My Guest’s dogs broke my fence and attacked the neighbors dog

Ana-Cecilia4
Level 2
Tierra Verde, FL

My Guest’s dogs broke my fence and attacked the neighbors dog

Who is responsible if my Guests dogs broke my back fence and attack the neighbors dog?

 

4 Replies 4

@Ana-Cecilia4   If you don't mind me asking, what was the result of the attack? Was the neighbor's dog killed, or did it suffer an injury that incurred expensive vet bills? Is your neighbor actively pursuing compensation, or are you just looking to know your rights and responsibilities in case it happens?

 

Liability in this kind of situation can be very thorny, and I don't know what kind of result you'd get from a claim on the Host Protection liability insurance, but here's a link if you want to look through it: https://www.airbnb.com/d/host-protection-insurance

 

The Host Guarantee does not cover damage caused by pets, including the destruction of your fence, so you might not have a winning case if the guest refuses to accept responsibility. But you can always request compensation via the Resolutions tool.

 

If you're unable to resolve a dispute, the degree to which you can be held responsible might depend on the bylaws of your residential community. It could be pointed out that your listing forbids a few types of purebreed dogs but specifies no restriction against leaving dogs unattended in the backyard, so in some situations this might be interpreted as negligence on your part. It's my personal feeling that the guest is ethically responsible for what their pet was able to do, but my own opinions and American laws are two very different things.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Ana-Cecilia4  Aside from the legal aspects, as far as getting compensated for the broken fence, as Andrew points out, Airbnb doesn't cover or back you up on collecting for pet damage, so if you do try to claim, make sure to only characterize it as damage to the fence, without mentioning that it was done by the dog.

 

What is the attitude of these guests? Are they trying to absolve themselves of responsibility?

@Ana-Cecilia4 @was this ever resolved and if so can you explain how? We just had a similar situation happen. The kids had their dog leashed but the dog got away from them and attacked another dog. No serious injuries but some blood was drawn. I don’t have reason to believe the attacked pets owner will prosecute but will likely file an incident report with animal control.

@Bill1264  I would report this guest to Airbnb as travelling with a dog that is aggressive and attacked your neighbor's dog.  No one should be bringing a dog with them that attacks other dogs. It's one thing for a dog to fight back if it is being attacked, but to be the aggressor is not acceptable. 

And the adults should not have let the kids take the dog out if they are too young to keep it under control.