YOUR LIABILITY MAY SKYROCKET IF YOU ALLOW PETS IN YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY SHARON VORNHOLT
The court, however, made a
ruling that has a major impact
on landlords in the state of
Kentucky.
The lesson to be
learned here is that for legal
purposes, a landlord can now
be the named the owner of a
tenant’s dog (as well as the
actual owner) and therefore
can be held liable for injuries
and damages under certain
circumstances.
Protecting Yourself
Here are three steps you should take now to help protect yourself:
If you don’t want to ban dogs completely you should definitely ban the dogs that have been named vicious
breeds. Now we all know that not every one of these dogs is vicious. But if and when they do attack someone,
they will do a whole lot more bodily damage than a poodle or cocker spaniel.
Verify with your insurance company which dogs they classify as vicious and therefore are not covered under
your homeowner’s policy. Don’t allow these dogs on your property.
Visit your properties unannounced from time to time, and see if there are any pets that you do not expect to
find. Be sure to document those visits in a file, just in case you end up in court one day.
Final Thoughts
I was contacted recently from someone in the Miami area about this very problem. This property owner had just
been fined $10,000 for EACH pit bull that lived on her rental property by the Miami Dade County Animal
Services. She had been notified by the neighbors that there were two dogs that were running loose in the
neighborhood, and that those types of dogs were illegal in that County. This property owner called animal
control to help her get rid of the illegal dogs; thinking that this was the right thing to do. Apparently, at least in
Dade County, you can’t do that. Animal control told her that she was the owner of the property, and therefore
was responsible for the dogs, and was issued the fine... Can you imagine? A $20,000 fine for breaking a law
she didn’t even know existed.