Municipality liability for damage caused by market stalls

Questioner

In our street, a market is set up every week on behalf of the municipality. Iron racks with planks are placed - by a hired party - on the pavement in our street. The municipality is the client for this. It is a classic market that has been organised every week for years. The market stalls are rented out to users. Now damage has occurred to the facade of our house because the stalls were not placed properly or were moved by the users. The municipality does not consider itself responsible for this damage and refers us to the user of the stall. Is this correct? Isn't the municipality the client and therefore responsible for the use and therefore for the damage to our house? We do not know the users of the stalls. They cannot possibly be our point of contact for this damage? I would like to receive a response to these questions. Many thanks in advance and many greetings.

Lawyer

The users of the stall are indeed not your point of contact. The municipality is the client and therefore also the lessor of the market stalls. The construction of the stalls is also the responsibility of the municipality. In addition, the municipality should also supervise the market. They have probably also established a market regulation on the basis of which the obligations of the market traders are regulated. You can therefore hold the municipality liable for the damage. The municipality can of course recover this damage from the tenant of the stall, but that is their responsibility.