Would you rent to a Pit Bull owner?

[Liz F]

I have a prospective tenant who is moving to our area to work as an air traffic controller. He seems very responsible, but he has a pit bull. The dog seems very friendly but I am afraid to be opening myself up to liability. It is a single family house and it has a fence all around. He plans to get renters insurance and any additional insurance. I live in Florida and Pit Bulls are not banned in our county. Would you rent to a Pit Bull owner?
My other prospective tenant is a family with 3 kids which would probably be a safer bet.

[Josh Gesler]

There are a lot of myths surrounding Pit Bulls and showing prejudices toward Pit Bull owners simply furthers the problem. According the the ATTS (American Temperamental Test Society), Pit Bulls have a passing rate of 85.3% compared to the average of 77% for all dog breeds. (Schnauzers, on the other hand, have a passing rate of 66.1%.) During the first part of the 20th century, Pit Bulls were the most popular family dogs. Over the years people began to take advantage of Pit Bull's loyalty and willingness to please and thus began the Pit Bull fighting trend.

I am not saying that you should allow all dogs to be on your properties. There are dogs out there that are just going to be a liability, but basing your decision on breed and not the temperament of the individual dog is nothing more than bigotry.

Josh Gesler