Washington has adopted the Connecticut rule which requires landlords to keep common areas in a safe condition regardless whether or not the hazard is naturally occurring. [1]
The landlord is not the guarantor of tenants’ safety, however, and therefore a tenant will be required to show the landlord had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and failed to fix the condition within a reasonable amount of time.[2] To prevail a plaintiff must prove (1) the landowner had actual or constructive notice of the danger, and (2) the landowner failed within a reasonable time to exercise sensible care in alleviating the situation.[3]
To prove constructive notice the plaintiff must prove the specific unsafe condition had “‘existed for such time as would have afforded [the landowner] sufficient opportunity, in the exercise of ordinary care, to have made a proper inspection of the premises and to have removed the danger.'”[4]
The landlord may be liable even if the hazard is obvious, but both the landowner and invitee have a duty to exercise reasonable care.[5]
This is not a substitute for legal advice. For more information about the duty of the landlord to keep the premises safe from snow and ice accumulation in a particular location and under particular circumstances consult an attorney.
[1] Geise v. Lee, 84 Wn.2d 866, 529 P.2d 1054 (1975) (imposing the duty on mobile home park owners to keep the driveways between the homes safe for pedestrian traffic where snow and ice created dangerous conditions); Iwai v. State, 129 Wn.2d 84, 915 P.2d 1089 (1996); Mucsi v. Graoch Assocs., 144 Wn. 2d 847 (2001).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Musci 144 Wn. 2d at 859, quoting Iwai, 129 Wn.2d at 96.
[5] Musci 144 Wn. 2d at 859, 860.
