Whatever your reasoning, you may not think there’s any harm in letting your unused RV sit peacefully on your property, quietly rusting away. What’s the harm, right? It’s your property and it’s your RV, and you believe you have the right to do what you want on your own property. While the laws about this may vary by state, the issue at hand leans more towards liability than it does towards your personal freedoms and God-given rights.
Premises Liability and Your Junk RV
Your property, your rules, right? Most of the time this logic is well within the law. However, when it comes to storing a junk RV on your property, there are some things you ought to know.
As a property owner, you have a duty of care to ensure that those who come on your property aren’t hurt and suffer a serious injury. This is known in the legal system as premises liability. It means that if someone suffers an injury while on your property, most of the time you’ll be held as the responsible party. Premises liability laws vary by state, but most of the time, if someone is caused harm by your junk RV, you can be sued for their damages.
Invited Visitors and Trespassers and Your Junk RV
As you would expect, premises liability mainly refers to if someone whom you’ve invited or allowed on your property is hurt, you can be held liable for their injuries. For example, if you’re having a big backyard picnic and have invited lots of people, if one of them, or worse yet, one of their children, is playing around that falling apart junk RV on your property suffers an injury, yes, it’s technically your fault.
Although the laws vary by state, even trespassers who are injured by your junk RV can sue you for personal injury. Fortunately, this is only if the property owner regularly experiences trespassers and knows that their presence is common. An example would be if there’s a shortcut to a public park that’s commonly used and is only your property, the laws of premises liability take over.
Other Legalities of Storing a Junk RV on Your Property
Owners of junk RVs that are left on their property not only have the issues of premises liability to be concerned about but also another issue. Some states have what are known as blight laws. Simply stated, it could be a violation of state or regional laws to store any broken-down vehicle that isn’t working. A junk RV definitely falls into this category.
Some municipalities can fine homeowners for having unsightly properties that disturb the look of a neighborhood. For example, in Commerce, Georgia, a wrecked, junked, or otherwise inoperable RV if not stored in an enclosed garage cannot be visible from the street in a residential neighborhood. Covering one with a tarp doesn’t constitute out of the public’s view.
As the saying goes, good fences make good neighbors. However, if your fence isn’t high enough to hide your wrecked rig, it could pose a problem. If you have a junk RV that’s rotting away on your property that’s visible to the entire neighborhood, chances are one or more of your neighbors aren’t pleased. Whether your rig is legally allowed to be on your property or not, you could be causing others around you a bit of grief.
What To Do With a Junk RV To Avoid It Becoming a Liability
Sometimes when owners of junk RVs realize that they could potentially face a personal injury lawsuit or could be fined due to a local blight law in their community, they want to eliminate those issues. There isn’t much sense in keeping something as large and unsightly as an RV if it’s just sitting there anyway. But what do you do with it?
Selling a junk RV the traditional way most likely won’t do the trick. However, there is a convenient way to sell one that’s hassle-free and profitable. Contact a specialized RV dealer that purchases any RV regardless of its condition, age, or mileage. Operable or not, they pay you a pretty price for yours and haul it away for free. You could have that unsightly hunk of junk removed from your property within 48 hours.
For example, Peach State residents who are ready to get cash for their unusable home on wheels can sell it to a junk RV buyer in Georgia. Specialized dealers will buy any RV regardless of its condition. Get that wreck off your property and get some cash in your pocket.
Junk RVs and Liability Explained
Should a visitor to your property find themselves with an injury that was caused by your junk RV, you will be held liable for all of their injury-related damages. Although you may feel that nothing bad will come of your wrecked rig, old and dilapidated RVs could cause injuries. The best way to end your liability is to sell it to a junk RV dealer. Rather than worry about liability, have them haul it away while leaving you with cash in hand.
