I am renting a house and while trying to install shelves and the like we have come to realize that our house is completely not to building codes (in some places instead of studs it seems they used a sheet of plywood behind a layer of drywall). I was wondering whether it is possible to sue our landlord for negligence (or something equivalent for these circumstances) BEFORE an injury occurs. From the tiny amount of research I have done it seems that we could sue if someone is injured because of the negligence, but I'd rather not wait until someone gets injured to do something about it.

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Originally Posted by catoflime

I am renting a house and while trying to install shelves and the like we have come to realize that our house is completely not to building codes (in some places instead of studs it seems they used a sheet of plywood behind a layer of drywall). I was wondering whether it is possible to sue our landlord for negligence (or something equivalent for these circumstances) BEFORE an injury occurs. From the tiny amount of research I have done it seems that we could sue if someone is injured because of the negligence, but I'd rather not wait until someone gets injured to do something about it.

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A lawsuit in anticipation of an injury - the first problem is that the injured person/Plaintiff who has advance notice of a defect has a higher standard of care than a person who does not know of the defect. For example, the gutters are leaking. I know the stairs COULD have ice on them. I walk down the stairs in high heel shoes or don't hold onto the guardrail. I did not take proper precautions.

I know a railing wobbles - I hold on to it and walk down the stairs and am injured because I didn't take proper precautions.

IF the situation is dangerous there is also an expectation that you will remove yourself and your family from that situation and not wait until someone gets injured to do so.

Your recourse? Report it to the Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector, authorities, depending on the nature of the problem.

Expect to be evicted, but that would not be a bad thing if the house is unsafe.

I'm an accident investigator, have been for many years. I have never had anyone start preparing for a lawsuit in anticipation of being injured. Do people report the conditions, ask me to verify them, move? Yes. Do people call me in anticipation of an injury? No, because a prudent person wouldn't put himself/herself and the family in jeopardy.

Interior walls are either load bearing or not. If not, there is no code requiring studs - it can be plywood or cardboard or tissue paper. So before you go around suing anyone, or even placing calls to busy building inspectors, do you actually know anything about building codes? This isn't sewage backing up or the roof falling in; it's not finding a stud to hang shelves on.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

A lawsuit in anticipation of an injury - the first problem is that the injured person/Plaintiff who has advance notice of a defect has a higher standard of care than a person who does not know of the defect. ...
Your recourse? Report it to the Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector, authorities, depending on the nature of the problem.

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All quite true.

Additionally, OP indicates that the problem is that interior walls appear to be nothing but sheetrock attached to plywood. I don't know whether that is a violation of standard building codes, but the question which comes to my mind is whether an injury is likely to occur as a result. Could be that it's nothing more than sub-standard construction.

The short answer is that one cannot sue for negligence without injury. Because the essence of negligence is injury caused by violation of a duty on the part of the tort-feasor. Or, as the saying goes, "no harm, no foul."

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Interior walls are either load bearing or not. If not, there is no code requiring studs - it can be plywood or cardboard or tissue paper. So before you go around suing anyone, or even placing calls to busy building inspectors, do you actually know anything about building codes? This isn't sewage backing up or the roof falling in; it's not finding a stud to hang shelves on.

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Well seeing as though my roommates father is the one that first pointed it out and he has been an architect/contractor in our state for almost 30 years, and when he pointed out the things that were wrong he cited which codes were being violated, so yes I have access to someone who does know stuff about building codes (apparently he's memorized all of them). Also, just because I was asking about suing does not mean I was going to go around suing willy nilly, I am simply trying to gauge how much leverage I have over my landlord in discussions if I decide to bring it up. Also, we noticed the problem because we couldn't find studs, that is not why I care about it. I care about it because we are in an earthquake-vulnerable area and a building that doesn't have enough load-bearing supports can be quite dangerous.

This is different.

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Originally Posted by catoflime

Well seeing as though my roommates father is the one that first pointed it out and he has been an architect/contractor in our state for almost 30 years, and when he pointed out the things that were wrong he cited which codes were being violated, so yes I have access to someone who does know stuff about building codes (apparently he's memorized all of them). Also, just because I was asking about suing does not mean I was going to go around suing willy nilly, I am simply trying to gauge how much leverage I have over my landlord in discussions if I decide to bring it up. Also, we noticed the problem because we couldn't find studs, that is not why I care about it. I care about it because we are in an earthquake-vulnerable area and a building that doesn't have enough load-bearing supports can be quite dangerous.

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This is not how your question started. All I know about the situation is what you stated, and you very specifically asked about suing "before an injury occurs." Now your story has changed to leverage over the landlord in discussions if you "decide to bring it up" and you aren't sue happy.

As you said, "Well seeing as though" your roommates father is in the trades, has direct and informed knowledge that the construction is defective and possibly dangerous I would guess that your roommate is moving out?

I can't believe, for that matter, that you would live in an earthquake-vulnerable location when the building isn't up to code.

Notify the landlord of the problem, give notice, ask an Attorney about not paying rent and move. I don't see any other options.