Smith leased a house from Jones. During the term of the lease, Tanya, Smith's girlfriend visited often and eventually sort of just moved in with the Smith even though she had her own place. The house had second-story window-only access to the roof (flat, like a deck) on which Smith and Tanya sunned themselves despite the fact that Jones, the landlord, had told them to stay off of the roof because of possible damage to the roofing material. The flat roof (deck) had no railing and had a tangle of old television antenna wires connected to an unused antenna on the roof above.  One night Smith and Tanya maintain that they heard a noise and went to the roof (deck) to check for possible burglars. Tanya became tangled in the antenna wire and fell to the ground below, causing serious injury. She sued Jones for her injuries, claiming that he was responsible for the "latent defect" created by the antenna wires. 

1. The house was rented to Smith unfurnished. Can/Will Tanya recover?
2. What Texas law applies? Explain landlord liability, if any, in this situation.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In Texas landlord liability for injuries on the rental property is generally governed by premises li... View the full answer