Eviction for pets?

[Flood950]

I know this is an odd place to be asking this, but, I see other people doing similar things so I am going to ask and see if anyone has any experience with this...

The question is simply, has anyone ever been evicted or been threatened for eviction for having a pet when it was stated in the lease you could not have one without written permission?

In the event anyone actually reads this and feels like responding, here is the necessary background information.

The only reason we have the pet without asking if it was ok first is because its a caged animal (Chinchilla) and the place we looked at before where I live now, when we applied they said any pets were ok, then we said what we had and the woman was basically like "absolutely nothing in a cage, you would have to get rid of it first."

Well, my fiancee isnt going to part with it, I dont particularly want to either. We were in a crunch to find a place to live in a short amount of time, and found the nice place we are at now and didnt even want to risk asking. We just have had him hidden the past 3 months of being there.

So what happens is last week, as we are leaving in the morning for work, basically a huge shelving unit in the bedroom walk-in closet collapsed and pulled large chunks of the wall out with it. It wasnt our fault, it was installed improperly which doesnt even matter, thats not the issue here.

The animal was living in a large cage in that room, so we had to move him to the laundry room until it was fixed up. I spoke with the landlord, he came and looked at the damage, said it wasnt out fault and he was surprised it even lasted as long as it did, and said he needed to run out and get some parts and would either fix it that evening, or the next day.

It was obvious that he did come back the next day, as stuff in the closet was moved around, yet...no work was done and the new parts were not left. I also noticed that he had been in the laundry room where the critter is, the only legitimate reason I could see for that is that is where the circuit breakers are and with the way the wall looks...it wouldnt surprise me if he had to cut a chunk out and do the whole plaster/sanding method then repaint, so, one would think he may cut the power as there are lights in there.

Well now days have gone by, and he hasnt come back. Me being the paranoid person that I am is worried that he found the animal and is trying to process an eviction now. (yeah, I hate always being worried too, relating to another thread here from a while ago).

So without nit picking if he actually found it, or the other possible reasons for the delay, which I realize there are...has anyone had experience with this type of thing? I am wondering if its even remotely realistic a landlord would try to file an eviction for just finding a caged, harmless pet, when pets ARE allowed if you get permission first. Wouldnt they give you a chance to remove the animal first? Or just go for the kill and get rid of you immediately?

I know it would vary depending on landlord, but I am just looking to see if anyone has info on this type of thing. Its bothering me that we are in violation of the lease and I am pretty damn sure he was in the room where its living now. It was fairly hidden, but, what could I really do without risking suffocating it or something.

Sorry for the long post, I figured the info would help if anyone does read this.

[Aulirophile]

Well, if the first place said pets were OK and then the landlady said you couldn't have one she certainly can't evict you for that and if she tried you could get her arrested, though she wouldn't actually stay in jail and you'd have to pursue it through civil court. Unless she did something else that was retaliatory, in which case it could be a felony. I helped my boss move recently and he had to call the police and get his landlady arrested before she'd give the security deposit back, similar situation. She was 70+ and psycho, definitely an interesting day.

If you didn't ask permission at the second place you are in violation of your lease if it says you need to ask permission. You're SOL if he decides to evict you.

[prescient63]

I'm 99% sure he won't try to evict you. It is just too much of a pain in the ass to evict you and the process takes too long. If the animal is caged, has been in there the whole time and isn't chewing up the place it probably isn't worth his effort. Especially since they allow pets anyhow. It takes 23 days minimum and costs $225 + the hassle in texas. Don't know about other places but your probably safe.

[Flood950]

Originally Posted by Aulirophile

If you didn't ask permission at the second place you are in violation of your lease if it says you need to ask permission. You're SOL if he decides to evict you.

Yeah, I know. Massachusetts has pretty tough residency laws which protect the renter but if something says one thing on a lease and you do otherwise, its usually not good. The only thing that gives me any hope is that it says you "may be evicted" if in violation, unlike the drug policy which is you "will be".

Normally, at least in this state, you can be ok if you turn around the violation, even if you dont pay your rent for 3 months, then get a notice for eviction, if you pay it back immediately generally you are ok.

I am hoping they are more concerned with people having dangerous dogs, or like, Goliath Tarantulas roaming around the place. I mean..its a frakin Chinchilla, its a little ball of fuzz that does nothing more than sometimes chatter which is very quiet. They dont even bite nor are they even capable of getting fleas.

Hopefully I am just being overly paranoid and the guy took a second look at the wall and realized it was more than just rehanging the rack, I mean..it looks like someone hit golf balls into the side when it ripped the anchors out and I thought he was being a little optimistic saying he would just get parts and remount it.

The landlord doesnt seem like a vengeful individual but you cant really judge people that easily either. I just dont like the whole riding out this thing, its been days since this happened and I have no idea what is happening.

[Dyscord]

Just a little information from the legal standpoint.

First, your lease is a contract. The terms agreed upon in your lease are pretty binding, and courts have become more charitable to tenants within the last 30 years. If your lease does say you can have pets, you can have pets. If it says it requires landlord's written consent... well... you need written consent. The law in each state can also be different, I remember reading something about in California it is per-se unlawful to forbid people from having a cat (heh).

In any case, all that mumbo jumbo, the reality of things is, eviction is a long, drawn out, painful process for the landlord. The eviction process requires lawyers, court orders, etc. Even with fast track procedures, it can take 3-4 months to evict someone. And all this time it costs the landlord cash. Also, the housing market also will dictate how your landlord acts. If the market is loose (i.e. the landlord already can't rent all his appartments, and competition for tenants is fierce) he's far more likely to put up with in order to keep a tenant.

So, given those realities, you probably won't be evicted unless the landlord really doesn't like you. However! He will probably make your life hell, he won't fix things, or will be slow to, he'll be less charitable in requests, etc. He will probably take great pains to make you want to leave if he wants you out, or at least enjoy stepping on your toes because of your pet.

[Flood950]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like we will be ok. The landlord doesnt seem like a harsh man nor does he have any reason to dislike us. He has had conversations with the soon-to-be Mrs that were friendly and just idle chatter.

He barely even knows who I am, the only time I spoke with him firsthand was to discuss removing a wasp nest that was forming on the balcony, which I did myself after talking to him so, that should help a bit. Not like we are a needy pair or anything. I am use to not even having a landlord and fixing everything myself.

It probably also helps that someone across the lot had their new car repo'd the other night, that was a funny story in itself, watching them trying to pull it onto the flatbed without hitting other cars, so I am guessing he has bigger concerns than our small rodent.

Thanks again, hopefully this puts my mind at ease going into the long weekend!

[Zeste]

I was forced to get rid of my 800 dollar german shepherd puppy. My landlord found out and said that there were no pets allowed, as stated in the agreement.

The owner of the house doesn't want any pet damage or smell to hurt his ability to sell the home or re-rent it.

So yeah, they can and will evict you if you threaten their investment.

[Flood950]

Originally Posted by Zeste

I was forced to get rid of my 800 dollar german shepherd puppy. My landlord found out and said that there were no pets allowed, as stated in the agreement.

The owner of the house doesn't want any pet damage or smell to hurt his ability to sell the home or re-rent it.

So yeah, they can and will evict you if you threaten their investment.

See, this makes sense. What I noted and can elaborate on is that pets are allowed. You just need permission first and there are some pretty large dogs on the property. Making me think they are just concerned that people will have Pit Bulls or god only knows what else there. There is a pool and some children are generally outside so that is my guess at their concerns.

If there was a strict no-pet policy then yeah..I would be even more worried than I am.

I ended up in a situation of not trying to get permission because its an odd animal to have, and the place I went to beforehand to apply for residency had a no caged animal policy. The woman at that place did explain it was due to smelly ferrets and that they had so many problems with people trying to justify that one pet didnt smell while another did that they just put up an anti-rodent rule.

At least in your case (I say at least for me, sucked for you no question) your another case of someone that was told to do something about it rather than immediate eviction. My main concern was that he found the animal and went right to starting the process. I havnt heard a peep from him, so it sounds like my concerns are probably a little paranoid and not realistic...I hope...yet they will still worry me until this is done.

He probably is just being lazy and doesnt want to repair half of our wall that the poorly installed shelving caused.

[Twobit Whore]

So.. why didn't you just get permission to have the pet?

A no-caged policy is actually pretty unusual. It would be like allowing dogs but not hamsters..

[Flood950]

Originally Posted by Twobit Whore

So.. why didn't you just get permission to have the pet?

A no-caged policy is actually pretty unusual. It would be like allowing dogs but not hamsters..

Explained above. We were urgently needing a new home due to expiring leases and yeah, it did seem like an unusual rule. Thats exactly what it was too, you could have a dog but not a hamster.

It would have been nice peace of mind to have just asked and know its ok to have the Chinchilla, but with how pressed for time we were, and after seeing a few crappy places, one place run by fascists, then a nice place turning us down because of the critter, we took this route. For right or wrong, it is what it is now.

[Twobit Whore]

Well, if he is going to evict you, then he is. Avoiding him won't change it. However he would have to be a real ass to do so without asking you about the pet and seeing if you can make other arrangements first. Best bet is to call him up and act normal. Ask him what's the deal with the shelves and ask him if there is anything you can do to help. He probably has an explanation, maybe he needs a professional to come in and do something or maybe he is waiting on some parts, etc.

[Zerai]

What does a chinchilla do anyway? Can you even hold them with their stress issues? It's like a fluff-ball with ears!

[Twobit Whore]

Well they make a nice scarf!

[Flood950]

Originally Posted by Zerai

What does a chinchilla do anyway? Can you even hold them with their stress issues? It's like a fluff-ball with ears!

Yeah, you can pick them up. At least mine you can, I did a lot of research on this before we bought him. The GF was very adamant we get one (no big surprise, same thing is happening with a cat now) and because I knew nothing of them I did quite a bit of research.

I guess some dont like to be held, but this one does. It actually seems to de-stress him. Its an attention whore in about all ways, sometimes it will bark in the middle of the night until someone gets up and pets it. Fortunately its bark isnt very loud, no one outside of the apartment could ever hear it.

I dont think its a whole lot different than a pet rabbit, it just runs around a hell of a lot more when its out of the cage and thankfully it doesnt crap or piss when its out either.

[Shoeby]

Originally Posted by Flood950

sometimes it will bark in the middle of the night until someone gets up and pets it.

Lol, I always used to describe it more as a Nerp than a bark. =P