Renting and the law: Liability insurance needed for lawn and snow services?

Q: I have a tenant who takes care of the lawn and the snow shoveling in exchange for reduced rent. I do not have a written agreement with him. I'm wondering about liability on my part if he were injured while doing these tasks. My tenant likes getting the reduced rent, but if I have to start buying an insurance policy for him, I feel that I would have to raise his rent, since it is already on the low side. What is my responsibility?

A: Minnesota law allows a landlord to enter into an agreement with their tenant to have the tenant perform work on the property, such as lawn care and snow shoveling, just so long as the agreement is in writing and the tenant is given adequate compensation. Typically, the type of work the landlord needs their tenant to complete is written into the lease or in a separate document along with the amount the landlord will pay the tenant or the amount of the tenant's rent reduction.

Since you don't have a written agreement or possibly even a lease, you could draft a handwritten agreement stating the work to be performed and the amount of rent reduction in exchange for the work. If you do have a lease, then you can add your handwritten or typed agreement to the lease as an attachment, or revise your lease to include the work to be performed and the amount of compensation. Then, you and your tenant should both sign and date it.

It won't involve much work on your part, so you should put the agreement in writing for it to be legal. Your responsibility as a landlord having a tenant do snow removal and lawn care is most likely covered under your current insurance policy for the rental unit. You should contact your insurance representative to confirm that or purchase insurance that does cover you.

Kelly Klein is a Minneapolis attorney. Participation in this column does not create an attorney/client relationship with Klein. Do not rely on advice in this column for legal opinions. Consult an attorney regarding your particular issues. E-mail renting questions to kklein@kleinpa.com. Information provided by readers is not confidential.