§ 75.0025.Limited Liability of Persons Allowing Certain Uses of Land

A provision encouraging one specific use of vacant land.

"Community garden" means premises used for recreational gardening by a group of people residing in a neighborhood or community for the purpose of providing fresh produce for the benefit of the residents.

An owner, lessee, or occupant who gives permission to another person to enter and use the land as a community garden does not by giving that permission ensure that the premises are safe, or assume responsibility for: bodily injury or death; property damage; or an act of a third party that occurs on the premises.

The barrier this removes is a practical one. A landowner with a vacant lot has no reason to let neighbours garden on it and every reason not to, since the permission converts trespassers into licensees or invitees and creates a duty that did not exist.

Subsection (c) disapplies attractive nuisance, which matters for a garden that children will use.

Subsection (d) preserves the floor: the section does not limit liability for injury caused by wilful or wanton acts or gross negligence.

Subsection (e) requires a sign. The owner shall post and maintain a clearly readable sign in a clearly visible location containing the prescribed warning that Texas law limits the landowner's liability. Users are told the terms on which they enter.