TAKE ACTION NOW! H.1038 bill is against Massachusetts landlords. MA bill will force landlords to accept all pets no matter breed or size. 

 

H 1038, An Act to prohibit housing discrimination against responsible dog owners. https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H1038

 

3/4/2020 House Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H1038

 

Contact the sponsor today to Oppose this bill: Jack.Lewis@mahouse.gov   Phone:(617) 722-2030

 

Please contact today that you OPPOSE H.1038

 

  House Ways and Means  committee 
Aaron.M.Michlewitz@mahouse.gov,
Denise.Garlick@mahouse.gov,
Liz.Malia@mahouse.gov,
Thomas.Walsh@mahouse.gov,
Thomas.Stanley@mahouse.gov,
James.Arciero@mahouse.gov,
Brian.Ashe@mahouse.gov,
Sean.Garballey@mahouse.gov,
Carolyn.Dykema@mahouse.gov,
Russell.Holmes@mahouse.gov,
Paul.Schmid@mahouse.gov,
Josh.Cutler@mahouse.gov,
Carole.Fiola@mahouse.gov,
Mary.Keefe@mahouse.gov,
Jay.Livingstone@mahouse.gov,
Alan.Silvia@mahouse.gov,
Daniel.Hunt@mahouse.gov,
john.velis@mahouse.gov,
Christine.Barber@mahouse.gov,
Carlos.Gonzalez@mahouse.gov,
Jose.Tosado@mahouse.gov,
Gerard.Cassidy@mahouse.gov,
john.barrett@mahouse.gov,
Natalie.Higgins@mahouse.gov,
Brian.Murray@mahouse.gov,
Chynah.Tyler@mahouse.gov,
Bud.Williams@mahouse.gov,
andy.vargas@mahouse.gov,
Todd.Smola@mahouse.gov,
Angelo.D'Emilia@mahouse.gov,
Donald.Berthiaume@mahouse.gov,
Hannah.Kane@mahouse.gov,
james.kelcourse@mahouse.gov,
David.Muradian@mahouse.gov,
Timothy.Whelan@mahouse.gov  

 

The sponsor(s) of this bill is misusing the word discrimination. Age, race, color, creed, are characteristics. These deserve legal protection because they are something we don’t have any control of. But pet ownership is a choice.  

Landlords should not have their rights taken away regarding how they want to operate their businesses. By making it mandatory that landlords have to accept tenants with pets, their liability will increase: it will hurt their livelihood. Dog bites will increase (dog bites have bankrupted landlords), damage to their property will increase, offensive odors will increase, and annoying barking dogs will disturb others.  

As a landlord myself, I don't allow pets because of costly past experiences. Multiple times, my apartments were infested with fleas. It is very hard to get rid of fleas. Multiply times, I had urine damage where I had to replace costly flooring. I had tenants not picking up dog poop in the yard that the mailman complained about.  Poop and urine ruins landscaping too. As a rule, people who rent do not have a financial investment, so they do not take care of the property like they should. I hope you have invited top landlords to the table and are not doing this behind their backs.

 

"3 Reasons Landlords Should Blacklist Certain Dog Breeds" by Joe Asamoah, MBA, PhD,

 

The article is written from a liability perspective. If you don't properly protect yourself from liability and potential lawsuits then you may as well walk around with a target on your back. The choice is yours. https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/landlords-blacklist-dog-breeds-rentals?fbclid=IwAR19KS8AAMe-N7X7KXn5aQLpRZsSexnnLU4oAC9FnxaZi2Ndhm0cDPjPrfc

 

A LANDLORD CAN BE LIABLE FOR A DOG BITE IN COMMON AREAS:  http://www.reminger.com/insights-reports-727.html  

 

1) The family sued the apartments management, Epstein Enterprises, and the owner, Longview Heights Partners, saying they allowed the vicious dogs to stay at the complex. The lawsuit says they knew or should have known the dogs had attacked or threatened other people too.

 

"As a landlord you have a duty to keep people in the community safe, keep your tenants safe from a dangerous condition on your property," said Gray. https://wreg.com/2018/11/21/2-5-million-award-offered-in-pit-bull-attack-that-killed-elderly-man/?fbclid=IwAR3WMStKL6mJRJP2LNix7CO6ridSgNOeSPuPuKPIhuEDPJtgUP4Ta0u3RJQ

 

2) A woman mauled by a pit bull terrier dog at a southwest Atlanta rooming house was granted a $4.2 million default judgment against the property’s owner. https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2018/06/12/landlord-hit-with-4-2m-default-judgment-in-pit-bull-attack/?cmp_share=share_facebook

 

3) Woman attacked by neighbor's pit bull files $200K lawsuit against landlord: https://setexasrecord.com/stories/525530680-woman-attacked-by-neighbor-s-pit-bull-files-200k-lawsuit?fbclid=IwAR1g5Yzp6bbcTv3IBX5C3J5OwOhE-0xmptO7F1cDaFHG_lofaCpas9qai3I

 

Red Flag: MOST insurance companies have come to the same conclusion and do no cover pit bulls because they can't afford the risk. Insurance companies have a calculated actuarial risk of pit bulls a lot higher compared with other dog breeds. Pit bulls are more likely to attack their owners. Dog attacks are the third most common claim on homeowner's insurance. More evidence that people who have pit-bulls and certain other types of breeds are endangering people and other people's beloved pets in our communities. https://www.esurance.com/info/homeowners/does-homeowners-insurance-cover-pit-bulls

 

December 6, 2019 Pit Bulls Account for 66% of Total Fatal Dog Attacks, Revealed in a New Study by 

https://vhomeinsurance.com/b/66-fatal-attacks-dogs-are-pit-bulls-and-can-impact-home-insurance-costs-cm708    

 

Please listen to the highly educated medical experts who deal with the aftermath of horrific pit bull maulings not to naive pit bull advocates when it comes to  tenants' safety. Please base your safety policies by these current dog bite studies and the actuarial risk. 

 

18 PEER-REVIEWED Medical Studies that prove pit bull type-dogs are dangerous pets. I agree all dogs can bite. The issue with pit bulls is the degree of damage they inflict, and their attacks being more likely to result in fatality. Level 1 trauma center dog bite studies from all geographical regions in the U.S. are reporting a higher prevalence of pit bull type dogs injuries than all other breeds of dogs. In many cases, the studies (2011 to present) also report that pit bull injuries have a higher severity of injury and require a greater number of operative interventions. https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-studies-level-1-trauma-table-2011-present.php

 

Sincerely

Duncan C. Wierman

President 
Boston REIA