Tenants Have a Cat!!!
When I advertised my apartment on Craig’s list I was very clear that pets were not allow. I’ve discovered yesterday that one of my tenants has a cat. I was in my backyard and saw the cat on the window sill. I don’t want to seem anal, but a rule is a rule. They signed…
When I advertised my apartment on Craig’s list I was very clear that pets were not allow. I’ve discovered yesterday that one of my tenants has a cat. I was in my backyard and saw the cat on the window sill. I don’t want to seem anal, but a rule is a rule. They signed the rider and agreed to it, so they’re actually breeching a contract. How should I handle the situation without any animosity?
The lease is a contract- They are breaking it. Why is everyone pussyfooting around this? Tell them to get rid of the cat. Or change the lease and get them to pay you more for having the pet. Talk to them immediately, and give them written notice so there is no question that you have tried to address this with them.
Everyone wants to be nice- but this is your house, and they are renting it from you, and have signed an agreement on what the terms were. Just think hard about whether you want that rule or not, and act accordingly.
Non-confrontational is definitely the best policy. I think you should speak to them in a friendly but concerned mannner, note that you are allergic and that they had agreed to abide by your no pet policy. See what they say. If they are obnoxious, don’t renew their lease. If the cat doesn’t bother your allergies and they’re good tenants, seems like it shouldn’t be an issue.
I would not take their breaking your no-cat rule as a sign that they will not follow your other rules, although I understand your concern about their having broken your agreement. I know from having picked up two cats in the street in Park Slope in the past year (I wasn’t violating a lease and never loved cats, but these poor creatures had been abandoned and would have died)that rescuing a cat and being committed to it is sometimes an act that a person of conscience feels forced into. And if you don’t need to, making them choose between scarce housing and the cat may make them abandon the cat.
Good luck.
you could ask them for an extra deposit for
any damage that a cat may do.
ALLERGIC! That is the bottom line here. As someone who is very allergic to dogs I understand where you are coming form with this.
People who aren’t allergic think its ok to bring their pets into stores, on planes, and into apartments (with a no pet policy) and don’t have an cosideration for anyone else that is around them.
As a former longtime renter, I can say I was a good, clean tenant, who made many repairs and improvements myself, but also could not live without my cats. In one place I did not even attempt to discuss this with the rental agency, because they were nuts. In my last place, the owner’s brownstone, he had an allergy problem and we were upfront. In the end, he agreed to let us move in with our cats. He ended up falling in love with one of them, and they certainly caused no damage to his property. These may well be clean, respectful people who don’t see a problem or understand why there might be one. Only a hoarder has a cat smell problem, and very few cats have behavioural pee issues, and even those can be dealt with in a manner that does not damage or stink-ify your property!
“Get your lawyers advice first.”
God I hate that expression. It’s so used as if everyone happens to have a lawyer on retainer they can just call and chat with, free of charge. If the OP had a lawyer do you think they’d be asking for advice from the anonymous bozos that frequent this site? Talk about useless advice.
I am allergic to cats and so is the tenant that lives underneath them. I guess that a cat on the top floor is not going to affect my allergies in anyway, but it does make me a little annoyed that they would just break the rule. Since they’ve only been there two months, it makes me wonder if this is a taste of what’s to come. They seem like nice folks and my neighbors seem to like them as well. At this point, I don’t want to evict them, but I do want to make them aware that I know about the cat. I just don’t to be confrontational about it.
Just trying to throw them out could be a really painful process for them, for you and for the cat. I have cats so I know how awful it would be if my landlord was not understanding. Before it goes thermonuclear, why not sit with them and talk it out- before you get lawyers involved. Find out why they broke the agreement and see if you can come to an agreement. But if you take a hard stance right off the bat, I think a tenant who is so willing to break the rules will also be a hard ass and make the process even more difficult. and if they are good tenants otherwise, you can probably salvage the situation.
But like Dave, I’m wondering- why not cats? they’re clean, quiet and if they damage anything it’ll be your tenant’s couch (which would be a nice karmic touch, no?)