Can I file a complaint against my neighbor’s for having a dangerous pet in the rental property?

Full question:

Last year I rented my property located in the City of Westbrook, Maine. The house is rented to a family comprising of a husband wife and their two children. Recently the tenants have bought a dog. Yesterday when I along with my daughter went to meet the tenants, the tenant’s dog jumped on my daughter. Fortunately, the dog couldn’t bite my daughter, but my daughter did get a few bruises on her hand. According to the neighbors my tenant’s dog is a dangerous and an aggressive pet. Can I file a complaint against my neighbor’s for having a dangerous pet in the rental property?

• Category: Landlord Tenant
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Maine

Answer:

In Maine, per 14 M.R.S. § 6030-A, a landlord may file a complaint against tenant who owns and keeps a dangerous pet on the premises of the rental property. 14 M.R.S. § 6030-A reads:
 

“A landlord may file a petition against a tenant, a guest or invitee of a tenant or the owner of a dangerous pet on the premises for the protection of rental property or tenants when the landlord, the landlord's employee or agent, the landlord's rental property or persons who are tenants of the landlord have experienced harm or have been threatened with harm by a tenant of the landlord, a guest or invitee of a tenant or a dangerous pet on the premises. The landlord may file the petition in the landlord's own name or, when the landlord has written authority from a tenant to do so, may file the action on behalf of the aggrieved tenant, or both.”

A complaint may be filed against the tenants for keeping “a dangerous pet on the premises,” and causing harm to the landlord’s daughter.