Homeowners should prepare for any bad weather that does come their way and they should always be aware of their legal responsibilities.

The government last year tried to introduce some clarity into what had often been the confused area of the responsibilities of the homeowner with regard to clearing paths of snow and ice during the winter and said that commonsense action would be encouraged. The comments were made in response to increasing concerns, throughout the last two severe winters, that people could be sued if they tried to clear paths of snow and ice and someone fell while walking on them.

An independent review by David Quarmby, which came out last year, recommended a “Snow Code” to minimise disruption during a cold snap. As well as setting guidelines for the salt stocks that local authorities should have at their disposal, it was also concerned with reassuring householders that doing their bit to help would not leave them open to personal injury claims being made against them.

The Transport Secretary at the time, Philip Hammond, said that shopkeepers and residents alike should be free to clear paths without the fear of a health and safety culture, which he claimed had become out of control in recent years.

Therefore the current guidelines are those which were recommended in the Quarmby report, which states that it is perfectly legal for a homeowner to clear snow and ice away from the pavement outside of their home, from any paths to their property and even from any public spaces. As long as the person concerned shows common sense in trying to improve a situation and their actions do not make the situation any worse, they are unlikely to face any consequences.

So, as an example, if the owner, in attempting to clear a path of ice, has poured hot water over it, he may find himself in difficulty as that does mean that the water on the path may then freeze over and become black ice. That could be interpreted as making the situation worse and so, if someone slips and gets hurt as a result of the black ice, they may have a claim against the homeowner.

As with all circumstances in which there is a visitor to a person’s property, the Occupiers Liability Act is the legislation which covers this and it provides that the occupier of the premises owes a duty of care to the visitor while on their premises to take reasonable care to ensure they are safe. Above all the government advice is to try and not put off those who are intending to clear ice or snow for fear of someone getting injured. So long as the person responsible takes care when doing so, using grit or sand rather than water, then it is most unlikely that they will be the subject of a claim.