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I would like to get some advice from those are more experienced than I am with renting in NYC and tenant rights.
Myself and my husband recently volunteered to look after a cat temporarily who was up for adoption at a local pet shop but was not doing so well at adoption events due to being shy. He needed human contact and a little bit of love so we agreed to foster him for one month. We informed our landlord who said it was ok to keep him temporarily.
Now of course, by ways that are out of our control, we fell in love with the little cat and have formed a bond with eachtoher so were ready to finally give this poor cat a loving home.
We asked our landlord if we could keep the cat and it was a firm no. They told us it states no pets in our lease. The exact wording is "No Pets permitted unless agreed upon with Landlord" which led us to believe there would at least be a discussion. They also said they have seen what damage pets can cause to apartments and as this is a new renovation they just can't allow it. It is a huge shame that a prior bad experience may have ruined this for us all. We are hugely respectful and tidy to the point of OCD, professional tenants who are extremely house-pride and spend a lot of time enjoying and improving our home.
We went back to our landlord to offer a pet deposit and as they were concerned with damage, offered a solution that they could come and inspect the property in a few months time to see if any damage had been caused by the harmless cat and still, they said no.
The cat is small, completely house-trained and well behaved and we cannot understand their reasoning when we have tried to offer multiple solutions.
We really do not want to give up giving this cat a loving home for the rest of his life, over a tenancy agreement that will be up in 5 months time.
This feels so unreasonable to us as we have had such successful tenancies in previous properties before this, staying for a least 3 years a time in each property and feel let down that we are being treated like this. I have read that some tenants get their landlords to amend their contract, to include that the tenant is liable for any damages caused by the pet whatsoever, which I would also be more than happy to agree to.
We are also thinking of getting the cat certified as an Emotional Support Animal, so that we do not run in to this problem again. My husband suffers from anxiety and has been through CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) for his issues and his mood has been lifted since getting the cat. Do Emotional Support Animals count in the NYC rental market as leverage on the no pet policy?
I would like to know what our rights are if we insist on keeping the cat? Can we be evicted for breaching the contract and if so, can they keep our deposit and would this cause us bad credit?
Thanks,
Audrey
If it's that important to you just pay off the rest of your lease and move to a building that allows pets.
NYC buildings have individual cultures and many people only rent in no pet buildings because they don't want to be in a building with pets. I love animals but I purposely bought in a no pet co op because I don't want to live in a building filled with barking dogs who are left home alone all day by their owners. Others are allergic to some types of animals and don't want to be in buildings or next door to animals....usually cats.The landlord doesn't want to make an exception because word would get out and others would jump on the me too bandwagon.
Be a grown up and just leave.
To OP: You don't really have much of a case. Your lease says one thing, your landlord granted you a little leeway, I don't see how you would prevail in court. And you risk not getting your lease renewed. And I'm a cat and dog lover, but cats can cause damage to woodwork, etc., and if it's a newly renovated property, I can see the landlord's reluctance. Is the cat declawed? And if LL makes an exception for you, then he has to make more exceptions, and maybe that's the real reason he's saying no. Plus, perhaps other tenants rented with the understanding that there wouldn't be pets in the building (not everyone loves animals). Maybe you can get a good friend to take the cat until you can find a new place where the cat is welcome. Or go back to the original plan of helping the cat become more adoptable--which was your original kind deed--and rest assured that the cat will find a good home. The cat will forget you in about five hours, so don't worry about how the cat feels. Or start looking for a new place that accepts pets. Maybe a friend could keep the cat until you find a new place. You can appeal to the LL one more time, but I don't see much hope.
Thank you everyone for your responses. It's good to get other people's opinions when its hard to see the other side of the argument as it means taking away the chance for a harmless animal to finally have a home after 10 months of animal centres and pet homes.
I certainly don't want to run in to problems with evictions and "black lists" - NYC is a tough enough city to live in as it is!
I just wish I could convince the LL that we would be willing to pay a deposit of however much they wish, and are willing to re-sign a contract that states that we are liable for any damage caused by the pet whatsoever.
As Moving415 says above, I really hope to find a friend who can look after him for 5 months until our lease is up so we can finally give him a home for good.
The landlord might let you out of your lease early, assuming you can find a place. Approach him one more time with the deposit offer, like next week, and then start looking for a new place. If you find something in two months, he might let you out of the your current lease, or else maybe you can sublet the place for the remaining months with the option that the sublettor could take over the lease. For you, the challenge is finding a new place. To you, this a "harmless" animal, but not everyone sees a cat that way, including the landlord and possibly other tenants. Good luck, and let us know what happens.
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