Pub. 3 2018 Issue 5

15 ISSUE 5 2018 If you need more information, The Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business, by Fred S. Steingold (Nolo), contains a detailed discussion of small business law, including how to insure your rental property. When is a landlord liable for an injury to a tenant or visitor to the rental property? To be held responsible for an injury on the premises, the land- lord or property manager must have been negligent in main- taining the property, and that negligence must have caused the injury. All of the following must be proven for a landlord to be held liable: • It was the landlord's responsibility to maintain the por- tion of premises that caused the accident. • The landlord failed to take reasonable steps to avert the accident. • Fixing the problem (or at least giving adequate warnings) would not have been unreasonably expensive or difficult. A well-designed property insurance policy can protect a landlord's rental property from losses caused by many perils, including fire, storms, burglary, and vandalism. (Earthquake and flood insurance are typically insured under separate policies.)