If you're a homeowner, what you do with your property is mostly up to you. You have a right to maintain, remodel or sell it as you wish (although these rights are limited by certain laws and regulations, including HOAs and CC&Rs). You're also responsible for taking reasonable steps to maintain your property so as to prevent injury to deliverypersons or social guests visiting your home. This duty is part of a legal concept called "premises liability." If you fail to meet this duty, you could find yourself on the legal hook for someone's slip and fall accident.
Does thisduty extend to trespassers and others who enter onto your property without your authority or consent? Generally, you are not liable when someone is injured in an accident on your property while trespassing. However, in the eyes of the law, there may be as many as three distinct types of trespassers, and as a homeowner, you need to be aware of your legal obligations when it comes to all three of them.
An undiscovered trespasser is someone who enters onto your property without an invitation, and whose physical presence on your property is unknown to you.
Assuming people will obey the law and not trespass on your property, you are not obligated to protect such trespassers—as long as you have no intent to cross the line by "willfully or wantonly" injuring them. Acting in a "willful or wanton" manner, on the scale of wrongdoing, typically means doing something that falls somewhere between an intentional act meant to inflict harm and gross negligence.
For example, creating deterrents for uninvited hunters to stay off your property—through the strategic placement of dangerous hazards, booby-traps, and other devices—will likely result in legal liability if anyone is injured as a result.
Once you discover the presence of a trespasser on your property, you are under a duty to exercise ordinary care to warn him or her of any particular danger, or make safe any artificial conditions you are aware of so as to prevent any risk of death or serious bodily harm. (Learn more about the duty of care in a personal injury case.)
For example, say you notice occasional trespassers walking across your backyard as a shortcut to the local park. Since you are aware of their presence, you likely have a duty to warn the trespassers about a semi-hidden and relatively large hole behind your garage. You can do this by cordoning off the area with a temporary fence, or by taking other precautionary measures.
Another example is when an uninvited salesperson enters onto your property to knock on your front door. Until you repair the cracked concrete walkway, you will need to warn potential visitors (even uninvited ones) about the tripping hazard leading up to your door, otherwise you could face a personal injury lawsuit. Keep in mind that a homeowner's insurance policy will usually cover a slip and fall accident.
Another type of trespasser is the child who wanders onto your property without permission. Because of their young age, children are naturally curious. If you create an artificial hazard on your property, you may be liable for injuries caused by the hazard, especially if children are unaware of the danger.
Such artificial or human-made hazards are commonly known as “attractive nuisances.” They include conditions such as an unguarded swimming pool, an abandoned well, old cars, or heavy machinery. They do not usually include naturally occurring hazards such as ponds, lakes or steep embankments.
As a homeowner, you probably need to inspect your property to see if it contains any artificial hazards or conditions that might attract child trespassers. You’ll need to either correct or contain any dangers to protect the safety of children who may wander onto your property. If you fail to do so, you will most likely be liable for injuries to the children, especially when the cost to repair or maintain the artificial hazard is small in comparison to the potential risk involved.
Since laws related to trespasser liability vary by state, you might want to talk to an experienced lawyer in your area to get help tailored to your situation. Learn more about finding and working with a personal injury lawyer.
