Understand your responsibility
If you own a home in most places, but certainly in the greater Philadelphia area, you are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks that border your property. Most people know that they are required to clear the sidewalks of snow and ice within a certain time frame (for example, in Lower Merion Township, you have 30 hours from the end of the snow fall). However, many people do not realize that the condition of those sidewalks as far as crumbling, settling, level difference, etc. are also their responsiblity. (In Lower Merion Township, and many others, in order to sell your home, your sidewalks will be inspected and you will be required to pay to repair them if they are deemed a safety hazard.)
Why should you care?
So why does all of this matter? For two reasons. The first is that you can be fined by your township and forced to make (and pay for) the repair. The second is that if someone is injured due to the state of the sidewalk, you can be found liable. Translation: law suit.
What should you do?
My recommendation, in addition to clearing snow and ice (and using pet-safe ice melt) is to inspect the sidewalks regularly. Tree roots can grow up and disturb the concrete blocks which can cause a significant tripping hazard. Other times, parts of a block can break off or crumble or individual blocks can simply shift. Regardless of the cause, keep in mind that if someone trips and the powers that be determine that the cause was the poor condition of the sidewalk, you could potentially be held liable and sued. Enough said.
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
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