Landlord's Duty to Protect

Many states and some local governments now have statutes and ordinances governing tenant security

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The below topics are discussed in much more depth on our members' Landlord's Duty to Protect page.

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Governments obligation to preserve and protect

Until very recently landlords have had no legal duty to protect tenants from criminals. It has been a principle of our American republic that government's primary purpose is to preserve and protect its citizen's life and property from threat, both foreign and domestic. However, in some areas of the U.S., government has abdicated that responsibility and has actually abandoned some city neighborhoods to criminal control. The usual "cop-out" is that they don't have the money or manpower to do their job.

Residents of many urban neighborhoods have been forced to put bars on their windows and install double locked steal doors. Landlords have built walls, erected gates and employed private guards to provide security. There was no law that required property owners to take those extraordinary measures, they did it voluntarily in order to attract and keep tenants.

Deep pockets pay

American liberals have long advocated, and many American courts have since adopted, the Deep Pocket Theory. It holds that someone, somewhere, should pay for every injury, no matter his or her complicity.

Courts and juries using the Deep Pocket Theory have been so free with other people's money that some state legislatures are now trying to limit financial responsibility to actual liability.

Rich landlords should be liable

Some courts are now even holding landlords liable for a criminal's assault on a tenant.

Lawsuits against landlords based on criminal assaults are on the rise

The current trend is for courts to find that landlords have a duty to use reasonable care to protect tenants against foreseeable criminal acts.

Prevention is Nine-Tenths of the Law

Assuming some responsibility for tenant security takes a considerable amount of time and money, but with the current state of the nation it will likely save you time and money in the long run.

Assume that courts will conclude that landlords must take reasonable measures

That is the only way you are likely to avoid lawsuits in the event of criminal activity in or around your property.

The above topics are discussed in much more depth on our members' Landlord's Duty to Protect page.

Non-Members' Homepage