Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Yours is a pretty classic case of premises liability. There are many cases on the books like yours, in which property owners have failed to take measures to correct known security issues on their properties and have let tenants be robbed or hurt. The only question in your case is do you have damages that make a lawsuit worth all the time trouble and expense. I would be happy to discuss this matter with you further and help you determine if it would be worth your while to file a lawsuit. I offer initial consultations at no charge, and our main office is in Walnut Creek.

Landlord liability for tenants' security against crime is based on negligence concepts. Your landlord is not your insurer, and is not responsible for any and all crimes against tenants or other bad things that happen on the leased premises. However, if the landlord has failed to warn the tenant, or to provide reasonable protection such as working locks, adequate lighting, etc. agains known or forseeable hazards, and the tenant suffers harm as a result of the negligence, the tenant may have a viable lawsuit for negligent breach of the duty to take precautions against forseeable harm. There is an additional subcategory of landlord conduct where the tenant's chances of recovering damages are even better, and that is where the landlord has withdrawn or reduced protection that was present when the tenant moved in - this could be anything from canceling the guard service to not repairing the fences or locks to knowingly renting to drug dealers, or like actions or inaction that heightens the tenant's risks after moving in.