Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Outside wall hit by car, is landlord liable for damage inside?
On the other side of the carport back-wall is my walk-in closet. A car (nobody knows who's) rammed the wall, which pushed a couple of 2x4's off the foundation and into my closet causing major damage to photo and video equipment. (approx $600 in repairs so far). Manager says I should have had tenant's insurance. I feel that their wall damaged my property and that landlord should reimburse me. I also wonder if the integrity of the wall should be checked if it's that easy to force part of the wall off its foundation.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Outside wall hit by car, is landlord
The landlord is only liable if he was the one driving the car.
Re: Outside wall hit by car, is landlord liable for damage inside?
For the first time since I started haunting this BBS,
I think I disagree with Ken Loury's answer. The landlord
might be liable if the wall was defectively constructed
such that it collapsed inward too easily. The landlord
might also be liable if the location or the design
of the carport created an unsafe condition or an unreasonable
risk of harm. Your damages, in any case, might be covered by your
landlord's insurance, if you can convince him to
make a claim. Another possibility is small claims
court. Your only risk there is that you make your
landlord angry at you. By the way, your landlord
is correct that you should have your own renter's
insurance policy, as should all renters.
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