"had a propensity for" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it to describe a tendency that a person or thing has to show a particular behavior or feeling. For example, "The older man had a propensity for telling stories about his younger years."
He did not think the prosecution had shown that Pistorius had a propensity for violence.
Dizaei's new appeal against the conviction came after his lawyers said they had evidence showing that Baghdadi had a propensity for violence.
When he was young, he had a propensity for getting into mischief, like sneaking out in the middle of the night and driving around in his parents' car before he was even 16.
Both David and Bobby were raped by Ronnie, who was openly gay but had a propensity for men who weren't, though they didn't tell even each other until last year.
The animals suffered from extreme daytime sleepiness and had a propensity for mid-coital collapse: at moments of high emotion, the dogs, like narcoleptic humans, experienced sudden muscle weakness, or cataplexy.
Nair said he did not think Pistorius was a flight risk, he did not think the prosecution had shown that the athlete had a propensity for violence and he did not think there was evidence of likely public outrage if Pistorius was released.
Ryder Ripps, 14, may have a propensity for design.
Kyrgios sometimes elicits comparisons to Monfils, if only because they both have a propensity for tweeners.
He is said to have a propensity for making off-color remarks and riding people extremely hard.
Dark-haired and compactly built, Mr. Poots has a propensity for making long "to do" lists in a notebook.
Its current composition has a propensity for deadlock and paralysis even in the face of crisis," President Zuma said.
