Landowner/Hunter Rights & Responsibilities

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HottyToddy

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To clarify - I am ~not~ asking for legal advice šŸ˜‰

Is there any difference in what the hunter and landowner owe each other between free permission and a paid lease? Does money changing hands bring in insurance, etc? I can't exactly find what I'm looking for via google.
 
Explain your situation, you will get better responses. I would think that depending on what you are asking, there may be little difference on whether I lease you my land or let you use it for free.
 
A landowner said feel free to hunt my property, the only thing I ask in return is photos of the place (hasn't been there in 30+ years). I got the signed "permission slip" from TWRA from him, and I signed an additional piece of paper that basically says the landowner is not responsible for any injury, etc cause to the hunter (myself) while on the land. All is well.

If he changes his mind and says hey, I want $1/yr to continue to use the land for hunting, does that change anything on his end? Does he now have to carry umbrella insurance or anything similar since there's paid use on his land? Or can I just give him the $1 and we continue with our agreement that he's not responsible for anything that happens to me? Do I have to carry any insurance?
 
Looks to me like you are definitely asking legal adviceā€¦your question seems to boil down to liability concerns. Land owner is typically more worried about it than the user.
 
I'm not an attorney or an insurance man and I don't play one on TV. I'd say whatever you decide on is your business. Liability in the event of an accident will be on whoever the courts says when it goes to trial and they look at the agreements and any insurance that is or is not in place.

Or in shortā€¦ we live in a very litigious society. No one knows what would happen unless its clearly spelled out in contacts and even then, its anybody's WAG. Probably boil down to who can bring the most/best legal power to bear.
šŸ¤£
 
jwp1964 said:
Looks to me like you are definitely asking legal adviceā€¦your question seems to boil down to liability concerns. Land owner is typically more worried about it than the user.
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Yeahā€¦ kinda lol. I didn't know if there was a law that landowner owes insurance if money changes hands. I'm hopeful there isn't. It's hard enough to get landowners to agree to hunting WITH payment, I didn't want to create any more work for them that could blow up a deal. I have 0 intentions of holding a landowner responsible for anything that happens while I'm hunting, I just wanted to make sure they wouldn't get in trouble if a game warden stopped me and there wasn't insurance on the "lease".
 
You might not hold the land owner responsible but what happens if your killed on the property, bills start piling up, and a lawyer tells your relatives ( wife, kids, extā€¦) how much money they could get if they sue, you can't guarantee they won't!!
 
Laserman1 said:
You might not hold the land owner responsible but what happens if your killed on the property, bills start piling up, and a lawyer tells your relatives ( wife, kids, extā€¦) how much money they could get if they sue, you can't guarantee they won't!!
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That's why I had the additional piece of paper signed by both parties that says they are not liable for anything. I'm just trying to make it as easy as possible for them while not putting them in any potential crosshairs!
 
Laserman1 said:
You might not hold the land owner responsible but what happens if your killed on the property, bills start piling up, and a lawyer tells your relatives ( wife, kids, extā€¦) how much money they could get if they sue, you can't guarantee they won't!!
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This right here is why owners usually want users to have a waiver of liability and user funded insurance and coverage. Also why you can't get permission like the old days. Owners don't like being sued.
 
HottyToddy said:
A landowner said feel free to hunt my property, the only thing I ask in return is photos of the place (hasn't been there in 30+ years). I got the signed "permission slip" from TWRA from him, and I signed an additional piece of paper that basically says the landowner is not responsible for any injury, etc cause to the hunter (myself) while on the land. All is well.

If he changes his mind and says hey, I want $1/yr to continue to use the land for hunting, does that change anything on his end? Does he now have to carry umbrella insurance or anything similar since there's paid use on his land? Or can I just give him the $1 and we continue with our agreement that he's not responsible for anything that happens to me? Do I have to carry any insurance?
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No, he does not have to carry extra insurance, why should he. He should have you sign a waiver stating that you are responsible for your own actions. This in no way releases him from negligence, but you would be responsible if you fall out of a tree.

The permission slip is necessary so the GW knows you are hunting there legally, especially if the place is marked with purple and signs. I print these out and give them to guys I let hunt for the day or weekend to keep them out of trouble. A release of liability is also signed.

1737741266186.webp
 
It's hard to get permission these days to hunt. Nobody use to care at all. I could walk from farm to farm. But nobody wants to sued anymore. Not to mention most farms are now diced up with different owners. 500 acre farm use to be very common. Not so much anymore. Use to be lots of big dairy farms. Most are gone now. So if you are lucky enough to have a lease. Do what you can to hold onto it.
 
From my experience the land owner can be held liable if you were to get hurt on his property. Case in point...........I had a lease in Mid Tn for over 20 years, on one occasion I was trimming shooting lanes and I fell 10 ft out of a tree breaking my wrist in three places.
After all was said and done my insurance co. contacted me and asked where the accident happened. I almost said on my deer lease but caught myself and asked what did it matter? I was then informed that the landowner was responsible for any and all medical expenses.
The landowner was old, lived on a fixed income and didn't have much money plus he was letting me hunt for cheap. I knew if he would have to pay my Dr. bills it would have pretty much bankrupt him. I lied and told my insurance Co I got injured on my own property. Probably not the "right" thing to lie, but to me it was the "ethical" thing to do.
 
bigtex said:
From my experience the land owner can be held liable if you were to get hurt on his property. Case in point...........I had a lease in Mid Tn for over 20 years, on one occasion I was trimming shooting lanes and I fell 10 ft out of a tree breaking my wrist in three places.
After all was said and done my insurance co. contacted me and asked where the accident happened. I almost said on my deer lease but caught myself and asked what did it matter? I was then informed that the landowner was responsible for any and all medical expenses.
The landowner was old, lived on a fixed income and didn't have much money plus he was letting me hunt for cheap. I knew if he would have to pay my Dr. bills it would have pretty much bankrupt him. I lied and told my insurance Co I got injured on my own property. Probably not the "right" thing to lie, but to me it was the "ethical" thing to do.
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According to state law they were lying. That said, laws don't stop anyone from being sued.
 
Stopped and asked an old timer a few years ago if I could hunt his place. He said "sure" but wouldn't write me a permit. A different elderly gentleman that I cut hay for told me a story of a young man who's rifle snagged a fence as he was crawling through it. Hunter gets shot and dies. Family decides to sue and the permit from the landowner resulted in him losing everything.
 

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