by Mark TarsesI allow tenants to have dogs at some of my properties, but I don't allow pit bulls, and I don't know any landlord who does.
The curious thing about pit bull owners is that they all seem to be in denial. Whenever an applicant for an apartment tells me that he owns a pit bull, I tell him that I don't allow pit bulls at my property. When the applicant asks me: "Why?", I simply say: "Because they are dangerous." The strange thing is that, without exception, pit bull owners always looked shocked when I say this, as though this was the first time that they ever heard that pit bulls are dangerous.
Pit bull owners often argue with me about this. They frequently tell me that statistics show that pit bulls are no more likely to bite than most other breeds of dogs, and I accept that. I believe that is true. The problem with this argument is that when pit bulls do bite, they often cause a massive amount of damage because they have such powerful jaw muscles.
Once, an applicant for an apartment with a pit bull showed me a book containing a graph showing that Lhasa Apsos are three times more likely to bite than pit bulls. I know that is true, but so what? How many people were killed last year by Lhasa Apsos? (For those not familiar with this breed, a full-grown Lhasa Apso stands 10 inches tall and weighs 20 pounds. My sister had a Lhasa Apso, and it bit me several times. Usually the bites failed to break the skin. The worst bite required a small Band-Aid. Lhasas are snappish dogs, but they are incapable of doing much damage.)
Here are facts about pit bulls that I, as a landlord, have to consider:
50% of all dog mauling cases reported to the San Francisco Police Department involve pit bulls.
Only 2% of all the dogs in the U.S. are pit bulls, but pit bulls commit 1/3 of all fatal dog attacks.
A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control concluded that pit bulls are twice as likely as any other breed to be involved in a fatal dog attack, and another study by the American Veterinary Medical Association came to the same conclusion.
Most insurance companies will not sell liability insurance on a rental property if they know there is a pit bull on the premises. If an insurance company becomes aware of the fact that there is a pit bull living at a property that they already insure, they can cancel the policy. Yes, they can do that. Dog bites are the largest single cause of homeowner policy claims. In 2007, dog bite claims cost U.S. insurance companies over $300 million.
When someone is mauled by a dog in an apartment house, it is now standard procedure for the victim to sue both the dog's owner and the landlord. Increasingly, the victims of dog attacks are winning these lawsuits. Juries reason that it is common knowledge that pit bulls are dangerous; therefore, the landlord was negligent by allowing a tenant to keep a pit bull in his building.
My advice to anyone who is thinking about getting a dog is this: If you want to rent in this area, don't get a pit bull or a mutt that is part pit bull. You will probably have a very hard time finding a landlord who will rent to you.