Landlord Liability for Dog Bites
Landlords are often fearful to accept rent to tenants with animals especially dogs because the reasons that they are worried about is their liability if the dog can bite one of the tenant or otherwise injures someone that must take immediate action.
Of course this can be a valid concern by the landlord; but it is also an unnecessary concern.
There are only certain instances when a landlord may be held liable if a tenant’s dog bites or injures an individual.
Who Is Usually Liable?
Majority cases, if the pet or in a specific the dog harm, the owner of the dog is the one who is primary responsible. Since the liability for a dog bite often rests on the tenant, landlord must give an advise prior before the lease start, especially those with animals, to purchase renter's insurance.
Important thing that they always examine the policy to make sure it does not exclude coverage for injuries or damage caused by a dog or that it does not exclude certain dangerous dog breeds from the coverage.
When Is a Landlord Liable?
Keep in mind that each state has different laws, so it is important to check locally to determine the exact rules that may apply to you.
A landlord is not being held liable if a tenant’s pet or dog attacks someone. But According to Nolo.com, a landlord could be held accountable if they already know the dog was dangerous and could have had the dog removed.
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Comments
Hi, John,
Thanks for taking the time to make your comments, really appreciate it..
James
It would seem to me to come down to a question of negligence or recklessness, and whether it was reasonably foreseeable that a dog which was known to be dangerous, could be harmful to others who are on or in the vicinity of the property. It probably wouldn't be easy though to establish landlord liability for an incident because there would appear to be no obvious duty of care.
Most landlords have a simple yea or nay policy about whether pets are allowed and don't go to great lengths to get to know each animal a tenant may have, and nor should they be expected to. Liability should lie with the owner or responsible party at the time of such an attack.