Inherited a tenant with 2 pit bulls not sure what to do

Nick Aderman · 2016-11-28T11:18:35-08:00

Hello BP, my wife and I recently bought our first rental (a Duplex in Sacramento) We inherited tenants on both sides. They have both been long term renters at this property, and after inspections they both seem to take care of their side pretty well, so we assumed we would do our best to keep them. They are both on month to month leases and we have plans to adjust the rents to market here soon. The problem is one unit has 2 pit bulls. We have required the tenant to get a renters insurance policy that covers pit bulls, in particular, and asked them to add us and the property manager as additional insured. But now we just found out our insurance company is dropping our home owners policy due to the dogs (they have a strict no vicious dog policy that we just found out about) So we will be shopping around for a new one, not worried about finding another policy for us as my wife is our agent and she's confident we can find another policy for around the same amount. Being new to landlording, my wife and I are torn, we don't really want to kick this tenant out since he has been paying on time for 4+ years and the unit seems to be taken care of. However, we obviously don't want to be sued because his dogs get out and attack someone. What would you do in this situation?Thanks

Colton S.

Investor · Wendell, NC · Member since 2014 · 189 posts · 54 votes

9y

I would say so long as you have them sign something stating that they are responsible for any actions their dogs take and have insurance you should be fine. Make sure they are vaccinated, up to date and well behaved dogs when you arrive.

I would also require that the dogs have been through some type of training, because most pit bulls are wonderful animals if they have been trained accordingly.

I speak from experience because I have two myself.

7 Reply

Deanna McCormick

Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9y

I'd let them know you'll not be renewing their lease, you are going to a limited pet / animal policy, 1 per unit, adult weight limit of 20 lbs. .. or better yet no pet policy.

Until then they must provide proof of insurance that cover them for their dog and I'd check again with your agent and see what their thoughts are,, I bet your agent says, to get a remove this animal as soon as possible and then you'd have to give them a mutual lease termination to show compliance for your insurance company until they are gone.

I wouldn't take the risk, I personally don't accept pets (animals) at my rentals..

1 Reply

Jeremie Cortez

Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2016 · 16 posts · 1 vote

9y

I am closing on a duplex in Sacramento soon with pit bulls and am interested in the responses.

0 Reply

Gordon CuffePro Member

Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 587 votes

9y

When you are looking into your new insurance policy ask each company if the liability coverage of the policy if the tenants dog bites someone. If they say yes then I hope that makes you feel better about keeping them as tenants until they move out or stop paying.

1 Reply

Jason Hartley

Vancouver, WA · Member since 2016 · 230 posts · 161 votes

9y

Sorry, but Colton is giving terrible advice.. He's advocating that you be uninsured, allow the dogs, and have the tenant sign something? Do you believe the tenants will defend you against a 3 million lawsuit if their dogs bite somebody?

Most insurance policies don't allow those dogs and you absolutely need to be insured. No matter how nice or how well trained the dogs are, the dogs have to go. No (sane) landlord allows pit bulls to live at their property.

8 Reply

John Ford

Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 85 posts · 49 votes

9y

I hate that these dogs, and many other great breeds, get a bad rep because of a few bad owners. But it is what it is.

Your agent may be sure she can find you a new policy, but there will likely be an annotation in your C.L.U.E. report which insurance underwriters have access to and will base your policy on. Whatever you decide to do with the tenant, once it's resolved, I'd pull my report from LexisNexis and see what's on it to make sure it accurately reflects the situation.

5 Reply

Account Closed

Investor · Princeton, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9y

Actually many insurance policies will cover the dogs. Many single family rentals also allow them.

I should be getting a check from an insurance company, because I have been saying this so much.

Get GOOD insurance and don't worry about it.

3 Reply

Account Closed

Residential Real Estate Broker · Colton, CA · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 4 votes

9y

My first post. I have a State Farm Agent in Ca that will insure dogs. She gave our renters in a senior community with 2 pit bulls insurance. If you would like the phone number please let me know.

BTW the dogs were great....the tenants...not so much...

4 Reply

Colton S.

Investor · Wendell, NC · Member since 2014 · 189 posts · 54 votes

9y

@Jason Hartley I'm sorry Jason, but please review my post. No where did I say be uninsured.

"I would say so long as you have them sign something stating that they are responsible for any actions their dogs take and have insurance you should be fine."

I did not specify the kind of insurance because quite honestly I didn't feel the need to repeat what @Nick Aderman already knows. He is looking for insurance and already requires renters insurance.

I beg to differ on the dog itself needing to go, the way that I am looking at it is the damage has been done to the property already, they have lived their 4+ years. If the proper precautions are taken, why remove cash flow? The unit is taken care of, the rent is paid, nick is just looking to mitigate his risk in the animals.

I gave a response of that, and not one of kick them or you'll have a giant lawsuit on your hands. That might be the easy thing to say as a onlooker, but is that the easy thing to do as an investor? I assume there will have to be rehab, marketing, etc to get that unit rented especially seeing as we are going into a slow season. Why not mitigate risk, get everything in order and then prepare to rerent.

3 Reply

Colton S.

Investor · Wendell, NC · Member since 2014 · 189 posts · 54 votes

9y

Oh and @Jason Hartley insurance companies that typically have a "no aggressive breed" policy are willing to allow the dog to have a "Good Citizen" certification and on going training. Of course locations and companies differ.

So, next time before just saying that someone is giving bad advice please read the post and possibly offer suggestions, comments, feed back and your opinion. That's a bit more constructive than "Oh, they're wrong".

2 Reply

Thomas S.

Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes

9y

Make your life easier and give them notice that you will have to terminate their lease for insurance reasons. You are operating a business now and need to make business decisions. Your statement:

we don't really want to kick this tenant out since he has been paying on time for 4+ years and the unit seems to be taken care of.

Is poor business management. Tenants are required to pay rent on time and keep the property need so there is absolutely nothing about these tenants that would warrant special consideration. There is no place in business for emotions, you make business decisions based on protecting yourself and your business, tenants concerns are a distant third.

3 Reply

Wes Blackwell

Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 738 posts · 1k+ votes

9y

@Nick Aderman -- When it comes to dog bites, generally speaking it is very rare for a landlord to be found liable for injuries inflicted by a tenant's dog. You'd only be liable if:

You knew the dog was dangerous and could have removed the dog, or...
You cared for or controlled the dog in some manner (dog sitting)

In court, they'd have to prove that you knew the dog was dangerous that you had the power to make the tenant get rid of the dog or move out. And that means you'd have to have known that the dog had bitten someone previously or threatened someone.

For example, if you know your tenant keeps their dog chained and barks at people, but has never bitten someone, you would not be held liable if the dog ever did.

But where it sort of gets into a gray area is that your insurance company said the dog was a potential threat, and you actually do have the power to remove the dog or tenant since they are on a month to month lease. And in a sue-happy state like California, that might just be grounds enough to make the claim you already knew the dog was dangerous and could have done something about it.

You might be able to mitigate the potential risk by fencing the front year, asking the tenant to keep the dog inside, or post your own warning signs on the property. That might help push the liability back on the tenant and the person who gets bit.

Before you make your decision, I would do everything I could to prevent the possibility of an injury caused by the dog in the meantime, and speak with your insurance provider and an attorney about the possible liabilities. Best of luck!

2 Reply

Thomas S.

Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes

9y

Unfortunately not being liable does not help a landlord feel better if their tenants dog injures or kills a neighbours pet or child.

Getting rid of the tenant eliminates all possible concerns.

2 Reply

Colton S.

Investor · Wendell, NC · Member since 2014 · 189 posts · 54 votes

9y

@Thomas S. I thought you were all about no emotions, but here you are talking about what makes a landlord feel better. (;

Just poking fun. I do respect your posts and insight, even if we have different views on animals.

1 Reply

Thomas S.

Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes

9y

Some times I do give advice almost like I have emotions simply to make a point. (:

As for animals I don't believe anyone should ever consider bringing their animals into a property they do not own unless it's a barn. If they want animals they should own their own home.

2 Reply

Amy A.

Portland, ME · Member since 2012 · 616 posts · 550 votes

9y

Since it's just two units and the neighbor doesn't care and they are good tenants, I would let them keep the dogs. I don't normally allow them. Definitely get it in writing that if something happens to the dogs that they will not be allowed to replace them. Take a photo of them. Also make sure they're spayed or neutered. You don't want them breeding and they act better when neutered.

One caveat is that if the neighbors ever move, you might have a hard time getting new tenants for that unit who aren't afraid of pit bulls.

1 Reply

Sarah D.

San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 273 posts · 226 votes

9y

just for the record the breed with the highest rate of dog bites (in either San Diego county or Califotnia, can't remember) is the chihuahua. Pit bulls do get a bad rep. But your decision should be based on the tenant, their history, their particular dogs, and your insurance situation.

Clearly I am an animal lover, and pit bull lover.

3 Reply

Jaclyn McClellan

Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 176 posts · 73 votes

9y

Pitbulls have a bad rep. Ask to meet the dogs yourself! The breed is really not bad. I know it's a pain for insurance purposes but I'm sure if you try to explain that to the tenant you could probably get them to pay more when they renew. Also, since most places don't rent to people with pit bulls, you might actually have yourself some long term tenants. I will say, try to vet the people as much as possible - there are also owners that have pitbulls for "bad" reasons. Dogs are usually a reflection of their owners.

8 Reply

Thomas S.

Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes

9y

Keep in mind that the majority of times there is a dog bit incident it is never expected, the dog has always been a perfect pet and never showed any signs in the past of being aggressive. Animals are never predictable and will attack without history or notice.

Vetting a dog is zero guarantee of future behaviour.

I have personally been bit several times in my past line of work and every single time the owner has said that their dog has never done it before. Expect the unexpected when dealing with animals.

0 Reply

Pete Krentz

Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 59 posts · 20 votes

9y

To start Pit bulls are wonderful dogs. Before everyone was afraid of them it was dobermans, and before them German Sheppards. There is always the scary breed of dog out there. I worked in the pet industry for years and I'll be honest it is 100% the owner's fault if a dog is a jerk. A primary job of pit bulls hundreds of years ago to take care of BABIES while people were out hunting/working. They are really not mean animals unless the owner trains them to be. That being said I've been bitten exactly 0 times by large breed dogs and had hundreds of encounters a day with them. I've been bitten dozens of times by the little yippie breeds like shitzus and the like. The reason you never hear about those is because they are a small animal and when they bite its a small bite but when a big dog bites it's a big animal bite that breaks skin. That all being said as Greg S said above - it still an animal and that leads to a certain amount of unpredictability.

1 Reply

Jassem A.

Investor · PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 602 votes

9y

Accepting pets in a rental is sometimes the only easy way to set your rental apart from the competition other than the price point. I'd be more worried about damage caused to the rental than liability but most of the time it's not an issue with responsible pet owners.

0 Reply

Lynn McGeein

Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9y

It does not matter whether or not I personally like pit bulls and rottweilers; as a landlord, it is about statistics. See the excerpt from an article below (I'll put the link in as well):

A longer range study covering the period September 1982 to May 2016 conducted by Animals 24-7 editor, Merritt Clifton, yielded similar data. During this period there were 658 documented cases of dog-attack deaths. The top five fatality-causing breeds were, unsurprisingly:

Pit bull / pit bull mix (53.5 percent of the fatalities);
Rottweiler / Rottweiler mix (14 percent of the fatalities);
Husky / husky mix;
German shepherd / German shepherd mix; and
Bull mastiff / bull mastiff mix.

Notice that pit bulls and Rottweilers are one and two, respectively, on all three lists; with a wide margin between the top two and the next three.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/blogs/academy-jour...

While I do allow a well-trained family pet, I have strict rules: breed restrictions (those 5 plus several more that I got from my insurance company), liability insurance, canine good citizen certificate or great pet interview with me personally, vet records proving vaccinations, age and breed (no puppies, either), proof of legal pet license, larger security deposit, and tenants' acknowledgement that dog has never shown aggression or bitten any human or animal.

2 Reply

Jaclyn McClellan

Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 176 posts · 73 votes

9y

My dog looks big and scary, but this is his day to day life... hanging on the couch watching TV... just saying.

4 Reply

Mike Nelson

Investor · Oak Park, IL · Member since 2014 · 316 posts · 150 votes

9y

About 18 years ago I was managing my ex-wife's two-flat after our divorce. I accepted a tenant with a bit-bull. I found it difficult to find tenants at this location in Pilsen, Chicago, so I foolishly lowered my standards. The pit bull chased after me until the owner called the dog off. Fortunately, I escaped with one bite to the ankle,(requiringa few stitches. but the bottom of my jeans were shredded. I was very fortunate, it could have easily been much worse. Fortunately, it was just me, and not my ex-wife. This incident taught me to tighten my standards.

4 Reply

Colton S.

Investor · Wendell, NC · Member since 2014 · 189 posts · 54 votes

9y

@Lynn McGeein with statistics such as these you have to keep in mind a few things or they are skewed.

Smaller dogs bite more than larger dogs, primarily Chihuahuas and other small similar dogs, this is a well known fact. The reason larger dogs make the top of the bite list is because when a small dog such as a Chihuahua is aggressive and bites you, even drawing blood, they're not typically reported because it's small in relation to a human. Of course it would be crazy to see in the news that a Chihuahua killed someone, because of the relative size in terms of a human.

However, larger dogs even when playing will make the list because something small that draws blood is on a larger scale and creates more fear in the person than a small dog.

Saying that Larger dogs like Pit Bulls are aggressive because you have looked at the statistics is like saying cows are aggressive because they killed 24 people in 2015, 4 less than the average death by dogs. Cows are not aggressive, they are nothing to be afraid of but it is easier for a larger animal to hurt someone due to their general size.

Now, I'm not saying that you don't have a reason to deny them or not rent to owners with pit bulls.
What I am saying is that if you go through the effort to rent to owners with large dogs (50+ lbs) there is no real added risk to rent to an owner of a pit bull or other dogs. All dogs can be at risk of biting someone, so why should I be more or less afraid of the dogs not on that list? If a dog is well trained and meets all the criteria that you listed before Lynn, I see no reason to deny them. They are no more/less a risk than the other animals you would be accepting.

What I am saying is void if your insurance says no to dogs on that list, that is not under our control and we need to have a certain level of protection. But if your insurance is following the recent trend and only asks if they have a dog and if they have bitten someone, then I would certainly rent to them IF you allow dogs and IF the dog has never bitten someone.

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Inherited a tenant with 2 pit bulls not sure what to do

Inherited a tenant with 2 pit bulls not sure what to do

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