Landlord wins summary judgment due to lease provision

A landlord recently won a summary judgment in spite of tenant's claim she was not provided with working smoke detectors and other equipment in violation of code. Landlord produced a signed copy of lease that contained the following provision by which the tenant acknowledged the presence of working smoke detector/alarm:

"Tenant knows that the apartment being rented has a smoke alarm in proper working order and that it is the Tenant's responsibility to maintain the smoke alarm including replacing the battery when necessary and replacing the smoke alarm if it is stolen, removed, or broken during the Tenant's occupancy."

The court found no proximate cause between the other alleged statutory and regulatory violations and the fire or plaintiff's damages.

Specifying who is responsible for maintaining the smoke detectors and taking care of snow removal from exterior stairs and sidewalks should be specifically addressed in a lease. We highly recommend all landlords have their attorney review their lease agreements to make sure it provides the proper protection.

Lawley Genesee
www.laweygenesee.com