When can a landlord be held responsible for injuries that take place on the premises?

In this case, the tenant was injured when she fell down some stairs that were leading up to her apartment. The bottom two steps were broken and thus not in compliance with Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 (which identifies a duty on the part of the landlord to the tenant to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition). The landlord argued that once the tenant took over control of the premises, his duty to fix things ended and the tenant could not recover.

But the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that so long as the landlord had been put on notice of conditions within the apartment, then the landlord owed a duty to the tenant to keep the apartment in a fit and habitable condition. Since the landlord failed to do this after being warned by the tenant about the defective stairs, the landlord was held liable. The important thing for tenants to remember is to notify the landlord in writing as soon as you discover items at your apartment that are unsafe. It is best to keep copies of any correspondence that you send to the landlord. That way, if ever you are injured by such items, your landlord (or more likely his insurance company) will have to cover your medical expenses.

Shroades v. Rental Homes (1981), 68 Ohio St. 2d 20.

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