Whoever controls a property must protect others from its dangers. This duty to maintain safety (Verkehrssicherungspflicht) appears in no single statute – it is settled case law under § 823 BGB.
"A person who, intentionally or negligently, unlawfully injures the life, body, health, freedom, property or another right of another person is liable to compensate the other party for the resulting damage."
— § 823 (1) BGB (translated)
The big four duty areas
- Winter service: clearing and gritting, typically 7 a.m.–8 p.m. on weekdays; the duty can be shifted to tenants or contractors by contract – the supervision duty stays with the owner.
- Trees: visual inspection twice a year (in leaf and bare); arborist on any warning sign.
- Playgrounds: visual checks weekly to fortnightly, annual main inspection (DIN EN 1176).
- Building and paths: lighting, railings, trip hazards, roof avalanches, loose façade parts.
The courts' yardstick
What is owed is not absolute safety but what "a prudent and reasonable person may consider sufficient" – and the decisive factor is documentation: owners who can produce dated inspection rounds with route and findings win lawsuits; owners who merely assert them lose.
Delegation only protects with careful selection, clear instruction and spot-checking of the contractor. In eigentumwerk, inspection rounds run as recurring tickets with photo evidence – the proof builds itself.