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The fact of the matter is that I would never have rented this property if she had told me from the outset that dogs would not be allowed. .... I feel I was lead astray by her and am standing up for myself.
When you inquired about the rental and asked about a dog, she hesitated and mentioned she was concerned about the dog scratching the hardwood floors, right? If I was a renter, I would take this as a "No", - because it clearly wasn't a "yes", at least verbally.
The fact that a written pet policy wasn't written in lease was her mistake and your mistake too.
How do you think she led you astray? She never agreed to a dog and she verbally worried about scratched floors when you brought it up.
Last edited by sware2cod; 09-12-2014 at 10:02 AM..
Swear2cod, she could have said "no, I don't allow dogs, no I don't want dogs." She could have said NO as many other potential landlords did before she and I met.
And to those of you who wish to personally insult me I wonder what are you so angry about? I came here asking for advice and have been personally affronted.
Maybe I should have posted this on the pet's forum instead
Again I want to thank the members here who have provided use, constrictive advice. To those who wondered why I didn't get it specifically written into the lease that I would be allowed to have a dog all I can say is "my bad". While some of you may not understand my reasoning all I can say is that I live in a place where much business is done with your word and a handshake. Yes, it's old fashioned and yes, sometimes it backfires.
When I told my landlord that I wanted to rent this place her idea of checking me out was to say "Well you seem like a nice person". No reference check, no employer check, no credit or background check. That's how we roll around here.
I would rather have it that way than to live in an over legislated, over regulated society. Unfortunately sometimes with arrangements such as this things fall through the cracks. I'll just have to live with it. Lesson learned.
Where are there still people who do things like the old fashioned handshake (like on Mayberry where we all would like to live)?
it sounds like there is a bad idea about doing this - the "nice guy" who does the handshake will get burned by people who take advantage of things not being put into writing. and if problems come up, he has nothing to protect him. i think if this continues, that person will probably stop using the ol handshake, and learn you must have everything in writing.
Please do not take advantage of someone who considered you a nice person and now would take advantage of this nice LL who trusted you with a handshake agreement.
Swear2cod, she could have said "no, I don't allow dogs, no I don't want dogs." She could have said NO as many other potential landlords did before she and I met.
And to those of you who wish to personally insult me I wonder what are you so angry about? I came here asking for advice and have been personally affronted.
Maybe I should have posted this on the pet's forum instead
People are angry because you feel so slighted at this landlords request. You want to pawn this off as all the landlord's fault but you refuse to take any responsibility in this matter. You would rather break a lease over a dog and go to court? It comes off very absurd. As a fellow pet owner, it makes the rest of us renters look bad.
For my own usage,
could someone point me toward the specific statute that states, or case law that confirms:
If pets are not restricted in an original Lease contract,
then Owner must grant specific permission
for Lessee to have pets on the leased premises during their leasehold.
Thanks in advance!
In this case, the law is going to be on the OP's side. Unfortunately this subforum--as it is apt to do--got their advice wrong.
Generally speaking, if any type of agreement does not specifically prohibit a reasonable action by either party, then either party is free to engage in that conduct. Certainly, owning a pet is reasonable conduct and if the tenant is not prohibited from such by agreement then they are free to have one as they wish.
Where the OP might have put themselves in a bind is by even discussing this with the landlord. That is, in essence, an admission that there was ambiguity and their attempts to negotiate made it clear what the landlord's wishes were. The OP would still be in the right legally, but it gives a judge an opening to side with the landlord. The smart thing from the OP's perspective would have been to simply wait until everything was finalized and then simply acquired the animal. If the landlord bitched about it, I would simply ask them to point me to the contract clause I was violating and watch as they stumbled around.
Of course, this is another lesson in how landlords try to be cute by crafting their own lease agreements to give themselves an edge and screw themselves when they miss something so basic. This is why I always tell people to use a standard form lease supplied by your state bar association or, failing that, realtor's association.
The OP would still be in the right legally, but it gives a judge an opening to side with the landlord. The smart thing from the OP's perspective would have been to simply wait until everything was finalized and then simply acquired the animal. If the landlord bitched about it, I would simply ask them to point me to the contract clause I was violating and watch as they stumbled around.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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I think in the end the lesson here is one that has been around for awhile, get it in writing or it doesn't count. Yes we think the OP is wrong in this case, but we all learn lessons through experience and I am sure in the future she will get it in writing.
Lesson Learned.
I just got verbal acceptance on 2 houses I am wanting to buy. But until the signed acceptance comes back, as far as I'm concerned nothing is done and I will continue to look for other houses until then.
The point is there are people who actually NEED pets prescribed to them for many of the reasons you named. People who abuse this just to get out of pet fees, pet rent, or deposits, make it look bad for people who actually DO need an animal to keep them from harming themselves or having panic attacks. I know you're just trying to help OP but magically recalling you have depression is not the way to do it.
I'd generally agree, but as with many things in life it ultimately turns into a sort of chess match and everyone is always looking for an advantage.
The one that is endlessly annoying for me is the pet fee/deposits. On its face it's a perfectly acceptable idea, but as we all know they are almost never refundable and aren't used in the event the pet actually causes damage. I'm questioned numerous realtors, landlords and property managers about what purpose it serves and with the few exceptions who outright admitted it was a way to pocket more money, no one has been able to come up with a coherent explanation.
As a general rule I refuse to pay any money besides rent and the like unless it is refundable. Every rental I had either waived the pet "deposit" or agreed to make it refundable. I only found one that didn't want to cooperate (and subsequently pissed me off with their snotty attitude in the process) and I did the same thing people are advising the OP to do. It took one phone call and about 15 minutes of my time to have a letter from one of my college's psychologists (who also happened to be a good friend) prescribing me a "companion animal" to "help alleviate stress".
Didn't really feel bad about it, either.
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