Letting a house with a garden pond but T has children

[vanandmatt]

Hi there,

Have rented the property for previous tenancies however, none have had children.

The new tenants do have 2 young children and are happy that the pond is not covered. If anything were to happen to the children, is it possible that the tenant could take the landlord to court?

Not a nice question to have to ask but an important one.

Thanks

[jeffrey]

One cannot exclude liability for personal injury or death. As long as L has warned T (preferably in writing- in the Letting Agreement is best) that the onus is placed on T to take all appropriate safety measures to protect their children, L can do no more (except make bloomin' sure that L has full insurance cover for such liability, just in case).

[mind the gap]

Hi there,

Have rented the property for previous tenancies however, none have had children.

The new tenants do have 2 young children and are happy that the pond is not covered. If anything were to happen to the children, is it possible that the tenant could take the landlord to court?

Not a nice question to have to ask but an important one.

Thanks

An interesting one. Common sense would suggest that, electrical and gas safety and other staututory obligations aside, it is the parents, not you, who are responsible for their children's safety in their home. For example, if there are stairs and the children are at an age where they might fall down them, it would be up to the parents, not you, to provide and fix a safety gate.

However, although I agree in principle with what Jeffrey says above, I would personally not get much sleep, however much insurance I had taken out, unless I had either emptied the pond, supplied a cover for it, or covered it with netting so that a child could not fall in it and drown.

(But then, I am a bit neurotic and this may be an overreaction after years of having to fill in 18-page Risk Assessments ever time a child wants to sneeze on school premises...)

[Lawcruncher]

I cannot see any difference between letting to someone with small children and letting to someone without small children, since it is reasonably foreseeable that someone without small children may invite them. If you are going to worry about this at all, you should worry about it whenever you let!

So long as the swimming pool meets such safety requirements as there may be, I cannot see how you can be responsible for any accidents. If the safety requirements are not met, then there is no way you can exclude liability.

Appropriate insurance has to be taken out because even if you are not liable, that may not stop the tenant suing. The insurers should be made aware that there is a swimming pool to stop them denying that you have cover.

[jeffrey]

True, but it's a garden pond (not a swimming pool as such).

[theartfullodger]

Put a fence round the kids...

Cheers!

Lodger

[mind the gap]

Put a fence round the kids...

Cheers!

Lodger

Inside the house, it is actually more fun for the parents to sit inside the playpen and read the Sunday papers while the children (who hate being put in a playpen) have the run of the house. Win-win situation!

Pond : re-home any wildlife (I mean frogs and suchlike, not children) and turn it into a sandpit for the duration of the tenancy.

[dominic]

Put a stumped sign into the ground by the pond stating:

"Pond - beware of deep water, parents must not let children play nearby unsupervised".

Also, you could draw the danger of the pond to the attention of the T parents in the check in inventor, which T should then sign.

[Rodent1]

On move in day, push the kids into the pond (whilst you are there to supervise no drowning issues) then as you help them out make them very aware that if they should ever venture near it again the boogie man will come and get them


On a more serious note ...just fill it with pirhanhas ..no will ever know that anyone did fall into the pond.

[mind the gap]

Rodent, have you never tried concrete?

[Rodent1]

Rodent, have you never tried concrete?

Only when assisting T to put their wellies on

[Rodent1]

For the record: I would most certainly fill it in !

[mind the gap]

For the record: I would most certainly fill it in !

OP's pond, or your mouth?

[Rodent1]

OP's pond, or your mouth?

Lawcruncher's swimming pool !




..................tab.... here we come !