Is a Landlord Ever Liable for a Dog Bite Injury?

As a landlord, you may allow pets at your property. What happens if there is a dog bite injury; are you liable since you allowed for someone’s furry children to live here? Many tenants have dogs and landlords many times allow for them to live on their property as to attract more business.

With a well-drafted lease, the landlord will stay protected from pet damage to the property but that doesn’t always apply to injuries that happen to people. Here is a look at how you will be liable for a dog bite to another person if you allow them on your property.

The rules vary by state

One thing that landlords should always be doing is staying informed on their actual state’s landlord and tenants laws. The dog bite law will vary by state. All states have an option for a bitten person to receive compensation for the injury in one way or another. Fortunately, no state will hold a landlord responsible for the dog bite injury but they could see a lawsuit if a tenant’s insurance isn’t good enough to cover the total costs of the damage.

It’s happened in the past

States have held landlord responsible for dog bite injuries on court cases of the past. The common-law rule was that landlords could be liable for injuries if they knew about the activity that caused the injury, consented to it and knew there was an unreasonable risk of injury.

This means that in the past, if a landlord knew the tenant had a dog living there and knew the tenant wasn’t properly preventing injury by keeping the dog leashed or in a fenced-yard, the landlord would be liable.

If the landlord didn’t make a repair that would have prevented the injury, for example by repairing a broken screen door that allowed the dog to get loose and injure someone, the landlord was liable.

How to avoid this as a landlord

To avoid being liable for a dog-bite lawsuit, be sure to carefully screen your applicants and their dogs and have all of the right paperwork signed. You can put restrictions on breeds to not allow breeds that tend to bite more than others. Lastly, always respond to repair requests promptly so that a lawsuit of any kind doesn’t come up later. Talking to an attorney for more information on lease provisions and dog bite claims can help you to stay protected.

Use these tips to avoid liability for a dog bite injury at your property.