What Property Owners in Texas Are Required to Fix to Prevent Injuries

Texas requires property owners to use ordinary care to find and correct unreasonably dangerous conditions, and to warn visitors about hazards they cannot reasonably remove. How far that duty stretches in a premises liability case depends on why you were on the property to begin with.

What Are a Property Owner’s Basic Duties in Texas?

Property owners are responsible for conditions within their control, and Texas law measures their conduct against what a reasonably careful owner would have done under similar circumstances. Duties commonly at issue in Tarrant County premises liability cases include:

• Keeping the premises reasonably free of hazards
• Inspecting and maintaining the property routinely
• Correcting dangerous conditions once discovered
• Guarding against harm to children
• Warning visitors about risks that remain
• Providing sensible security measures
• Meeting building codes and local ordinances

Every one of those duties is measured by reasonableness rather than by perfection, which is a lower bar than injured people expect. An owner who inspected sensibly and repaired promptly stands in a very different position than one who ignored complaints for months.

Written safety policies can be just as important as the property’s physical condition. A retailer with a documented inspection schedule but missing inspection logs may provide strong evidence that it failed to follow its own safety procedures.

Your Status on the Property Changes the Duty

Texas classifies visitors by their reason for being on the property, and that classification determines the owner’s legal duty. Invitees, such as customers, tenants, and delivery drivers, receive the greatest protection because property owners must inspect for and address unreasonable hazards.

Licensees, including most social guests, must be warned about known dangers, but owners generally are not required to search for unknown hazards. Trespassers receive the least protection, although different rules may apply when children are involved.

Which Conditions Actually Have to Be Repaired?

Most premises liability claims arise from preventable hazards rather than unusual accidents. Year after year, the same maintenance failures account for many Texas injury claims, including the following:

• Sagging stairs and loose handrails
• Rotted decking and collapsing balconies
• Torn carpet and unmarked level changes
• Dead lighting and broken security gates
• Unfenced pools and worn playground surfaces

Documentation usually decides these cases well before a jury ever hears them. Work orders, inspection logs, and prior complaints show whether an owner knew a hazard existed and chose to leave it exactly where it was.

Rental Property Carries Its Own Rulebook

Landlords operate under Texas Property Code Section 92.052, which demands a diligent effort to repair conditions that materially affect a tenant’s health or safety, so long as the tenant gave proper notice and was current on rent. Tarrant County justice courts hear repair and remedy suits up to $10,000.

Bring the Property Owner’s Failure to Anderson, Cummings & Drawhorn

Property owners and their insurers rehearse one argument above all others, which is that you should have been watching where you were going. Anderson, Cummings & Drawhorn draws on more than 50 years of collective legal experience and Board-Certified skill to pull the maintenance histories, incident reports, and inspection records that owners would rather leave in a filing cabinet.

Call (817) 920-9000 or contact us online to have the property’s own paperwork examined.