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 am with 3:59 as far as how long it takes to evict a tenant. several months, lawyers fees, etc. i would just talk to the tenant, and express that you are allergic and see if you can come to some type of an agreement (extra security deposit, warning you will evict if allergies flare up, etc).
speaking as a lifelong new yorker, many renters probably do not think you are serious or actually care about the no pet clause. most landlords are absentee and many apartments are in larger buildings, so typically as long as the pet doesn’t smell or bark, etc, disturb other neighbors, the no pet clauses are ignored. there are tons of things in a standard lease that are not really enforced until they actually cause harm to someone, and the tenant may have assumed you will look the other way as long as the animal behaves and does no damage. i don’t think this makes them untrustworthy, they may just have different experience from your own.
I’m a lawyer and if you came to me with this issue, I’d ask you if your allergies were bothering you, if the other tenant with allergies had complained, and then I’d ask you if you had made it clear that no pets didn’t mean just no dogs, it also meant no cats, turtles, goldfish, birds, or pet tarantulas. People in this town take “pets” to mean dogs, because dogs bark. I’d also ask you if you’d ever had any mice in your building.
If the answers are what I suspect them to be, I’d tell you to talk to the tenants and see how important their cat is to them and whether they understood “no pets” meant more than just dogs.
If you insist on trying to get rid of them, good luck in housing court. You will appear before a judge probably right after a landlord whose rent-controlled tenant hasn’t paid rent in years, and right before a landlord whose rent-controlled tenant has started three fires in the past year and probably should be committed to a nursing home (and also hasn’t paid any rent, but that’s the least of the landlord’s problems, as they will freely admit).
And there you will be, complaining about market-rate tenants who have a cat, evidently a perfectly well-behaved cat who likes to sit in a window, and your issue is that it wasa sign they *might* break some other minor part of their lease sometime in the future?
enjoy.
“What if they are desperate to have a cat and lied but are basically okay people and want to work it out in a way that’s fair to everyone involved?”
What the heck are you on about? The tenant’s desperation to have a cat somehow makes it unfair for the landlord to make rules about their property? What was fair was advertising the apartment for rent as a “no pets” apartment and expecting the tenants would not lie.
As for the maybe they are cat sitting or a friend brought it by for a visit theories, get real. Cats don’t visit. Cats don’t like to leave their home territory and if their owners can’t be home to care for them it is irresponsible to do anything other than have someone in to care for the cat. You don’t move the cat.
You people have no idea how long it takes to evict a tenant in NYC.
I’m not 3:30, but that poster sounds like the last person to have voted for Bush. Bush is a spoiled brat who feels entitled to disregard any rules and make his own, just because he’s Bush. that sounds exactly like the tenants above. Since 3:30 was critical of the tenants who make their own reality, lie, and attempt to decieve (hmmm, what President has those characteristics?) I seriously doubt he/she would have liked Bush
What if they were desperate to have a tenant and lied about the heat problem and it’s 40 degrees in your apt but they are basically okay people and want to work it out in a way that’s fair to everyone involved?
I bet your slick tenants are reading this now while the cat is pissing underneat your radiator. It’s gonna be pretty funky once heating season starts.
3:30 = voted for Bush. Twice.
LEt them keep the cat and get a security deposit for any potential damage. Invest the deposit and make money.
“How should I handle the situation without any animosity?”
You shouldn’t. Animosity is unavoidable. Next they’ll want to start doing renovations. Where does it end?
Professionalism over friendliness. Da cat or da tenant got ta go!