Premise Liability

Because Arkansas adheres to the legal doctrine of “caveat lessee,” landlords in Arkansas have no duty to provide repairs for rented or leased premises. For this reason, many believe that a landlord in Arkansas can not be held liable when a person is injured in an apartment. This is not necessarily the case. A landlord can be held liable for failure to repair a latent defect. A latent defect is a defect that existed before the lease was signed, and a defect that could not have been discovered through reasonable diligence. Furthermore, even though a landlord has no duty to repair leased or rented premises, a landlord, who agrees to make repairs can be held liable if those repairs are performed negligently.

For example, a renter complained of water leaks in his apartment. Rather than repairing the plumbing, the landlord merely painted the water spots (negligent repair). A kitchen cabinet eventually fell on the tenant injuring her severely. Investigation of the fallen cabinet revealed that the screws had not been mounted into the wall studs, but only into the sheetrock (a latent defect). Our attorneys were, therefore, able to assert liability for the injuries on the landlord.