Two fatal falls in NRW – from a multi-storey car park and an arcade. Railings were broken. Landlords have certain obligations when it comes to security.
NRW – Two terrible accidents involving falls from high floors occurred in North Rhine-Westphalia within a few days. In both cases, railings broke off. The lawyer Arndt Kempgens from Gelsenkirchen takes this as an opportunity to clarify what landlords have to consider legally with railings and handrails – and what responsibility they have.
| Federal State | North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) |
| population | 17.9 million (2021) |
| prime minister | Hendrik Wuest (CDU) |
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After falling from the pergola: landlord obligations with railings and handrails?
The tragedy happened in Mönchengladbach on Thursday evening, April 21: four people fell from an arcade on the third floor. A 31-year-old died and three other people were seriously injured. Reason for the fall: A railing broke off.
On Easter Sunday, two young men fell with their car from the top deck of a parking garage in Essen. The car shot through a railing and was completely deformed when it hit the ground. The inmates, aged 19 and 16, died shortly afterwards.
Fatal arcade fall: landlords have to check railings and handrails
Both the fatal arcade fall in Mönchengladbach and the fatal parking deck fall in Essen raise legal questions. What do landlords have to consider? What is her responsibility?
Lawyer Arndt Kempgens says that railings and handrails on arcades, balconies and the like must generally comply with the “rules of technology”. What does this mean? What is meant by this is regulated in Germany by DIN 18065 in conjunction with the state building regulations.
Falls in Mönchengladbach and Essen: Minimum height for railings
For railings, for example, the minimum height is generally at least 90 centimeters, depending on the height and construction, the distance between the individual struts must not exceed 12 centimeters if small children are to be expected (DIN 18065, railing heights, tables 3 and 4), the lawyer out.
But once something has been built, it must also be checked. “The building owner has the obligation to keep these safety devices functional and safe. They are obliged to ward off dangers that threaten road users from using the traffic area (Federal Court of Justice, NZV 14, p. 450)”, Kempgens describes the legal situation. “The obligated party must take into account all types of use of the area that are typically to be expected (Palandt, § 823, RN 221).”
Falls in Mönchengladbach and Essen: Building owners must check railings
What does that mean in plain language? Building owners need to check that railings are not crumbling and able to withstand heavy jostling. However, this does not mean that a vehicle is hit, the lawyer refers to the Essen multi-storey car park tragedy.
Kempgen’s message goes on to say: “If this is not the case, building owners are liable under civil law from the point of view of failing to ensure traffic safety (§ 823 BGB, damages and compensation for pain and suffering). If tenants find defects, they must report them to the landlord and can demand immediate removal. They can also reduce the rent if the rented property can only be used to a limited extent or not at all (§ 536 BGB).”
However, criminal responsibility for negligent bodily harm through omission according to § 223, 229 StGB or also for negligent homicide according to § 222 StGB can be considered.
Railings on buildings: the behavior of those affected is crucial
However, the personal behavior of those affected plays a decisive role both in the question of civil and criminal responsibility.
In the case of the Essen parking garage fall, it is suspected that this could have been preceded by a daring maneuver on the parking deck. As after the tragedy in Mönchengladbach, investigations into the background are still ongoing.
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