Landlord allows dogs, but the lease says no...? (New York, York: apartment, house)

[italianyc84]

Ok. Native New Yorker here, moved to DC a few years ago, finally moving back to NYC. Just signed a lease for a decent two bedroom in Bensonhurst. Can't wait to be closer to all my friends and family and, well, life, which doesn't seem to exist in DC...

ANYWAY...the apartment is nice, six family house, great location right off of 18th avenue, yada yada yada. The landlord stated from the get go that he has absolutely no problems with dogs (we have one). He seems like an honest man. We signed the lease, and it wasn't until later that I realized that it states no pets in the building.

The lease looked like a template, though I've never signed a lease before (moved from my parent's house to my partner's house in DC, so this is new to me...). Should I get in writing from the landlord that pets are indeed allowed? I may have spent the last few years in the suburbs of DC, but I still have my NY saviness.

[sheaosaurus]

If it is a standard NYC lease, it will say no pets. It will also state things like you have to have x amount of your floor carpeted if it is hardwood.

Most of the time, your landlord should add a pet rider to the lease. I usually tell my clients to go with what the landlord says if their is no rider added, but I only do this with landlords that I know allow pets.
Just to be safe, I would try to get a rider added.

[italianyc84]

thanks, sheaosaurus. I'll do that...better safe than sorry.

[sheaosaurus]

Originally Posted by italianyc84

thanks, sheaosaurus. I'll do that...better safe than sorry.

No problem. The last thing you want is to have a confrontational with your landlord and he tries to kick you out on the basis that you have a dog.

Enjoy your place man!

[Kefir King]

I would say the opposite. Don't confront the landlord on the paradox, he may say NO PETS even though he knows he allows them. He may refuse to offer you the lease.
Just keep the dog and give it limited exposure.


There's some court law that allows pets no matter WHAT the lease says but that means you need the lease first.

[Cavaturaccioli]

If you've had a pet for six months or more and the landlord hasn't taken action he's basically estopped from doing so.

[nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by Cavaturaccioli

If you've had a pet for six months or more and the landlord hasn't taken action he's basically estopped from doing so.

three months according to RSA.
if you blantaly have a dog for that time and the LL has don nothing, you can keep it.

[yee8p]

I don't know... If he has verbally said okay, I would just go with it. The standard lease will say that, and yes they reserve the rights to evict you if you dog becomes troublesome. But most cases, they'd rather have your rents. And I would suspect that they won't commit to writing they allow pets if they didn't already proactively do so. (also, do you see pets around the building? If so, you're not likely to get evicted.)

In all case, you already signed the lease. There is really nothing you could do. Legally, you've already signed the lease. So, what incentive is there to the landlord to give you additional commitment in writing when you're legally bounded to pay rent...? From that perspective, I would probably just let it be. I like to be a trouble-free tenant as much as possible...

[knh39]

My lease is the same. Landlord assured me that pets were ok, but lease says no pets. The 3 month rule that was stated above is true, but you have to make sure that the landlord (or landlords agent) is aware of the pet and be able to prove that. I took care to have my super come up and fix something a few days after I moved in and pointed out that I have a dog in the apartment. I also made sure that I walked her whenever I saw the landlord around the outside of the building for the first month or so. No issues here.