Can landlord tenant agreement protect landlord from animal bite liability?

[llord]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI

My tenant has two large dogs and we have received a letter from our insurance that they will non-renew if the dogs are not removed from the premises. The dogs are mastiffs and have no history of aggression. The tenant wants to know if he and they can stay if he gets tenant insurance and gives us a release of liability. I am not sure if this would be satisfactory to the insurance company or not but wanted to check the legal implication of this before approaching the insurance company. Would this kind of agreement protect us (landlord) from liability if his dogs did become a problem? These are not puppies. They are two adult neutered males more than 4 years old.

We have already issued a 28 day notice to the tenant but he is asking if there is any way to work this out so he can stay.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI

My tenant has two large dogs and we have received a letter from our insurance that they will non-renew if the dogs are not removed from the premises. The dogs are mastiffs and have no history of aggression. The tenant wants to know if he and they can stay if he gets tenant insurance and gives us a release of liability. I am not sure if this would be satisfactory to the insurance company or not but wanted to check the legal implication of this before approaching the insurance company. Would this kind of agreement protect us (landlord) from liability if his dogs did become a problem? These are not puppies. They are two adult neutered males more than 4 years old.

We have already issued a 28 day notice to the tenant but he is asking if there is any way to work this out so he can stay.

You do realize that this is a significant liability issue, right? Your insurance company might just accept the dogs as long as they can't be held liable to pay out for any kind of damages or injury caused by the dogs. To know for sure, you should probably discuss it with your carrier.

Keep in mind, however, that it could be a "dangerous breed" restriction that even a liability release may not fully address or indemnify your insurance carrier from. Are YOU willing to accept the liability in full? You might even want to do a bit more investigation on the issue, as well as into the dogs' histories first. Some pet owners are very protective of their pets and may not be telling the whole truth when faced with having to part with their pets.

 

[Zigner]

1: Tenant has big ol' dogs.
2: YOUR insurance has stated they will non-renew if big ol' dogs remain.
3: Your tenants want to know if they can provide you insurance in their name to protect you.
4: When you ran this by your insurance company, their response was _____________

(Your turn to fill in the blank)

 

[Searchertwin]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI

My tenant has two large dogs and we have received a letter from our insurance that they will non-renew if the dogs are not removed from the premises. The dogs are mastiffs and have no history of aggression. The tenant wants to know if he and they can stay if he gets tenant insurance and gives us a release of liability. I am not sure if this would be satisfactory to the insurance company or not but wanted to check the legal implication of this before approaching the insurance company. Would this kind of agreement protect us (landlord) from liability if his dogs did become a problem? These are not puppies. They are two adult neutered males more than 4 years old.

We have already issued a 28 day notice to the tenant but he is asking if there is any way to work this out so he can stay.

The insurance will not accept that release of liability. Why? Because tenant can't provide the same from the person that the dog bites. That person will go after the insurance company.

 

[llord]

Response from insurance company

The insurance company said they would consider it if the tenants release of liability includes an indemnification and he can prove that his insurance will cover. (I kind of doubt his insurance would. I think my insurance just wants to sound like they are 'trying' to help the customer) In any case the tenant in the meantime has had police to the apartment so we are looking at a 5-day notice now.

 

[tranquility]

You cannot make an agreement where you are not liable. (As in, you can't make an agreement with Joe saying you are not liable to Phil.) But, you can be indemnified by Joe to pay all risks. If the tenant has a large company that will indemnify you against a risk, it is the same as you getting appropriate insurance yourself. (As, that is what you get when you buy insurance.)