Liability of Landlord for Animals of Tenant:

Question: Can SFG Paralegal Services LLP help me if I was injured after a tenant’s animal escaped because a landlord failed to maintain a fence or exterior area in Ontario?

Answer:   In Ontario, a landlord can be liable if they were negligent in maintaining the residential complex, even when the animal is owned by the tenant; under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 20, landlords must provide and maintain the complex in a good state of repair, and under the General Maintenance, O. Reg. 517/06, s. 8, retaining walls, guards, and fences in exterior common areas must be maintained in a structurally sound condition and free from hazards, which can include fencing intended to prevent tenant animals from escaping; courts have found liability where the landlord knew about tenant animals and lacked inspection or repair procedures, such as in Youssef v. Redi-Mix Limited, 2018 ONSC 6409. A Paralegal at SFG Paralegal Services LLP can help you understand your potential claim, evidence what the landlord knew about the fencing and animals, and identify next steps across Ontario; call (888) 398-0121 to get started.

Landlord Liability for Tenant Animals

At first glance, It may be surprising to learn that a landlord may be found legally liable when an injury is suffered by a neighbour or a passerby who is a pedestrian or a motorist in an incident that involves an animal owned by a tenant; however, such a scenario has actually occurred. Furthermore, the reasoning for liability upon the landlord was legally sensible.

The Law

As an actual example, consider the case of Youssef v. Redi-Mix Limited, 2018 ONSC 6409 (upheld by Court of Appeal and leave for appeal to the Supreme Court denied). What happened within the Youssef case involved Redi-Mix as the property owner and thus landlord of rural premises rented to a tenant.  The tenant, who owned donkeys, was keeping the donkeys upon the rented property and this was known to Redi-Mix. Additionally, Redi-Mix was aware that the tenant was grazing the donkeys upon fenced fields at the rented property. Despite knowing these details, Redi-Mix lacked inspection and repair procedures for the the fences. Subsequently, Mr. Youssef, who was riding a motorcycle on a nearby road, struck a donkey that had escaped through the fence that was improperly maintained by Redi-Mix.  Mr. Youssef brought a lawsuit against Redi-Mix and was successful. In determining liability against Redi-Mix, the court explained:

As explained by the court in the Youssef case as provided above, a landlord is statutorily obligated to maintain a rental unit and the rental complex, including the fences that are intended to keep animals, that may be owned by the tenant, from escaping the property.  This statutory obligation to maintain the rented premises is prescribed within the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17, as well as the General Maintenance, O. Reg. 517/06 regulation to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, wherein each it is respectively stated:

Conclusion

Although a landlord is often an absent landlord, meaning living away from the rental premises, and is therefore without direct or immediate possession of the rented property, the landlord does remain obligated by law to perform the maintenance of the rental unit and the rental complex. Accordingly, a landlord may, upon failing to properly maintain a rental unit or rental complex, be held liable if the failure to perform proper maintenance causes or contributes to injuries or damage.  This liability risk applies even for scenarios involving the escape of an animal owned by a tenant where the animal escapes through a poorly maintained fence and causes injury to a neighbour or person passing by.