Title: Landlord Liability and Property Management Liability - TorkLaw
Headings: 
What is Landlord Liability
About Landlord Liability
Determining Accountability
Seek Legal Advice

Content: About Landlord Liability
An apartment or property owner (landlord or lessor) who leases an apartment can be held liable to the tenant (lessee) and the tenant’s guests for dangerous conditions existing in the apartment unit that the landlord does not inform the tenant about and the dangerous condition is not obvious. Before leasing an apartment unit to a prospective tenant, the apartment owner has a duty to ensure it is safe from dangerous conditions based on what a reasonable inspection would normally disclose. The landlord is not required to take extraordinary measures to discover every potential hazard unless the circumstances justify it. If a dangerous condition arises in the apartment unit that the tenant promptly reports to the landlord, the landlord must repair it within a reasonable period of time after learning of the dangerous condition. A landlord generally is not liable for dangerous condition in the tenant’s apartment that come into existence after the tenant takes possession: that is, the dangerous condition is created by the tenant, unless the tenant has not reported it to the landlord. Property owners have a legal obligation (“duty”) to use due care for the safety of its tenants and their guests to keep those areas of the property under their control in a reasonably safe condition. This includes such common areas as sidewalks, walkways, pool, spa, tennis courts, elevators, stairways, landscaping, etc. For instance, if the landlord leaves a water hose across a sidewalk in an unlit area, and a tenant or guest trips on it in the dark, the landlord can be held liable for the resulting injuries and related expenses. The owner of an apartment complex can be held liable for the damages resulting from injuries due to: