The lack of a lease means you have nothing to defend yourself with.

Again, you're defending fradulent, scandalous business practices, in my opinion.If someone from Maine hired me to be their north Califonia manager, I would not expect them to agree to let me rip them off. 

You do not want to be the named defendant in a lawsuit featuring a poor old defrauded couple as the plaintiffs.  

@Jason Eberhardt the only resource I am aware of is a local attorney that gives their clients leases that they like to defend.

The reality of most assaults and incidents is by the time they get there the event has already passed or is at the tail end of things.That should tell people you need to learn how to defend yourself and survive.Cops can take 5,10,15 minutes to get somewhere depending on many factors.

Would you like if the neighbors made this case public record (your name will be listed as a defendant)?

One way or another you would probably end up on the wrong end of the lawsuit and have to at minimum hire an attorney to defend you and/or pass the liability over to the tenant's insurance.Also keep in mind, the tenant's insurance is going to do anything they can to not have to pay.  

BTW:  As I understand, Small Claims only the principles can appear (aka plaintiff and defendant), and may not have representation. 

If a defendant does not have money, income or assets that can be attached, as a general rule, it is not economically to file a lawsuit.

There is dissension on whether this is required for support animals, but go ahead and ask.Use a standard and defendable process to pick the most qualified candidate using legal attributes so that it is clear why one applicant was declined vs. accepted.