One of the biggest concerns that many have before investing in a community or becoming a community manager is liability. What if someone gets hurt or something happens on the property? How will that affect me and the community? Well, there are things that community management teams can do to protect themselves against liability, and a few of these are:

 

  • Look into liability insurance – If an accident does occur within the community, a community manager can be held responsible for the payout. Missed work wages, medical bill payments, and other factors may come into play should a community manager be held liable, but liability insurance can compensate you for these losses.
  • Learn and follow the ADA and FHA – The Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act both protect residents from discrimination due to a variety of factors. If a resident believes he or she was not treated fairly under one of these two laws, they could hold community management liable for their situation. Getting to know these laws well, and adhering to them exactly is the best way to avoid liability in this area.
  • Place an indemnification clause in the lease – If a community manager is worried about being held liable for a resident’s negligence, such as in the event of an avoidable accident, an indemnification clause put into the lease is a great way to avoid this type of liability. This clause will state in the signed lease that the community manager is in no way responsible for accidents resulting from the resident’s negligence.
  • Keep up with maintenance and safety checks – The easiest and most worthwhile way to avoid liability is to simply keep up with the community. Hazards like broken sidewalks and run down structures are ideal places for accidents to occur, and these can be avoided simply by keeping up with routine maintenance.

 

Keeping protected against liability is an important job that should be treated as such by both the community owner and community manager, if the two are separate. This type of protection will ensure that owners and managers will be covered in the event of any type of accident or situation, and that things will be handled fairly should any type of scenario occur. To learn more about protecting against liability, simply check us out at Occupancy Solutions today!