To ignore this purpose and use it as a source of transportation violates the purpose of the railing and can change the student’s status from invitee to an uninvited licensee or even a trespasser.

Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located in Key West and previously taught business law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University. He is also the author of “Basics of Business Law” and “Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court” (Absolutely Amazing e-Books). This article is being offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

 

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]