Are you legally a landlord if you're not charging rent?

May 25, 2017 4:04 PM

What if you have a piece of property, like a vacant lot, that homeless people live on in tents. Are you doing anything illegal by not clearing them off? Presumably you're legally liable for anything that happens on the property -- somebody gets stabbed, their relative could sue you into homelessness yourself. Is there insurance for that kind of thing? What if you had a port-a-potty or two. Or a low-key, unarmed, security guard stroll around just to discourage overt, public, crime on the property. Would you be changing your legal standing?

Are there lawyers in my area I could consult with to find out more? How would I go about finding the right kind?

posted by mrmurbles to Law & Government (6 answers total)

You probably want to talk to a lawyer about adverse possession -- in certain circumstances, a person allowed to continuously occupy your property that you have no formal agreement or contact with can convince a court to grant them the title to that property. It is unlikely that someone will attempt to do this to you, and also unlikely that they will succeed if they do, but it is a possibility.
posted by jordemort at 4:25 PM on May 25, 2017 [8 favorites]

Municipal bylaws might have some input into this scenario as well. A number of cities have laws against "nuisance properties" that are associated with, for example, an excessive number of police calls or complaints, requiring property owners to secure the lot (with a fence, for e.g.)

If the land isn't level and constitutes a hazard that could also be a liability. Or if there is abandoned industrial activity that isn't certified as remediated or reclaimed, that's another issue - it may take more than just removing structures to achieve reclamation.

Sometimes realtors (especially those who specialise in commercial real estate) can recommend a lawyer with the appropriate knowledge - you say "in your area" but I can't tell what that area is.
posted by Kurichina at 5:07 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

You'll probably also be interested in learning about different types of liability insurance. In my opinion, once you have any assets at all, or you should get an umbrella policy. They're pretty cheap, though they often have minimums required on your other policies
posted by rabbitrabbit at 5:47 PM on May 25, 2017

(I'm not anything even resembling a lawyer.) I think "premises liability" might be the phrase to search for. How (or if) your jurisdiction makes a distinction between licensees and trespassers might make a huge difference. I'd consult with a premises liability defense attorney about this.

Posting a "Camping Permitted" sign will likely protect you from (extremely unlikely) adverse possession, but might turn trespassers into licensees to whom you have a duty of care. Providing a port-a-potty might open you up to liability for the same reason. Not posting "no trespassing" signs might open you up to liability. Hiring a security guard and instructing them not to clear away trespassers might open you up to liability. Just hiring the security guard might open you up to liability if the guard gets hurt.

...somebody gets stabbed, their relative could sue you...
I believe this is "third-party" premises liability, which gets complex...
posted by lozierj at 6:17 PM on May 25, 2017

There are a couple ways to do this. 1) Figure out a way to fly under the radar. 2) Go big. Formally make it ok. Expect a LOT of pushback from the city and your neighbors. Expect a lot of support, too!

Do a search for Right 2 Dream 2 in downtown Portland, Oregon - that should find you a lot of info on the positive bits, and then there's this timeline which covers the code violations.
posted by aniola at 7:46 PM on May 25, 2017

Do you own such a lot? There are going to be all sorts of regulations about whether you can have a campground. Depending on the locations, neighbors might actively and successfully oppose this use. People are homeless for many reasons, and working with a homeless population might get pretty difficult. Managing sanitation alone is a fair amount of work. I always see tiny houses touted as a boon to the homeless, with 0 discussion of how critical it is to have running water and sewage.

What's your goal? To just plain help homeless people, contact local agencies that do that work, and ask them what sort of help is needed. In my community, homeless people hang out in libraries and other indoor public areas. Talk to your library, maybe they can tell you that homeless people in your community need bus passes, access to showers, access to laundry. If I wanted to just be nice to homeless people, I'd buy a stack of $10 gift cards to local coffee/ donut and/or sandwich joints, and give them to librarians to give away.

In my community, the people who work with the homeless do excellent work. If that's not true in your community, being active to change that may feel less satisfying, but is quite important. Another option is to talk to a homeless shelter, identify an individual or family that needs a home, and subsidize them for some period of time. Thanks for being compassionate.
posted by theora55 at 7:05 PM on May 26, 2017