Premises trespasser liability is a real and growing concern for churches, as trespassing on church property has been steadily increasing in recent years. Whether your church welcomes those individuals or not, there are a few things you need to know about your liability. First and foremost, your church has a legal duty to implement and maintain measures that reduce the foreseeable risk of harm to others — trespassers included.
The Basic Duty Behind Premises Trespasser Liability
When someone suffers an injury, regardless of whether they are a tenant, contractor, church member, visitor, or trespasser, your church may be liable. Courts will consider the reason someone was on the property when they were injured, but that doesn’t automatically protect you from claims brought by trespassers. This is particularly relevant when a dangerous condition is known to exist but no steps are taken to correct it.
A church can be found liable if it was negligent in failing to use reasonable care to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition. The church must use reasonable care to discover unsafe conditions and to repair, replace, or give adequate warning of anything that could reasonably be expected to harm others. In short, California law is well established that a property owner must maintain their property — particularly while it’s in their possession and control — in a reasonably safe condition.
Third-Party Liability
The church’s responsibility to maintain a safe property doesn’t stop when everyone leaves for the day, or when someone else is in control of the space. That responsibility can’t simply be delegated away. If an independent contractor is hired to perform work on the property, the church may still be responsible for the contractor’s failure to maintain safe conditions.
The same is true for tenants using church facilities when the church itself isn’t present. The church must consider the likelihood of injury to others, the burden of reducing or avoiding the risk, the location of the property, and the degree of control it retains over the condition in question. The fact that a tenant was in possession and control at the time of an injury is not, by itself, enough to avoid liability.
Trespassers Specifically
Premises trespasser liability doesn’t disappear just because someone entered without permission. California Penal Code §602 defines trespassing, in part, as intentionally entering and/or remaining on another person’s property without permission or a legal right. The trespasser needs to know they’re entering private property — “No Trespassing” signs help establish that, but they aren’t strictly required to impart that knowledge. Someone can also become a trespasser simply by being asked to leave and failing to do so.
Because the church has a responsibility to keep others reasonably safe on the property, that extends to things like a play yard or equipment used when the church itself is closed. The same rule applies: reasonable precautions must be taken to reduce the risk of harm. Since it isn’t reasonable to station a 24-hour play yard attendant, the equipment should instead be fenced in, well maintained, clearly marked as private, and where appropriate, locked — while still meeting any applicable legal requirements.
Off-Site Liability and Premises Trespasser Liability Beyond Your Property Line
Owning the property outright isn’t a prerequisite for liability, and the reverse is also true — not owning a property doesn’t eliminate it either. Sometimes a church uses off-site parking, such as a neighboring lot or a space across the street. In these situations, premises trespasser liability principles often come down to possession and control. In Vasilenko v. Grace Family Church (2017) 3 Cal.5th 1077, the California Supreme Court addressed exactly this scenario: a churchgoer was struck by a car while crossing a public street between the church’s main premises and its overflow parking lot.
The church had positioned attendants in the parking lot and at a nearby intersection, but the injured party attempted to cross mid-block instead. The Court held that the church did not owe him a duty of care in that instance. Although the injury was a foreseeable consequence of situating a parking lot across a five-lane street, the church had not “magnified” the danger of crossing it. Had the facts been different — for example, if the injury occurred within the parking lot itself, rather than on the public street — the outcome could easily have gone the other way.
The broader principle from the Court: a landowner’s duty of care to avoid exposing others to a risk of injury isn’t limited to injuries that occur on premises it owns or controls. That duty extends to injuries that occur off-site if the landowner’s property is maintained in a way that exposes people to an unreasonable risk of injury elsewhere.
Practical Steps to Reduce Risk
- Actively inspect all areas of the property
- Correct tripping hazards promptly
- Install “No Trespassing” signs that meet legal requirements
- Provide the local police department with a trespasser arrest authorization
- Provide adequate exterior lighting
- Accompany individuals to their vehicles when appropriate
Current California law holds that a person who owns, controls, or possesses land has a duty to maintain and control that property with reasonable care. Failing to do so can result in liability if someone who enters the land is injured — even if that person is a trespasser.
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Disclaimer: Every situation is different and particular facts may vary thereby changing or altering a possible course of action or conclusion. The information contained herein is intended to be general in nature as laws vary between federal, state, counties, and municipalities and therefore may not apply to any given matter. This information is not intended to be legal advice or relied upon as a legal opinion, course of action, accounting, tax or other professional service. You should consult the proper legal or professional advisor knowledgeable in the area that pertains to your particular situation.
