Those of you who live in climates where there is
snow and ice know that you have to be more than just a
little careful about when and how you deal with it.
<br><br>Your first consideration is what knowledge you have or
should have about any hazards. One court case dealt with
ice that resulted from a drain pipe that was
sometimes too small to accommodate the water that would run
through it. The landlord really had no way of knowing it
was too small since the ice accumulation was so rare
an occurrence. The court (unbelievably) ruled that
the tenant who slipped on the ice and fell should
have been more careful. On the other hand, if a
hazardous situation is known and obvious to the landlord,
he could be held responsible for injuries.
<br><br>That naturally begs the question, how much will it
cost you to prove you had no knowledge? Here is a case
of even if you win, you lose. Your best defense is a
good offense. Walk through each of your properties and
scout out spots that could be lawsuits waiting to
happen. <br><br>Ice:<br><br>Obvious things to look for
are places where downspouts have come loose and leave
pools of water. As soon as the temperature drops below
32 degrees you have sheets of ice instead of pools
of water. It is especially dangerous if these pools
extend across sidewalks or driveways or into parking
lots. In most instances reattaching a downspout takes
less than 30 seconds. <br><br>Make sure that the water
is turned off to outside spigots. If you don’t have
a program to alert your tenants to the need for
turning them off, do it yourself. Then put those foam
covers over the spigots to protect them from the
freezing weather. Don’t do any of that and you not only
have sheets of ice from the broken water pipes but
also a huge plumbing bill.
<br><br>Snow:<br><br>Removing snow is an entirely different problem. When and
how well you do it determines your liability. For
example, in most localities you have no obligation to
remove snow until it stops snowing. Up to that point the
burden of care falls on the person who is walking on it.
But what happens if it stops snowing in the middle of
the night? Not too many landlords or property
managers are going to get up at three o’clock in the
morning to shovel snow; nor should they. <br><br>At least
one court ruled that you have to know that the snow
has stopped before you are responsible for removing
it. Then be careful that you do it well. A property
owner can be held liable if the snow was removed
negligently. It is better to not remove snow at all than to do
it badly. Usually snow is a fairly stable walking
surface until it melts and refreezes, especially compared
to the ice that will form if you do a bad job of
getting the snow up. <br><br>If you live in a climate
where it snows regularly, you are all too familiar with
shoveling snow. You know how to do it. Take the time to do
it properly. <br><br>If you have to leave hazards,
either because there is no way to clean it up or you
have too much snow to haul off, put barricades around
the hazardous places. Give people adequate warning of
a dangerous situation. <br><br>The same goes for
ice hazards. If you haven’t been able to avoid them,
barricade them. Make it difficult for people to hurt
themselves.