An occupier of land or premises owes a duty to anyone who comes on the land or premises with the occupier's permission. An occupier is anyone who is responsible for the state of the premises or who has sufficient control over it and is able to give consent for a person to enter. This includes the owner or tenants. In Trinidad and Tobago, the liability of occupiers depends on the category that the person who is entering the premises belongs to.
The categories are:
Contractual entrants
If a person has entered premises because of a contract between themselves and the occupier, for example, a guest in a hotel, the occupier must ensure that the premises are safe as reasonable care would make them.
Invitees
An invitee is a person, eg a customer in a shop or supermarket, who comes onto premises with the owner's express or implied consent, in circumstances that involve a material benefit to the occupier. The occupier's duty is not to prevent any and all damage to an invitee. The occupier must use reasonable care to prevent damage to the invitee from an unusual danger which the occupier knows or ought to know about, and which the invitee did not know or of which he or she could not have been aware. These unusual dangers include wet floors and dangerous dogs. The occupier of the premises must take adequate steps to bring notice of any unusual forms of danger such as by a 'wet floor' sign or a 'beware of dog' sign.
Licensees
A licensee is a person, eg a guest at a party or visitor to a public park, permitted by the occupier to be on premises where the visit does not materially benefit the occupier. Examples include a social guest at a party or where the owner of a house permits a stranger to make a telephone call without charge. The occupier's only duty to such persons is to warn them of concealed or hidden dangers or traps actually known to the occupier.
Trespassers
A trespasser is one who goes on premises without invitation of any sort and whose presence is either unknown to the occupier or, if known, is not desired. The occupier owes merely a duty of common humanity or a duty to act in keeping with common standards of civilised behaviour. This means that the occupier simply has to make reasonable endeavours to keep out or chase off potential or actual trespassers who are likely to be or who are in a dangerous situation. Reasonable endeavours include notice boards or fencing.
An occupier is not liable for injury caused as a result of a risk willingly accepted by a visitor. For example, if someone is injured when swimming or rock climbing, he or she would be expected to have anticipated a degree of risk in the nature of the activity in which they were engaged. This, however, may not be the case with young children who may not be able to appreciate danger.
This article sets out general guidelines. All legal rules have exceptions and variations. How the law applies to you depends on the facts of your case.
