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?
I can’t believe it…68 replies in one day to a thread about a tenant that has an illegal cat…well 69 replies now. I just checked a few to see why there is so much traffic (and maybe some juicy confrontation) about a pussy. I don’t even like cats,and am slightly allergic, but animals are so much cleaner/better than people. Let it go…
from a perfact tenant with a big, loving dog, rhat my landlord loves.
The lawyer at 4:18 isn’t giving the best advice throughout…
First, I will assume you have your reasons for wanting to enforce that portion of the lease. You did, after all, write it into the rider, so I assume you did intend for it to be part of the agreement.
Second, yes – you should speak with them and educate them that “pets” includes cats (and canaries and pet mice and pet rats and pet lemurs and an ant farm and whatever it is that is not human, as long as it’s not a helper animal).
Third, if they agree to get rid of it, GREAT. Still, send a letter to them confirming the conversation and keep a copy on file. If they don’t agree to get rid of it (or if they agree verbally but fail to act) send a letter notifying them they are in violation of their lease as per your conversation on ____ date. Send it certified mail with return receipt and keep a copy of the letter.
Fourth, if you really don’t want to make it a bigger issue then drop it. If it is a bigger issue and you really want the cat out, then follow through with legal channels.
The lawyer above is really not giving the best advice – if you just speak with them and then later decide you don’t want them to have the cat, you’re s*** out of luck. If a tenant egregiously keeps a pet at the property (aka: if it’s obvious or admitted by them) and you don’t do anything about it, you forfeit your right to enforce that portion of the lease later. I’m NOT a lawyer but this is the way the law is handled. I believe you must notify them within 90 days. If they keep the cat with your knowledge for more than 90 days, you are outta luck in the eyes of the court. You knew about it and didn’t care enough to make a peep.
Also, the lawyer is wrong – cats can do a LOT of long term damage to a property. We bought our house over a year ago and the previous owner had a cat. On a humid day, we still smell the cat urine, which had permeated the floorboards and the joists and on particularly bad days, I have to take claritin. This is 1 1/2 years after the cat moved out.
In any case, if your property isn’t rent stabilized, your last resort is you can always wait until their lease is up and then raise their rent to an amount you feel would compensate for any damages (or an amount which you feel would encourage them to move out).
Main thing is, if they are responsible with the cat and you don’t have a problem, you don’t have to act on it… but don’t expect to be able to act on it later if you don’t act now.
slopefarm, have you honestly ever heard of someone who was a cat or dog-ower looking for an apartment who rented an apartment advertised as “no pets” and moved right in without FIRST asking whether their dog/pet was okay? Yes, of course landlords put that in as an overly broad rule, but any pet-owning person knows it is common sense to check first to see if that is the case and not just move in and expect you can live there with a pet. Especially in a very small owner-occupied building. Those of us who are appalled by the tenant’s actions aren’t telling the OP to start immediate eviction proceedings, but to stand firm on the policy, regardless of whether OP is currently experiencing any allergic reactions. I find all the posters coming up with excuses for the tenant’s behavior to be a sad sign of the times. I remember a post many months ago in which some kids of friends had stayed in someone’s place and trashed it, and I was also surprised that some people here felt it was the OP’s fault for not kicking them out immediately. There’s such a thing as ethics and personal responsibility which seems to be lost here. If the tenants here have any, they will of course immediately get rid of the cat as soon as the OP mentions it. But any other behavior is simply inexcusable.
“I can’t believe you think people who do animal adoptions would be able to conduct such a background check.”
Steve, you’re like the new Ysabelle with the crap you’re spewing all over the boards today. Many pet adoption agencies require proof that the pet will be kept in a home where it is allowed and they check with your landlord or rental management before handing over the cat/dog. They want to make sure you aren’t going to take an animal in and then dump it on the street when you get caught with it by those who actually own your place.
Agree with you, 5:07pm about the lawyer’s advice at 4:18pm. Do you think if a client asked him legal advice about whether he should sign a lease for an apartment that specified “no pets” because the client had a cat, 4:18’s “legal advice” would be that it was fine, because in NYC “no pets” is interpreted as “no dogs”.
if that were truly NYC landlord law, don’t you think the standard riders would be amended so that they said “no dogs or cats or other pets”? If “no pets’ means only “no dogs, anything else is fine” legally, landlords are not getting very good legal advice from their lawyers if they put in such a rider.
Wow, this thread has 9 lives. I am sure OP is long gone. While no pets means no pets, I think it is also common for landlords to have an overly broad rule, such as no pets or no musical instruments, so as to be on firmer ground in case there is a problem, while tolerating breaches where there is no problem. There is enough wisdom in commenters’ various posts on all sides of teh issue for OP to be guided in using common sense to approach the issue. We can all go home now.
3:30 here.
3:58 is spot on – I voted against Bush (4 times.) Glad to know someone else out there has a sense of ethics.
I can’t believe you think people who do animal adoptions would be able to conduct such a background check.
contd….only one cat is allowed. Tenants can be spiteful and call the buildings dept on you to try and get you in trouble.Others will just trash your apt before they leave and dont care if you keep the deposit. The tenant that gets me though is the one who snuck in the portable washer while I was at work and it overflowed and flooded the tenant below and my parlor level. Grrrrrrrrr.That is when I found out they had one. The parquet floors were done and the ceilings.A total mess.Nip the cat in the bud now. If it isnt pets, then it is the washer . If it isnt the washer , it the bbq grill on the firescape. Geez.