dog eviction

[sheilamaria]

The apartment complex
that my son lives in has ordered him to "get rid" of his dog.
The complex has people with pets. He
happened to sign a no pet lease. A year later he asked of he could
have a dog. The shelter called the complex to make sure he could have the dog there. They said ok was told he would have to pay a $250 pet deposit,
which he did. (although they didn't give him a copy of the pet
lease)
3 months later they want the dog out because when workers were in his
apartment they saw that the dog had scratched up the exit door and
the carpet by the bedroom door. I can understand why they would want
him out. THe dog does not touch anything else. The carpet was a one
time thing because he was locked out by the roommate.

1. My husband, a carpenter had told them he can repair both easily.
2. If they didn't want just a repair on the door he would buy a new
one.
3. If neither appeased them we asked if he could keep the dog until
august when his lease ends.
4. I even asked the same of the vice-president of the company that
owns the complex.

They would not compromise at all.

1. They don't like my son because he kept asking them to fix things.
An example is the sliding glass door that has big cracks and
hadn't been fixed since he moved in over a year ago.
When they still didn't come to fix things he wrote them letters
saying he would exercise his legal rights as a tenant. Place wasn't
painted when he moved in...or cleaned well. Cat hair was under the
refrigerater.

2. Lock on security door has been broken for almost a year. They
mentioned to one of his neighbors that they thought he broke it. (he
had asked them to fix that too..so why would he break it.)

3. Lock on his apartment door isn't great. he was locked out one
day and called workers for help. it took them a long time to come so
he tried and got into his apartment using a piece of PAPER.

SO... I see their reason for wanting the dog out..Do we have any
legal recourse at all?? Its like losing a child. And we were willing to to
fix the problem.

Should we ask if we can break the lease and move? A dog isn't a
material thing ... we love him.

ANy help or advice would be appreciated.

Thank YOU
sheila

 

[mike]

The apartment complex
that my son lives in has ordered him to "get rid" of his dog.
The complex has people with pets. He
happened to sign a no pet lease. A year later he asked of he could
have a dog. The shelter called the complex to make sure he could have the dog there. They said ok was told he would have to pay a $250 pet deposit,
which he did. (although they didn't give him a copy of the pet
lease)
3 months later they want the dog out because when workers were in his
apartment they saw that the dog had scratched up the exit door and
the carpet by the bedroom door. I can understand why they would want
him out. THe dog does not touch anything else. The carpet was a one
time thing because he was locked out by the roommate.

1. My husband, a carpenter had told them he can repair both easily.
2. If they didn't want just a repair on the door he would buy a new
one.
3. If neither appeased them we asked if he could keep the dog until
august when his lease ends.
4. I even asked the same of the vice-president of the company that
owns the complex.

They would not compromise at all.

1. They don't like my son because he kept asking them to fix things.
An example is the sliding glass door that has big cracks and
hadn't been fixed since he moved in over a year ago.
When they still didn't come to fix things he wrote them letters
saying he would exercise his legal rights as a tenant. Place wasn't
painted when he moved in...or cleaned well. Cat hair was under the
refrigerater.

2. Lock on security door has been broken for almost a year. They
mentioned to one of his neighbors that they thought he broke it. (he
had asked them to fix that too..so why would he break it.)

3. Lock on his apartment door isn't great. he was locked out one
day and called workers for help. it took them a long time to come so
he tried and got into his apartment using a piece of PAPER.

SO... I see their reason for wanting the dog out..Do we have any
legal recourse at all?? Its like losing a child. And we were willing to to
fix the problem.

Should we ask if we can break the lease and move? A dog isn't a
material thing ... we love him.

Unfortunately it appears that you likely may not have any legal recourse. The lease clearly states that it does not permit a dog and the fact that other people have pets in the building and that the building may allow pets doesn't override the lease terms. That said, if the landlord permitted you to get the dog, it is possible to argue that the landlord "waived" this lease term. If you relied upon the landlord's promise that you could keep the dog there, it is possible to inform the landlord that he/she may be responsible to pay for the cost of the dog since you relied upon his/her waiver of the lease term to your detriment. I'm still not sure that I would believe that this occurred based upon the way you tell the story.

If the apartment is truly not safe then it makes me wonder why you didn't immediately get the landlord to put on a lock that a piece of paper wouldn't circumvent. It makes credibility low when you don't complain about a condition that you deem so important that you could break the lease. I'm not sure what to tell you except always read the terms of your lease and, before doing something that might violate your lease, discuss it with the landlord and work something out if you can if you need to.

 

[sheilamaria]

If the apartment is truly not safe then it makes me wonder why you didn't immediately get the landlord to put on a lock that a piece of paper wouldn't circumvent. It makes credibility low when you don't complain about a condition that you deem so important that you could break the lease. I'm not sure what to tell you except always read the terms of your lease and, before doing something that might violate your lease, discuss it with the landlord and work something out if you can if you need to.[/QUOTE]

He did ask for a new lock and a new security lock on the buildings front door. They laughed at him when he said he opened the door with a piece of paper. He should have made them come over and showed them.
He asked for a lot of things to be fixed. I think thats why they are being so adament about getting the dog out. They don't like him anymore.