What is your landlord's promise of security worth?

Landlords often claim that their apartment building is safe and secure but do their promises hold water? In Doe v. Flair Corp. (1998), 129 Ohio App.3d 739, the Eighth District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County found that a leasing agents statements that the apartment complex was safe and that adequate security was provided on the premises could not be relied upon by a tenant. The tenant was later raped in the common area of the complex despite the assurances of safety and security measures.

In August 1995, tenant met with the leasing agent for The Islander Apartment complex. At that time, the tenant asked about the safety of the complex. According to the tenant, the leasing agent told her that the complex was very safe and that adequate security was provided on the premises. According to the tenant, advertisements for The Islander also represented the complex as a safe and secure residential dwelling unit. Tenant agreed to lease the apartment based upon these assurances of her safety.

On September 16, 1995 at 4:00 a.m., tenant was attacked in the common area of the complex as she attempted to enter her apartment. The attacker dragged her across the road into a secluded woods and raped her there.

The leasing agent was apparently unaware that in the three years prior to this assault, there had been 380 police department incident reports at the complex.

The tenant sued the apartment complex on a variety of theories. The court of appeals held that the complex was not negligent as it could not have reasonably foreseen that tenant would be attacked on its premises. The appeals court found that the landlord had not agreed to provide any specific safety measures in the tenant's lease and thus did not breach any contractual duties. The tenant could not even rely upon the statements of the leasing agent as these were not specific promises of safety and security.

In short, a landlord's duties are specified in the lease. If there is no written agreement concerning what security measures are to be provided, a landlord only has to take some reasonable precautions to provide reasonable security. Tenants can inform their landlord in writing about criminal activity or suspicious persons on the premises. This will put a landlord on notice that this activity is taking place. With such notice, a landlord cannot later claim ignorance. Tenants should investigate with the local police concerning criminal activity at a complex or perform a search in the local newspaper if they wish to obtain a true picture of how safe a complex is.

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