In the context of real estate, contributory negligence applies when both the property owner (or manager) and the person who is harmed share responsibility for the injury or damage. Essentially, if a person is injured on a property and it’s found that they acted carelessly or contributed to the harm, the compensation they might receive could be reduced based on their own fault.
Example in Real Estate:
Imagine a tenant living in an apartment building where the staircase railing is broken. The landlord knows about the issue but hasn’t fixed it. One day, the tenant, while running down the stairs, leans on the broken railing and falls, getting injured.
In this case:
- The landlord is clearly negligent because they failed to fix the broken railing, which is a safety hazard.
- However, if it can be shown that the tenant was being reckless by running down the stairs (when they should have been more careful), the court may find the tenant contributory negligent. This means that while the landlord is still at fault, the tenant’s careless behavior contributed to their injury.
As a result, the amount of damages the tenant could claim from the landlord might be reduced based on their own contribution to the accident.
How It Works:
- Contributory negligence doesn’t completely eliminate liability for the property owner or manager, but it does reduce the amount of compensation based on the injured party’s own level of responsibility.
- For example, if the court finds the tenant to be 30% responsible for their injury, the damages awarded to them would be reduced by 30%.
This concept encourages both property owners to maintain their properties properly and visitors or tenants to act responsibly while on the property.