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Legal Question; accident in the home


henry d
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I am selling my house and wondered; if someone uses my loft ladder while viewing my house and has an accident am I liable?

It`s in good nick but you need to know how to lock it off properly for it to be safe and I have not said that they could or could not use it, no one has been hurt but it is the first time we have found the loft hatch pole out of the room it is usually in.

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4 minutes ago, henry d said:

I am selling my house and wondered; if someone uses my loft ladder while viewing my house and has an accident am I liable?

It`s in good nick but you need to know how to lock it off properly for it to be safe and I have not said that they could or could not use it, no one has been hurt but it is the first time we have found the loft hatch pole out of the room it is usually in.

Technically yes, if something is unsafe on your property and someone hurts themselves because of it, they could hold you liable, even if it was a burglar. 

I would say its a bit of a strange thing to worry about though, unless it really is very unsafe. 

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Surely they would be covered by the liability of the estate agent. 

2 minutes ago, 12gauge82 said:

Technically yes, if something is unsafe on your property and someone hurts themselves because of it, they could hold you liable, even if it was a burglar. 

I would say its a bit of a strange thing to worry about though, unless it really is very unsafe. 

 

In which case it would be wiser to remove the hatch pole. 

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Its not unsafe, however you have to remember to engage all the bolts or it could buckle. The estate agent must have said it was ok to use but we have not said they could or shown them the correct way to use it. Yes I`m probably worrying unnecessarily as it would only make 2020 a real year to remember 😱

Edited by henry d
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38 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Surely the Estate Agent would be responsible.

Yeah, just phoned and she apologised after I pinged them an email. Said she did put the locking bolts in place when they went up into the loft but was too busy talking to eplace them before restowing them.

Don`t think they will be forgotten next time :D

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30 minutes ago, ninjaferret said:

Yes you are 100% responsible. Not the estate agent.

+1. Many of you are mixing liability and insurance. They are two different points. You owe visitors to your property a duty of care so may be liable if they injure themselves. If you were found liable you would rely on your insurance to cover you if damages were awarded for any injury.

Just tell the estate agent in writing that the loft ladder must not be used on viewings.

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3 hours ago, Dave at kelton said:

+1. Many of you are mixing liability and insurance. They are two different points. You owe visitors to your property a duty of care so may be liable if they injure themselves. If you were found liable you would rely on your insurance to cover you if damages were awarded for any injury.

Just tell the estate agent in writing that the loft ladder must not be used on viewings.

This is correct. 

But like I said, unless it's really unsafe, it's very unlikely your going to have an issue, there's probably a million different things in a domestic house that could potentially get you sued if someone injured themselves. I have always applied simple common sense, I.e if it's dangerous, get it sorted if not, I don't worry. But whatever floats your boat. 👍

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To the OP. Phone you insurers. All calls will be recorded. Explain fully, ask for their position were X, Y or Z to happen in respect of the loft ladder. As they will be the ones to either pay out or in fact decline to do so and leave you literally picking up the pieces. Better therefore to know where you stand with them. For example the fact that you know a piece of equipment is "doddery" but permitted others to use it is not in your favour. 

Edited by enfieldspares
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4 hours ago, Dave at kelton said:

+1. Many of you are mixing liability and insurance. They are two different points. You owe visitors to your property a duty of care so may be liable if they injure themselves. If you were found liable you would rely on your insurance to cover you if damages were awarded for any injury.

Just tell the estate agent in writing that the loft ladder must not be used on viewings.

One of the first things I did when looking to by my house  was to look in the loft .

If i were to be  told  I can't id walk away .

Its the same a looking in the garage or kitchen .

I looked in the loft of one house once and I could see the sky through the holes in the roof  .

Get the ladder fixed .inform the estate  agent how it works . Rest easy .

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16 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

One of the first things I did when looking to by my house  was to look in the loft .

If i were to be  told  I can't id walk away .

Its the same a looking in the garage or kitchen .

I looked in the loft of one house once and I could see the sky through the holes in the roof  .

Get the ladder fixed .inform the estate  agent how it works . Rest easy .

Point taken but that is not the action of your average house buyer and certainly not on first viewing. The vast majority leave that to their surveyor and can be expected to come back if they want to do it themselves as you describe and have serious interest in buying. I speak with some experience having been a property consultant for over forty years. Of course we don’t know what type or age of house it is and that makes a difference.

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9 hours ago, Dave at kelton said:

Of course we don’t know what type or age of house it is and that makes a difference.

Good point. The tiles on the houses in this area will be getting to the end of their lives, I believe their porosity, over the next 10-20 years. Just by looking at the boarding underneath should give them an idea of the condition, however we had a roofer up to fill some gaps in the mortar on the ridge and he said that the roof was in good condition and was willing to give us a written statement saying so.

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If it's a guided viewing it would depend on the contract with your estate agent. Ours went into specifics around liability and they came to do a trial viewing with us beforehand. They then accepted any liability as they'd vetted the house, unless it was obviously something we didn't mention or was in a poor state of repair, but not apparent at the time. It would probably be wrangled in court if it came to it, but it was peace of mind for us.

It was the same for some of the houses we viewed, with a couple telling us where we couldn't go (loft specifically on one occasion) due to liability.

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53 minutes ago, henry d said:

Good point. The tiles on the houses in this area will be getting to the end of their lives, I believe their porosity, over the next 10-20 years. Just by looking at the boarding underneath should give them an idea of the condition, however we had a roofer up to fill some gaps in the mortar on the ridge and he said that the roof was in good condition and was willing to give us a written statement saying so.

Scottish roof construction is also generally different to south of the border where roofs tend not to boarded just felt under the tiles.

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