Grab Your Shovel: All Property Owners in Massachusetts Are Required By Law to Remove Snow and Ice

Along with the massive amounts of snow dropped on Massachusetts in the past week comes an often dreaded task: shoveling.

But not everyone is willing to get out there and put the work into scraping ice off their property. And that means a lot of sidewalks and parking lots in Massachusetts remain covered in slippery ice and snow, which can pose a danger to people who can’t avoid walking on the ice.

You may be the person carefully tip-toeing across a slippery side-walk or the person who let the ice build up on their property after that dreaded blizzard dropped feet of snow on your lawn, but no matter what your role the facts are clear: failing to remove ice and snow in Massachusetts is illegal.

It has been since 2010.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts changed the law five years ago to make property owners liable for any injuries that happen due to snow and ice build-up on their property. And yes, for the purpose of this law, your “property” includes the section of public sidewalk in front of your home or business.

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The change came after a man slipped and fell on a patch of ice in the Target section of the Liberty Tree Mall parking lot in Danvers. Emanuel Papadopoulos was injured in his fall and later filed a lawsuit against Target and Weiss Landscaping Company, which was contracted for snow removal in that parking lot.

Papadopoulos won his case, changing a loophole in Massachusetts law that allowed property owners in Massachusetts to escape liability for snow or ice related injuries for 125 years.

Now, an unshoveled sidewalk in Massachusetts is means to call the police. But that doesn’t mean you have to be out there shoveling as the snow falls. Most cities in Massachusetts give their residents between 6 and 12 hours after a storm for cleanup.

Times vary by city, so check your local town ordinances for requirements.

For all the landlords out there, the law means a whole lot of cleanup after this last blizzard. Not only do you have to shovel your own driveway and sidewalk, you’re responsible for getting rid of the snow on all of your properties whether or not they are currently rented.

Since renters don’t own the property, real estate lawyer Richard Vetstein said in a blog post, they are not liable if someone gets injured on ice or snow at their home.

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