Landlord's Liability for Damage Done By Tenant's Dog.

[Joseph Jacoway]

If a tenant has a dog they keep on the property, and that dog escapes onto the road and causes damage to someones car, is the landlord also liable? Assume the tenant has no renters or other liability insurance.

[Bill Gulley]

No, but I'm in a very Red area, now if it were in a Baby Blue area, they might go so far as holding the dog food maunfacture just as responsible as the landlord.

IMO, no, the landlord has to have a degree of negligence for contributory negiligence to be applied. Is that breed know for running in front of cars causing more damage than other breeds? Should a reasonable person know that the tenenat had a suicidal dog that would intentionally tackle a car?

If you are going to the landlord's upkeep of his fence, I don't see that as a claim by a third party but by the tenant, but he would need to show that he relied on that fence to keep his dog inside and that he was not aware that the fence was in poor repair or unfit for the assumed purpose.

If I had a tenant that brought that claim or any third party, my first defense would probably be to laugh!

Are you going to tell us some judge held someone held a landlord responsible? LOL (He was probably smoking something!)