It is proper to provide in a lease that the tenant shall hold the landlord harmless from all claims for damages to both person and property of every kind and nature. This clause tends to relieve the landlord of claims that may be made because of accidents to persons having access to the property or passing on the street adjacent thereto.

The responsibility for injuries received upon the premises often falls either upon the landlord or the tenant. The general rule is that he who has the custody and control of that part of the premises where the accident occurs is liable to damages for the injuries resulting. Consequently the tenant of an entire building, having control and possession of the entire building, is responsible for any injury caused by a negligent condition of the building. As to apartment houses or other buildings in which there are several tenants, it is usually the case that each tenant has custody and control of his own apartment or space in the building, while the landlord retains the custody and control of those parts of the building which are used in common by the tenants, namely, the roof, halls, stairways and entrance. In such a building, therefore, the tenants would be responsible only for injuries arising from negligence in their apartments, while the landlord would be liable for injuries sustained upon roof, halls, stairways or entry. It must be borne in mind, of course, that neither the landlord nor tenant is liable for an injury caused by a negligent condition existing in the building unless he either actually knew or should have known of the condition. Also, neither the landlord nor the tenant is responsible for an accident unless it was caused by negligence on the part of either of them. In most States, an exception to the above rules exists under which the landlord may be responsible for some accidents in a building even if a tenant has possession and control of the entire building. Such would be an injury arising from a negligent condition which existed at the time the landlord leased the property to the tenant. For example, a tenant is in possession and control of a one-family dwelling house. The stair carpet installed by the tenant becomes worn and causes a visitor to trip, fall and injure himself. In that case the tenant would be responsible for the damages sustained. Suppose, however, that the staircase was so erected as to be very steep and the treads very narrow so that it would be dangerous to anyone going up or down the stairs. In that event a person falling upon the stairs would have a claim against the landlord rather than the tenant. In other words, if there is some inherent defect in the property at the time of the creation of the lease, the landlord would be liable for any injury caused by that inherent defect. It is also true that if the landlord rented the property for a dangerous or illegal purpose he would be liable for damages.

In certain cases both the landlord and the tenant would be liable for damages, as when the landlord created a nuisance and the tenant continued it. In one recorded case, the landlord of a building installed a sink without an overflow pipe.

The tenant allowed the water to overflow from the sink with the result that the property of a tenant in a lower apartment was damaged. The injured party was allowed to hold both the landlord and the tenant for the damages.