Landlord Liability for Unsafe Living Conditions

Plenty of environmental hazards can affect the living conditions of a tenant. The tenant should be aware of these environmental hazards to make sure that they are not living in a property that has unsafe living conditions. The landlord has certain responsibilities to the tenant to provide the tenant with safe living conditions for the length of their lease.

Unsafe Living Conditions

Unsafe living conditions are grounds for terminating the terms of a rental lease almost immediately. Unsafe living conditions are illegal in the United States and most properties with unsafe living conditions will not pass inspection and can be condemned on the spot by the inspector.

The tenant will be able to tell if the property has unsafe living conditions by viewing the following:

• No windows in the property
• No smoke alarms in the property
• Unsafe floorboards or ceilings
• Holes in the walls
• No plumping
• No waste disposal
• Leaks in the walls or under the floors

Landlord Responsibilities

Landlords are required by state and federal laws to provide their tenants with safe and sanitary living conditions no matter the cost of the repairs or construction needed to meet these demands. Landlords are also required to make repairs on the property if they are requested by the tenant. If the landlord does not meet these responsibilities then he or she is liable to face a lawsuit from the tenant and fines from their local housing authority department.

Tenant Rights

Tenants have the right to live in a safe building as provided by state and federal laws. They do not have to accept the terms of a rental lease without having the property inspected for unsafe conditions. If the tenant feels that the property they are preparing to rent or the property they are currently renting is unsafe then they have the right to file a lawsuit against the landlord for not providing safe living conditions.

How to Protect Yourself

Tenants can protect themselves from unsafe living conditions by hiring a building inspector to inspect the property prior to signing the rental agreement. If the landlord does not want the tenant to bring in his or her own inspector then the tenant should shy away from renting this property. The tenant should also hire an attorney to protect himself or herself when renting a property that might have unsafe living conditions. The attorney will be able to give the property a once over, determine any problems that exist, and prepare any lawsuit against my landlord for me.

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