Apartment and Rental Property Injuries in Riverside County

This page covers tenants and their guests who are hurt at an apartment complex, condo, duplex or rented house because of the property's condition.

What a landlord must do

California's jury instruction on the landlord's duty (CACI No. 1006) sets out three layers:

Before possession. Before handing over the unit (and on renewal or after retaking possession), the landlord must reasonably inspect for unsafe conditions, including common areas under its control, and take reasonable precautions against what it found or should have found.
Areas the landlord controls. After the tenant moves in, the landlord must take reasonable precautions against unsafe conditions in stairways, walkways, parking areas, laundry rooms and other areas it controls if it knows or reasonably should know about them.
Inside the unit. For areas under the tenant's control, the instruction limits the duty to conditions the landlord actually knows about and has the right and ability to correct.

Guests of tenants are protected by the same general duty of care (Civil Code § 1714; CACI No. 1001).

Repairs and habitability

Separately from injury law, a residential landlord must put the building in a condition fit for occupation and repair later problems that make it untenantable (Civil Code § 1941). The standards include safe plumbing and gas facilities, heating and electrical lighting that conformed to the law when installed and are kept in good working order, common areas under the landlord's control kept clean and free of debris, and "Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair" (Civil Code § 1941.1). A broken stair, loose railing or dark stairwell that falls below these standards can also be the unsafe condition in an injury claim.

Security and crime on the property

A landlord must use reasonable care to protect tenants and guests from another person's criminal conduct on the property if the landlord can reasonably anticipate that conduct; whether the steps it took were adequate is judged under the circumstances (CACI No. 1005). California law does not publish a checklist of required locks, lights or guards for every property, so each case depends on what the landlord knew, such as prior incidents or complaints, and what reasonable measures were available.

Dogs at the property

A dog's owner is liable for bites to anyone in a public place or lawfully on private property (Civil Code § 3342). A landlord may also be liable if it knew or must have known that a dog kept on the premises was dangerous and failed to take reasonable measures it could have taken to prevent the harm (CACI No. 1013). See our dog bite law page.

Complex pools

The Swimming Pool Safety Act's home drowning-prevention requirements do not apply to apartment complexes (Health & Safety Code § 115925), but the landlord's duty of care does. See our swimming pool page.

Evidence that matters

Your written repair requests, texts and emails to the manager, and any replies. These show notice.
Photos of the hazard, and of the same spot over time if it went unrepaired.
The lease and any rules about who maintains which areas.
Names of neighbors who complained about the same problem.
Police reports, if the injury involved a crime.

Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (CCP § 335.1). If the housing is owned by a public entity, a claim is usually due within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2).

Common questions

I reported the broken stair weeks ago. Does that matter?

Yes. A landlord must take reasonable precautions against unsafe conditions in areas it controls that it knows or reasonably should know about (CACI No. 1006). Your written report is evidence that it knew. Keep a copy.

I was visiting a friend's apartment. Am I covered?

Guests are owed ordinary care too (Civil Code § 1714). The same questions apply: who controlled the area and whether they knew or should have known about the hazard.

Is the landlord responsible if I was assaulted in the parking garage?

Only if the landlord could reasonably anticipate the criminal conduct and failed to take reasonable steps to protect tenants (CACI No. 1005). Prior incidents and complaints at the property are usually central.

A neighbor's dog bit me in the complex. Who is liable?

The dog's owner is liable under Civil Code § 3342. The landlord may also be liable if it knew or must have known the dog was dangerous and failed to take reasonable measures (CACI No. 1013).

Apartment and rental property injuries