Who Is Liable for Slip and Fall Accidents In NYC Apartment Buildings?

Posted in Slip and Fall Accidents on January 20, 2026

A sudden slip followed by a hard fall happens in an instant, but the effects can cause months of pain, suffering, and a disruption to your ability to earn a living. In some cases, the injury could have catastrophic consequences, like permanent disability. These are the damages in your New York City slip-and-fall case, but who is liable for these damages?

According to NYC Housing Preservation & Development, New York’s apartment building owners have legal responsibilities, including the following:

“Ensuring that common areas and individual apartment units are safe and well maintained…”

Breaching this legal duty of care to those legally on the property leaves the property owner liable for an injury victim’s damages if a slip-and-fall occurred due to the property owner’s breach of their legal duty of care.

A slip and fall lawyer in New York City can help you get the compensation you deserve today — contact us online.

What Is an Apartment Building Owner’s Duty of Care?

Property owners must regularly inspect their premises, identify safety hazards, and take prompt action to correct them through maintenance, repairs, and other measures, including, when necessary, posting warning signs. Property owners must keep common areas and apartments well-maintained and in compliance with the New York Housing Maintenance Code (HMC). Common examples of apartment owner negligence resulting in slip-and-fall accidents include the following:

Failure to place warning signs after mopping floors in common areas
Failure to promptly address spills, leaks, or tracked-in rain or snow
Failure to clear snow and ice from walkways within the required time limit for snow removal, depending on the time of day when the snowfall ceases
Leaving loose or curled carpets and mats in common areas
Using improper floor cleaning products that leave a slippery surface
Providing inadequate lighting
Leaving debris or clutter underfoot
Failure to mark floor level changes, such as step-ups and step-downs
Failure to repair cracked or broken floorboards
Cracked or uneven surfaces in parking areas and walkways

When an apartment building owner’s negligence causes a slip-and-fall accident to occur to a tenant, visitor, delivery person, or anyone legally on the property, they are liable for the damages, like medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering.

What are the Legal Standards of Liability for a Slip and Fall?

Proving liability in a slip-and-fall claim or any premises liability case requires evidence demonstrating that the property owner was aware of the hazard, or should reasonably have known about it. Then, the negligence must meet the following standards of liability:

The property owner or other entity owed a legal duty of care to the injury victim
They breached their duty of care
The breach of duty caused the injury
The injury victim suffered damages from the injury

If the property owner failed to take the actions a reasonable apartment building owner would have taken under the same circumstances, a court would find them liable.

Are Property Owners Always the Liable Party In NYC Apartment Building Slip-and-Fall Accidents?

A negligent property owner is the most common liable party in slip-and-fall cases; however, depending on the circumstances of the fall, other entities could be liable or share liability. For example, the following entities are sometimes liable for New York apartment building slip-and-fall damages:

A property management company that neglected its responsibilities
A negligent contractor for faulty flooring, staircase, or pavement installation or repair
A negligent cleaning company

An experienced NYC premises liability attorney investigates all aspects of the slip-and-fall accident and pursues compensation from any liable party that caused or contributed to your injury and damages.