Landlord’s Liability for Criminal Acts of Third Parties

In general a person has a duty to protect others for criminal acts of third persons absent a special relationship.  Special relationships may exist for innkeepers and common carriers.[1]

At common law no such special relationship between landlord and tenant and the landlord had no duty to protect the tenant from third party criminal act.  Courts have historically been reluctant to move away from this common law rule for a variety of reasons.Continue reading→