The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from discriminating any tenant based on race, color, sex, national origin, disability or
familial status. However, it is within your rights as a landlord to decide what breed of pet is allowed to live on your
property.
Why should landlords
be concerned with the breed of dog a tenant
owns? The Insurance Information Institute says about $479 million was paid
by all insurance companies for dog bite claims in 2011. As a result, insurance
companies are getting stricter about the terms of their coverage with
homeowners and renters. Rates are increasing, and in some cases, coverage is
being denied if certain breeds of dogs reside on a property.
Eleven dogs make up
the list of “riskiest” by insurance standards: They are: Pitt bulls, Dobermans,
Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Chows, Great Danes, Presa Canaries, Akitas,
Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, and Wolf-hybrids. Knowing that insurance
companies are taking certain breeds more seriously than others, perhaps you
should, too.
While some landlords and property managers make vague references to their pet rules, such as
stipulating a “50lbs-and-under” rule, it might be in your best interest to
include verbiage in your lease agreement
about specific dog breeds. A pet deposit or weight restriction might not be enough
to protect you from the difference in rising insurance costs, or even worse, the liability costs should the actions of the pet
result in a claim.
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