Stairs in rental property not up to code

[Travis Kemper]

Hey everyone, I'm under contract for a house that is quite old (1930). The stairs to the finished attic are not up to code, which is not overly surprising due to the age of the home. My question pertains to the legal responsibility if a renter would use the attic, fall and get hurt. Anyone have any info on this?

Property is in Phoenix, AZ if this makes a difference.

Thanks in advance,

Travis

[Mike McCarthy]

@Travis Kemper were they built to code when the attic was finished? There’s typically a case for ‘grandfathered’ buildings that were to code when they were built. If this wasn’t the case, most buildings would need to be torn down every 15-20 years.

If you’re doing significant remodeling, that usually triggers the need to bring other parts of the house up to code. Or if it was done poorly when it was originally built, that’s another story.

Of course, anyone can sue for anything... but I’m not sure how much traction one would get suing for a staircase has been like that for 70 years.