Reprinted with approval from the May 2023 Legal Monthly Minute.
I enjoy dogs! I can’t keep in mind a time in my life that I didn’t have one, and I comprehend the friendship an owner feels for their family pet. So, I get it when a self-storage supervisor wishes to bring their “best friend” to work, either for business throughout the long days or for defense when occupants or visitors choose to misbehave. But should this practice be permitted?
There’s no best response. Legally speaking, the worth of having a dog at a self-storage property need to be weighed versus the threats. Most dogs might be docile every day of the year, and yet there can constantly be one that might all of a sudden bite an occupant without caution. Certainly, a great deal of individuals enjoy dogs; however there are others who are afraid and might pick to lease elsewhere due to the fact that a family pet exists at the property. On the other hand, your finest prospective supervisor might just take the job if they can bring their pooch to work.
Protecting Your Business
If you’re going to permit your self-storage staff members to bring a dog to work, there are a couple of safety measures you need to take. First, alert your insurer that there’s a family pet on the properties. Your policy might require to be upgraded or a rider contributed to resolve this accurate condition and the “added risk” that includes it. The cost of the extra protection may differ if the dog is under a particular weight or breed, however failure to secure protection while enabling animals on the property leaves a self-storage business exposed to prospective liability.
Second, send out a notification to all your self-storage occupants and visitors that a dog exists at the website. An indication ought to likewise be published on the outside gate and outside the workplace door. Though there’s constantly an opportunity a client might choose to lease in other places, the notification is essential in case an individual dislikes or scared of dogs and would marvel or upset if they entered into the workplace and faced one without notification.
A Legal View
Can a self-storage owner reject their staff member the alternative to bring their family pet to work? In basic, yes. There are, naturally, exceptions that may use under the Americans With Disabilities Act. But in such a case, the staff member can supply the appropriate paperwork to show the requirement for the family pet.
Otherwise, even if it might not be viewed as a popular or enjoyable choice, the owner can examine the cost vs. advantage and choose to limit dogs from the center. At the very same time, they might pick to permit the animal, however just after the insurance coverage has actually been upgraded and the notifications published.
Scott I. Zucker is a founding partner in the Atlanta law practice of Weissmann Zucker Euster + Katz PC Practicing law given that 1987, he represents self-storage owners and supervisors on legal matters consisting of property advancement, center building and construction, lease preparation, work policies and tenant-claims defense. To reach him, call 404.364.4626, or email [email protected].
