NY Building Codes, Law, Landlord, Negligence
By GB2988
@GB2988 (194)
United States
February 2, 2007 7:36am CST
I live in the state of New York (Upstate)...I live in a apartment. Which is a house with 2 apartments, one upstairs one down stairs. There is only one entrance to get into the apartments...which is also your exit as well. But before you can enter the apartment...You have to go on the porch. The porch used to have two post/banister. One of them has been broken for many months. And the owner/landlord haven't fix it yet, he just laid it alongside of the porch. I understand he has lot of iron in the fire(other things to do)such as take care of the other houses and apartments he has. Because I know he owns a lot of buildings and stuff. But it would only take 10-15 of his time to fix. A few mornings ago. I was coming down the steps, and happened to slip on some ice/snow. I could of have some support if the post/banister was there, but which it wasnt, and in result of that. I broke my arm. Is that my fault. Would that be the landlord responsibility to fix that or was that the tenants responsibility?
2 responses
@microzeta (245)
• United States
3 Feb 07
Keep in mind I am not a licensed attorney, although I am currently in a Bachelor of Architecture program, and afterwards I will be attending law school, my goal being to practice construction law. Also, I am only conversant in NJ building code, so you will definitely want to discuss your situation with a local attorney.
Typically, residential safety codes are less stringent than public codes; handrails are generally required only on one side of stair cases, and some stair cases don't even require handrails if they only go up several steps. Regardless, the landlord has an obligation to maintain the building. This includes repairing broken structure and ensuring critical pathways are free of obstructions, ice, snow, etc. Presumably you would want to maintain a good relationship with your landlord, and so suing might not be the best option. Discuss with a local attorney to determine the relevant building codes to see if you can recover damages. Then, before filing suit, try to talk with your landlord first, and see if you can't come to an amicable agreement. At the very least, I feel he/she should recompense you for the hospital bill.
Best of luck.
