What is a landlord’s liability for not installing fire alarms?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What is a landlord’s liability for not installing fire alarms?

My daughter lived in her apartment for 5 weeks with no fire alarms in place; they were in the trunk of the landlord’s car. A fire started while all were asleep but they all got out. However they lost everything except for the clothes on their backs. Can landlord be held responsible for anything that they lost? They did not have any renter’s insurance edue to a high premium because there were no smoke alarms.

Asked on November 6, 2010 under Real Estate Law, Wisconsin

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

Your daughter needs to seek help from an attorney in the area as to the matter.  Although I am not familiar with Wisconsin law specifically, I am pretty sure that every state has laws that deal with mandatory fire alarms for tenant occupied premises.  You should check with the Fire Department or the Fire Commissioner to see if the landlord was issued a citation for not having the smoke detectors on the premises.  The landlord has insurance for the building and you should be covered unless they try and disclaim because of his failure to install the detectors but I do not want to scare you about that.  Her attorney will know what to do.  Good luck. 


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption