Who's Liable for Pothole or Trip Damage on a Private Carpark or Driveway? (NZ Owner's Guide)

When a pothole wrecks a wheel or someone trips and falls, the first question is always the same: who pays? On a public road the answer points to the council or NZTA. But the moment it happens on a private carpark, accessway or shared driveway, the picture changes — and a lot of owners and body corporates are surprised to learn the exposure can land on them.

This is a plain-English guide for property owners and managers: where the public and private line sits, what a duty of care generally means for an occupier, how it works on a body-corporate shared driveway, and the cheapest, simplest way to protect yourself. It is general information, not legal advice — for a specific incident, talk to your lawyer or insurer. Send four photos if you just want the hazard gone.

Public road vs private property — the line that decides who pays

On a public road or footpath, potholes are the responsibility of the roading authority — Auckland Transport for local roads, NZTA / Waka Kotahi for state highways — and that is who a damage claim goes to. We cover that process in the pothole damage claim guide.

On private property — a retail or body-corporate carpark, a motel forecourt, a shared driveway, a business yard — the roading authority is not involved. Responsibility generally sits with whoever controls the property: the owner, the body corporate, or in some cases the tenant under their lease. People routinely assume the council will sort it. On private land, they will not.

What a duty of care means for a property owner

An occupier of property generally owes a duty to take reasonable care that people coming onto the property are not harmed by hazards the occupier knew about, or ought to have known about. It is not absolute — you are not automatically liable for every mishap — but a known, un-actioned hazard is where exposure builds. A pothole or a raised asphalt lip that has been there for months, that you had reported, is exactly that kind of hazard.

For vehicle damage — a cracked rim, a bent control arm — this is a property-damage question, not an ACC one, so the owner's potential exposure is not removed by ACC. For personal injury, ACC covers the injured person's treatment, but that does not necessarily end the owner's wider exposure or the insurance and reputational consequences. How any specific claim resolves depends on the facts; this is general information, not legal advice.

Body corporates and shared driveways

On a unit-title development, the carpark and shared driveway are almost always common property. Under the Unit Titles Act 2010, the body corporate has a duty to repair and maintain common property (section 138). A pothole on a shared drive is therefore typically a body-corporate responsibility to fix — and a body corporate that defers a known hazard is the one carrying the risk if someone is hurt or a car is damaged.

Practically, if you are a committee member or building manager and a defect has been reported, getting it documented and repaired is both the cheaper and the safer path than letting it sit. Our car park repair and shared-driveway work is built for exactly this.

The cheapest insurance is fixing the hazard — and documenting it

Here is the part owners miss: the expensive outcome is not the repair, it is the un-repaired hazard with no record. A documented repair flips your position. If a claim ever arises, being able to show you identified the hazard and remediated it on a specific date, to a specific standard, is strong evidence you took reasonable care.

Every Rapidpatch job includes an insurance-ready report as standard: dated before-and-after photos with location markers, the defect measured, materials and depth, and the warranty in writing — the paperwork your insurer or body-corporate minutes want. If the hazard is live now, we can make it safe the same day and book the permanent fix. See trip-hazard remediation.

Frequently asked questions

If someone trips in my carpark, am I automatically liable?

No — it depends on the facts and on whether you took reasonable care. The risk is highest with a known hazard you did not action. This is general information, not legal advice; check a specific incident with your lawyer or insurer.

A pothole on the road damaged my car — who do I claim from?

That is a public-road claim against Auckland Transport or NZTA, not the private-property situation this page covers. See our pothole damage claim guide for that process.

Does ACC mean I do not have to worry about it?

ACC covers an injured person's treatment, but it does not cover vehicle or property damage and does not necessarily remove an owner's wider exposure. Do not treat ACC as a reason to leave a hazard in place.

Who is liable on a body-corporate shared driveway?

The shared driveway is usually common property, which the body corporate has a duty to maintain under the Unit Titles Act 2010 (section 138). So it is typically a body-corporate fix. Check your scheme's specifics.

Will fixing it now actually reduce my risk?

Yes — a documented remediation is strong evidence you took reasonable care, and it removes the hazard itself. It is the cheapest move available.

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If there is a pothole or trip hazard on a carpark, driveway or accessway you are responsible for, the cheapest risk management you can buy is fixing it and having the repair documented. Send four photos or email fix@rapidpatch.co.nz — fixed-price Auckland quote within 24 working hours, insurance-ready report on every job.

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