Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

Re: Tenants dog is vicious

Since the property is in Florida, this is a Florida law question.

You are liable when you rent knowing the problem. Based on your description of this event, you know the problem and are liable.

You have several options. My recommendation is to require that the tenant get insurance for the problem. Barring that, make an effort to have the tenant re-locate the dog or an effort to evict the tenant.

If you take these measures, then you can insulate yourself. The defining moment becomes the the date of the signing of the lease. At that time, you had no knowledge. (You did not know the dog was dangerous at the time of the signing and when you did find out, you tried to deal with the situation but found there was no constructive action you could take. You are not 'negligent'.)

This is a difficult situation, but, take heart, often dogs are aggressive with other dogs but not with people!