Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Ok, I have a single family residence in the countryside that I rent out to a family with 3 kids. The lease specifies "no pets". At some point after they moved in, they acquired (2) pitbull type dogs. I believe they mostly keep the dogs outside, however, they never told me they were getting dogs, nor have they paid any type of pet fee (which is not specified in the lease). I have known that there might be dogs for several months, however, it was not till about 2 weeks ago that I visited the property and saw the dogs there. At the moment the dogs don't give me a great concern, however, I don't want it to be something they can use against me if I ever have to evict them and need to go after them for damage. So, should I just rely on the clause in the lease which says "no pets", or should I be doing something more?

It doesn't matter what caused the damage they would be responsible. The real question is could you be held liable if the dogs attacked someone or another pet. 1. You could give them a 21/30 day notice to cure or vacate to get rid of the pets or get out they would still be responsible for any damage and cost of lost rent until you rerent it. of course it may be difficult to collect. 2. You could do a pet addendum to allow them to have pets and add a pet fee at least $100. Make sure they have renters insurance with at least $500k liability and it covers their bread of dog. Check with your insurance to make sure you are covered for their breed of dog some companies consider pittbulls a dangerous breed and don't cover. If covered now Use some of the funds from the pet fee to pay for an umbrella insurance policy for at lease $1 million. Should be about $300 a year and it covers everything you own.

Posted by Scott H, VA on Wednesday, December 12, 2018