Kentucky Landlords Can Be Liable To Their Tenants For Certain Types Of Injuries

Kentucky Landlord Tenants laws limit personal injury lawsuits against landlords. In Kentucky, a landlord is “not a guarantor of the tenants’ safety.” See Davis v. Coleman Management Co., Ky.App., 765 S.W.2d 37 (1989). However, a landlord owes a duty to his tenants to exercise reasonable diligence to keep common areas retained under the landlords control in a safe condition for the tenants. See Davis v. Coleman Management Co., Ky. App., 765 S.W.2d 37, 38 (1989).

“A possessor of land who leases a part thereof and retains in his control any other part which the lessee is entitled to use as appurtenant to the part leased to him, is subject to liability to his lessee and others lawfully upon the land with the consent of the lessee or a sublease for physical harm caused by a dangerous condition upon that part of the land retained in the lessor’s control, if the lessor by the exercise of reasonable care could have discovered the condition and the unreasonable risk involved therein and could have made the condition safe.” See Restatement (Second) of Torts, Section 360 (1965).

Only when the tenant is put in complete and unrestricted possession and control of the premises, will the landlord not be liable for known defects which existed at the time the tenant leased the premises. See May v. Moore, 2008 WL 2152274 (Ky. App.), citing Carver v. Howard, Ky., 280 S.W.2d 708, 711 (1955).

Additionally a landlord’s conduct can make him liable to his tenant for the criminal acts of third persons, if the landlord fails to take reasonable steps to avoid injury from reasonably foreseeable criminal acts. See Annot. 43 A.L.R.3d 331 (1972). Therefore, if a crime is committed against the tenant or their guest, and such could have been prevented by the landlord if reasonable steps and precautions had been taken, then the landlord can become liable to the injured party.

The types of claimsagainst landlords could include swimming pool accidents, falling on the property, injury from tree limbs falling, or assaults by others upon the tenant. These are but a few examples or the vast number of scenarios where a person could be hurt on rental property and the landlord could be liable. Each injury should be examined on a case by case basis to see who will be at fault.

For more information on the rights of persons injured on rental properties, contact Kentucky personal injury attorney Brent T. Ackerson at (502) 882-5176 or email Brent. by clicking here