Who Is Held Liable?

[Luvnmykidz]

Good afternoon all. I am still in the process of opening my home daycare. My issue is this: I am currently renting my home. I have spoken to my landlord about my desire to have a home daycare and my landlord has given the okay. Now that I have completed everything and need the home owners info for the actual permit, the landlord is saying he is concerned and needs proof that he wont be held liable if anything happens. Basically he has said that he is in agreement with me operating this out of the home, but worries about being sued if anything happens. I have told him that I will have insurance for the daycare and that any issues will go against me and my license not him. So my question is where can I get some type of supporting documentation about this to give to my landlord and am I correct in saying that any issues will be against me and not him. All advice and information on this is greatly appreciated. Thank you

[MarinaVanessa]

If he is worried about being sued you can always add him to your liability insurance for a small additional fee. That way if he is sued then your insurance will cover it. It's hard to say who will be held responsible and liable to pay because that depends on what the issue is.

For example, if a client sues because a child fell off a piece of your daycare equipment and hurt themselves badly and needed hospitalization then you would be held responsible because it is your responsibility to supervise the children.

If, however, a child or client trips on a piece of broken sidewalk on the property or falls through a front porch step because the landlord failed to repair it then it is his responsibility to pay for the damages. If you get sued you can turn around and sue the landlord for your loss because it's his responsibility and he never fixed the issue.

If a client crashes into the home then your liability insurance would handle it. The landlord just wants to make sure that he is protected just in case of your negligence or the negligence of one of your clients, which you can probably sooth his fears by offering to add him onto your liability insurance.

HTH

[MyAngels]

This is something best discussed with an attorney familiar with your state's laws. In my state a landlord can be held liable for anything that happens on his or her property, which is why many won't allow a daycare on their premises.

[MarinaVanessa]

This is something best discussed with an attorney familiar with your state's laws. In my state a landlord can be held liable for anything that happens on his or her property, which is why many won't allow a daycare on their premises.

This is true. In CA, for example, a landlord cannot deny a tenant solely because they want to provide child care services and a tenant does not need the landlords permission (only to notify them( to do child care in the rental property unless they want to provide care for more than 6 children. CA protects family child care providers when it comes to renting (within reason) which is not always the case. I was speaking from my experience and did not think to clarify that, so sorry .

[Luvnmykidz]

Thank you ladies. I will contact an attorney familiar with the laws in my state.

[Unregistered]

If, however, a child or client trips on a piece of broken sidewalk on the property or falls through a front porch step because the landlord failed to repair it then it is his responsibility to pay for the damages. If you get sued you can turn around and sue the landlord for your loss because it's his responsibility and he never fixed the issue.

If a client crashes into the home then your liability insurance would handle it. The landlord just wants to make sure that he is protected just in case of your negligence or the negligence of one of your clients, which you can probably sooth his fears by offering to add him onto your liability insurance.

HTH

Actually, the LL is to have Rental Property Insurance for that. This is because it's not limited to the tenants/dck's but if ANYONE steps foot into that home and something was not properly fixed (I like to use stair hand rails in my examples) and someone is injured, his rental property insurance kicks in and pays the liability. NOT the dcp. HOWEVER, there are some states and policies that exclude such coverages for any type of business, and therefore, both the LL and tenant need to research these things and come to an agreement.

That said, in almost all our cases, if the tenant/DCP does something negligent, then HER dc insurance should cover that. She does not need to add her LL to the policy but can list him as add'l insured so that he can ensure 1. policy is active 2. call for proof of insurance and 3. be notified of changes to the policy (usually in regard to how much is covered). She will very likely NOT be able to use a standard Renter's Policy, but will need to purchase a separate policy. Usually, a minimum of $500K is required, but some LL's may allow for lower or may even request higher policy limits.