Tenant of single-family home is responsible for clearing snow from driveway and walkway

A: As you have described it, the property you have rented seems to be the whole property, including the walkway and the driveway, and the tenant seems to have the exclusive use of the driveway. That is the normal situation in the rental of a singlefamily home.

The court case referred to by your tenant involved a slip and fall that occurred on a common walkway. The lease provided that the tenant was to clear the walkway. But because the applicable maintenance standard regulation required the landlord to maintain exterior common areas, including removal of unsafe accumulation of ice and snow, the court held that the landlord would have to make a separate agreement compensating the tenant for doing that work. But in your situation, the driveway is not a common space; it is for the exclusive use of the tenant.

The tenant is responsible for the ordinary cleanliness of the rental unit, which in your case includes the driveway. Most people in the landlord-tenant field would consider clearing snow to be an aspect of cleaning, which makes it the tenant’s responsibility.

The tenant would also usually need to clear their front walkway even if they don’t use it. Other people, such as visitors, are entitled to access the house by the walkway, and their safety is the tenant’s responsibility.

The situation is different for a multiple unit rental dwelling. When there are multiple units, it is up to the landlord to maintain or clean the common areas. That would normally include the walkway, and may include a driveway.

A landlord may agree with one of the tenants for that tenant to clear the snow for payment. Alternately, a landlord may himself clear the snow or hire someone to do so.

Ice is another issue. Especially when freezing rain falls, a layer of ice can build up very quickly and be dangerous. Landlords may want to provide a bag of salt, icemelt, sand or grit to help their tenants address ice quickly. For their own safety, tenants of a multiple dwelling may be well advised to spread the ice treatment themselves as they exit the building in icy conditions, as well as using traction aids on their boots.

Tenants (or landlords) who are new to a cold climate may benefit from some education on what ice treatment to use. When the temperature is just above or below freezing, salt or ice-melt works well, especially on a thin layer of ice. However, at colder temperatures — and especially if the ice is thick — salt may just melt through the ice, which then forms again above the pieces of salt. Then what is needed is sand or grit to provide traction on the ice surface.