Title: Dog Law :: Landlords and Dogs > Landlord Liability for Tenants' Dogs :: DogLaw.HugPug.com
Headings: 
Landlord Liability for Tenants' Dogs
Knowing About and Having Power to Remove the Dog
INJURIES OFF THE LANDLORD'S PROPERTY
Harboring a Tenant's Dog
Endnotes

Content: Dogs aren't presumed to be dangerous,  although there is a possible exception for pit bull terriers in cities that have  enacted breed-specific restrictions ( See Dangerous Dogs ). So  only a landlord who has specific knowledge of the dog's dangerous disposition is legally responsible if it injures someone. In practice, that means the  landlord must know that the dog has already threatened or injured someone. For example, a landlord who knows only that a tenant's dog is kept  chained and barks at people who approach probably will not be held liable  if the dog bites someone. A New York court, given those circumstances, did  not hold a landlord liable for the injury her tenant's dog had inflicted. Especially in light of the town's leash law, the court ruled, the landlord  shouldn't be expected to infer that a dog is dangerous just because it is kept  enclosed in a yard. 39
If the dog is particularly threatening, however, that may be enough  evidence of a dangerous tendency, as a Colorado landlord found out. Before  signing a lease, the landlord took care of two dogs that belonged to a  prospective tenant. During the two weeks he had the dogs, they threatened  his grandchild. Nevertheless, he rented to the tenants.