Title: Landlord Liability for Tenants' Dogs | Nolo
Headings: Landlord Liability for Tenants' Dogs
Landlord Liability for Tenants' Dogs
Some landlords fear that they'll be on the hook if a tenant's dog injures someone.
Knowing About and Having Power to Remove the Dog
Injuries Off the Landlord's Property
Harboring a Tenant's Dog

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"harbored" or "kept" the tenant's dog—that is, cared for or had some control over the dog. These factors may also apply to homeowners' associations, which control common areas in their developments, as well as landlords. ( See Barrwood Homeowners Assoc., Inc. v. Maser, 675 So. 2d 983 (Fla. App. 1996), reh'g denied (1996).) If a landlord is found financially liable, the building owner's liability insurance may cover the loss. Knowing About and Having Power to Remove the Dog
In many states, someone trying to hold a landlord liable for injuries caused by a tenant's dog must prove both that the landlord knew that the dog was dangerous and that the landlord had the power, legally, to make the tenant get rid of the dog or move out. As one court put it, a property owner cannot "sit idly by in the face of the known danger to others." ( Linebaugh v. Hyndman , 516 A.2d 638 (1986) aff'd, 524 A.2d 1255 (1987) (landlord liable for injury caused by tenant's dog because landlord knew dog had bitten someone before).