Landlord vs tenant issue.

[ACORN]

My daughter moved into a new apartment this past Sunday.
Yesterday, she received a letter from the property manager that she must vacate the apartment immediately due to her bringing prohibited animals(cats).
She disclosed she had 2 cats and was approved. She has the docs.
How can they do this and what recourse does she have?
She is understandably upset due the the extra expense and possibly needing to find a new place in short order.

 

[Laketime]

I sold my townhouse and moved into an apartment until I decide what state to retire in. Trying to find a place that takes a cat is like trying to move with a circus. A lot will depend on what state she lives. She can always pull the service cat card if needed. But I think she has them legally at least for the term of her 1 yr lease. If she is a tenant at will then that could change.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Too bad about the unnecessary shenanigans.

Try to work things out. She might end up paying a little more rent or putting down a bigger security deposit, but it will be cheaper than court.


Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[Rpg]

Read the lease!

I'm constantly impressed by the very large proportion of folks that don't read legal documents.

The obligations of the landlord and tenant are spelled out in the lease. Pet issues are addressed in every lease of residential property I've reviewed in the last 30 years.

 

[NYlakesider]

My daughter moved into a new apartment this past Sunday.
Yesterday, she received a letter from the property manager that she must vacate the apartment immediately due to her bringing 2 prohibited animals(cats).
She disclosed she had 2 cats and was approved. She has the docs. N
How can they do this and what recourse does she have?
She is understandably upset due the the extra expense and possibly needing to find a new place in short order.

As I'm not a lawyer nor have I slept in any motels lately but by your bolded above it seems like she is OK for a year.

Course their may be more to the story.

 

[moralem]

She can claim she is a squatter…..they have greater rights than a renter and even a landlord.

 

[NFrameFred]

Read the lease!

I'm constantly impressed by the very large proportion of folks that don't read legal documents.

The obligations of the landlord and tenant are spelled out in the lease. Pet issues are addressed in every lease of residential property I've reviewed in the last 30 years.

/\ /\ /\ THIS (although the lawerese and weasel wording is tough to wade through on a lot of such things when they purposefully make it as verbose and ponderous as possible, filling up page after page after page, knowing most folks can't/won't get through it ...)



BUT AND HOWEVER . . . as someone mentioned, depends on what state you're in. Can only speak for my personal experience as a past landlord (I love that description - past landlord) in West Virginia, but here the tenants have all the rights and leeway no matter what the lease says and the owners get the short end of the stick. You can enforce the lease provisions AFTER filing a legal case, waiting for months, unable to collect damages or force evictions even for non-payment or watching them trash your property while their welfare lawyer (they never seem to have to hire their own) drags things out and obfuscates as long as possible.

Every time I thought I had standardized an iron clad lease that fairly and clearly spelled out the terms and obligations someone found a way to screw it over.

Kinda like selling a boat - the day I was officially no longer a landlord was one of the happiest days of my life. I refused to be a slumlord and was bled dry. I like to think I try to be a nice guy, but you can't be a landlord and be a nice guy - people won't let you.


Concerning the cat issue, though, unless there's more to the story the daughter appears to have been done wrong.

 

[Pisgah]

Has she even contacted them and said, "Hey, what the heck?" Lotsa gettalawyerfightfightfight here, but I'd just try seeing if there was a misunderstanding somewhere along the way at this point.

IF she indeed has paperwork showing she was specifically allowed her pets, she certainly has a case -- but why not see if she even needs to bring a case first?

 

[pawngal]

The property owner OK'd the cats?
The property manager said no, out you go?

 

[ACORN]

Just to answer a few questions and comments.
I didn't see the lease.
She tells me she disclosed there were 2 cats when she applied for the apartment. She was approved.
This all came out last night around 9PM.
She is contacting them today.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Seems like something that can be solved with a calm sit down with everyone involved . . .

 

[Fishinfool]

ACORN - This link might help.

How Evictions Work in Pennsylvania | Nolo.

Larry

 

[ACORN]

ACORN - This link might help.

How Evictions Work in Pennsylvania | Nolo.

Larry

Thanks for the link.

 

[ACORN]

Doesn't sound good. My wife says my daughter is upset.
And will fill me in with the details when I get home.

 

[Puller]

Seems like something that can be solved with a calm sit down with everyone involved . . .

Or just get rid of the cats.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

General rule of thumb in such contests, if it ain't in writing it just ain't there. Written lease agreement, side discussions and perceived approval of the pets, written lease will prevail just about every time. "He said, she said" means nothing when there is a written contract (lease agreement), and the court is likely to look no further.

Tough lesson to learn, but probably needs to be learned only once.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Ray is correct about written agreements. For 5 years I owned a piece of rental property. In my legal agreement I allowed dogs and cats as I know what they mean to animal folks and how important they are to them.

Pets were never an issue.

 

[ACORN]

Update.
The property mgr. agrees that the 2 cats are allowed per the lease.
"Someone", probably the maintenance man, being he was the only outsider in the apartment since she moved in, reported she had more than 2 cats in the apartment. She doesn't.
For now it's all up in the air.
Seeing they admit the 2 cats are allowed, I don't see where they have a legal reason to evict.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Update.
The property mgr. agrees that the 2 cats are allowed per the lease.
"Someone", probably the maintenance man, being he was the only outsider in the apartment since she moved in, reported she had more than 2 cats in the apartment. She doesn't.
For now it's all up in the air.
Seeing they admit the 2 cats are allowed, I don't see where they have a legal reason to evict.

Given that information I would suggest that it is time to consult with an attorney having experience in property laws in that area. A 30-minute consultation followed by a letter from a licensed attorney might change the tone of the narrative to a more conciliatory level.

Negotiated settlements are almost always preferable to courthouse fights.

Edit to add: By all means, do not ignore the order to vacate and do not allow any demand period to expire without response (perhaps triggering legal barriers to further actions). Couple hundred bucks to an attorney now could be a very wise choice.

 

[K-22]

Fine Print

Read the lease!

I'm constantly impressed by the very large proportion of folks that don't read legal documents.

The obligations of the landlord and tenant are spelled out in the lease. Pet issues are addressed in every lease of residential property I've reviewed in the last 30 years.

When you read the fine print, you get information.
When you don't read the fine print, you get experience
Best,
Gary