According to data from the Pew Research Center, young people today (ie. millennials) are renting more than ever before. What this means is millennials are renting for longer periods of time than previous generations did when they were the age of today’s millennials. There are a number of reasons for this such as student loan debt, high home prices, drop in marital rates, etc. but what this means to you as a landlord is that there is a good chance you will be encountering a millennial aged tenant at some point in the near future, if you have not already.
A second interesting trend among the millennial age group is they have become the largest segment of pet owners in the country. According to TD Ameritrade seven out of ten millennials own a pet, the majority of which are dogs. As more and more landlords shift their sights towards attracting young, professional millennials into their vacant rental units, many are loosening their rental guidelines to allow for pets, specifically dogs, which were not previously allowed. Dog bites were the most prominent personal liability insurance claim last year, with claims averaging $37,000 per occurrence. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the amount of insurance claims settlements for dog bites has risen 90% since 2013, and we can expect those settlements to continue to rise over the next few years due to increased medical costs and current trends in jury awards given to plaintiffs. It would be naïve for a Landlord to not expect to be dragged into a lawsuit if one of their tenant’s dogs were to cause bodily injury to another individual. While the safest means for a Landlord is to disallow pets altogether, it isn’t always realistic to do so, especially with the expanding millennial pet-owning tenant population.
How Landlords can protect themselves
There are ways Landlords can protect themselves, and their insurance policies, from the aftermath of a tenant’s dog bite incident. Actions we recommend Landlords take include:
1) Require that all your dog owning tenants carry renter’s insurance with a minimum of $500,000 of personal liability coverage. Renters insurance is never a bad option for Landlords to require of any tenant and policies are relatively inexpensive.
2) Add a detailed section into your Tenant Rental Agreements detailing the tenants required responsibilities in renting with a dog. A lawyer should assist with the proper verbiage to protect you in case a lawsuit evolves.
3) Have each of your dog owning tenants sign a Hold Harmless Agreement with you pertaining to the actions / incidents of their pets. Again, have an Attorney assist with the wording of your Hold Harmless Agreement.
4) Restrict tenants from renting with breeds of dogs that have a higher rate of bite incidents. There are certain breeds of dogs which many insurance companies decline to offer coverage on due to their high rates of biting incidents. These include Akita, Chow, Doberman, German Shepard, Pit Bull, Rottweiler and any mix of Wolf-Hybrid.