I have the misfortune of living near a piece of rental property, and some of the previous tenants had a rottweiler and a smaller, chocolate-colored, shaggy dog (can't remember the breed) penned up in an 8' x 8' lot.
The owner did put a roof (tarp) over the lot, but the dogs had no house to sleep in. To make matters worse, cold winter rains puddled up inside the lot, and the dogs either had to lie down in shivering wetness or stand up (seen it happen). The dogs never got fed daily either.
I reported the situation to animal control, and they made the owners buy a house for each dog. The tenants moved out not long after, after other neighbors began complaining to them face to face.