General Landlording & Rental Properties
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Tenant got Pit Bull without notice
So, my tenant's neighbor called me today and told me that my tenant got a pit bull. He think he’s had the pit for 2-3 weeks now. My lease does not allow for a Pit Bull and I clearly stated to my tenant when they applied my pet application that I don’t allow pit bulls. I gave him a call and he told that me he was just pet sitting for a friend and only had it for a couple of days.
This tenant has only been with me for about 4 months now and has been a pain in the butt even before this issue. At least every two week or so, some issue would arise because of this tenant, but that’s another story. The only thing he has going for him is that his dad co-signed for him and he has been paying rent on time as his dad pays the rent.
I already called him and his father to tell them about it, the son says that he will take care of it. BTW, the son lied to me more than once, so I really don’t believe what he tells me.
What should I do?
1)Charge a fee for violating the lease? On my pet application.....
"“If Tenant obtains a pet without written permission of Landlord/Agent, Tenant agrees to pay an immediate fine of ($500.00) dollars. Additionally, Landlord/Agent reserves the right to terminate the lease agreement with the Tenant upon giving written notice to the Tenant, as outlined in said lease agreement."
2)Evict him, but school is about to start in late Aug. I would be in a tight squeeze to try to find a replacement tenant.
3)Or……????
Thanks in advance.
I would evict.
Can't keep a tenant based on constant lies and deception. Give written notice to tenant that dogs such as a pit bull permanent or otherwise are not allowed in the property
I have heard of the just keeping the pit for a few days BS before. It's all a lie. Next you will see puppies and all kinds of stuff. Nip it in the bud before your place gets trashed. Call animal control on them and say you have a random animal in one of your units. Animal control will come and make the tenant claim ownership and sign documents or they take the animal and the rightful owners will have to come get them out of the pound. Unfortunately I have been through this before with tenants in the past. They will also lie and say that they will get insurance and they don't or they get it and let expire after showing to you.
No legal advice.
I'd evict in a heartbeat. Thats not a liability to be fooling around with.
#2 Contractors Contributor
- Severna Park, MD
Send him the bill for $500 and put in a note that every day is a separate and new violation due upon recipt . Certified mail or personal service of course . When he doesnt pay add it to the rent , file eviction for not paying rent , his father is cosigner , send him the bill too .
Give him a 3-day notice. Get rid of dog or leave. Most people wake up when they get written official warning
I think your tenant was our tenant at one time ;)
We had a Section 8 tenant that did the same thing. She was dumb enough to call us for a repair, and when we arrived, my husband saw a heavy chain dog leash on the kitchen doorknob. He asked what it was for, and she actually said "the dog". Which we then noticed was looking in through the glass of the door. It had never barked.
When I told her she was in violation of the no pets clause in the lease, she claimed she was taking care of it for a friend on vacation and it was only there for a week. My husband then asked her why she needed that 20 pound bag of dog food in the corner - she replied, "well, it's a big dog!". In the backyard, there was a wooden dog house and not a blade of grass left.
We told her we were going to serve her with a Pay or Quit notice and send a copy to her caseworker. We did. She sent the dog to a friend's house, but a month later the neighbor said it was back. She had less than 2 months left on her lease, so we gave her 60 days notice that it would not be renewed. She actually said she wouldn't have renewed anyway unless we let her get a 2nd pit bull!
@Joel Owens is right, the tenant will lie to your face.
Thanks for all the advice guys!!
@Joel Owens I'm very interested on the animal control route. Not sure how that would work, would I call and say I have a random dog in my unit? Wouldn't they ask, well is that your tenant's dog? Would tell tell me that it's not their problem as its' more of a landlord / tenant problem and I would have to take it to court to evict?
I think I'm going to give them a warning and let them know if it happens again, the $500.00 fine will apply and I would serve them the 3 day notice.
I figure, if I kicked them out, I would be out $1000 - $2000 until I would get a replacement. I will check up on them to see if the dog is really gone. They know I have to give them a 24 Notice to inspect the property, so I will just get a ladder to see if the dog is there and ring on the door bell to see if the dog barks.
You have to call animal control in your area and see how it works. Here where I am at that's how they handled it.
Every area is different on how they do things.
You can get rid of them now and lose a few grand or you can wait till that dog rips some kids face off and you have a disfigured kid sitting in a courtroom while a jury goes after the deepest pockets available. Here is a hint... those pockets don't belong to your tenant and your insurance policy likely has a breed exclusion. You know about the dog, the ball is in your court.
Originally posted by @Bruce L.:
1)Charge a fee for violating the lease? On my pet application.....
"“If Tenant obtains a pet without written permission of Landlord/Agent, Tenant agrees to pay an immediate fine of ($500.00) dollars. Additionally, Landlord/Agent reserves the right to terminate the lease agreement with the Tenant upon giving written notice to the Tenant, as outlined in said lease agreement."
I am curious about this. They pay a $500 dollar fine and still have to get rid of the dog, is this correct? If they got rid of the dog as soon as you called would they still have to pay the fine? If they really were watching it for a weekend (obviously not true in this example) would they be liable for the fine?
thanks
I made my violating notice state that the $500.00 is a violating fee, not to be confused that they are now permitted to have the Pit Bull.
I've updated my lease & pet application form.
"If Tenant obtains a pet without written permission of Landlord/Agent, Tenant agrees to pay an immediate fine of ($500.00) dollars. Additionally, Landlord/Agent reserves the right to terminate the lease agreement with the Tenant upon giving written notice to the Tenant, as outlined in said lease agreement. The $500.00 fine is a violation fee, and not a pet deposit allowing such pet to live on the property."
Maybe I could reword it????
@Joe B.
I understand your concern as I'm as well, I will be inspecting the property in a couple of days and follow up multiple times there after and the tenant's neighbor is a friend of mine who is retired and always home and told him to keep on eye for me.
I would follow the landlord tenant act for my area, in regards to the written notice (keep a copy for yourself) to cure the default of the lease agreement with the proper amount of time allowed by the landlord/tenant act. Wait the appropriate amount of time, if the tenant doesn't get rid of the pitbull, move forward with eviction.
What @Joel Owens and others have said. The tenant needs to go. I've heard the lie and iIt can't end well.
@Bruce L. Just because you have updated some of your forms, that does not have any impact on your already existing agreements with your already existing tenant unless you get the tenant to accept such modifications by signing their name to it; unlikely to happen in this instance.
Put her on notice, lose the dog or lose your lease
Evict.
@Bruce L. Would dog sitting for the weekend trigger the violation fee?
Sorry to say I have been this tenant in decades past. There's a slim chance the dog is on loan. But I promise you that if its not it will likely cost you. New and young dog owners are IRRESPONSIBLE at best.
Originally posted by @Bruce L.:
"This tenant has only been with me for about 4 months now and has been a pain in the butt even before this issue. At least every two week or so, some issue would arise because of this tenant, but that’s another story. The only thing he has going for him is that his dad co-signed for him and he has been paying rent on time as his dad pays the rent.
I already called him and his father to tell them about it, the son says that he will take care of it. BTW, the son lied to me more than once, so I really don’t believe what he tells me."
Why would you even try to save this tenancy? It is not worth it. Act now. If you have a good property at a fair price it will rent up quickly. The rule breaking is likely to continue and the damage is likely to get worse. If you wait too long, you will be evicting too close to the holidays or winter which will be much worse than biting the bullet now.
I would approach it with..."This is not working for me. You can decide to move now or I can evict you. Your choice." But you must follow landlord-tenant law for your area.
Also, just wondering if a $500 fine would be considered excessive by judges in your jurisdiction. Our unauthorized pet fee is $50 per occurrence and is considered reasonable in our locale. You would do well to have your rental agreement reviewed by legal counsel.
Bruce I know the thought of evicting and being out possibly thousands right now isn't sitting well with you. This is why land lording especially on the residential side is a reserves business.
Don't step over dollars to get to the pennies. In the long run it's better to get them out now. At least right now the bright side is it's mid year. If you wait you could be close to the holidays and Christmas and then you will have a really hard time getting it re-rented.
Don't be another landlord looking at your balance sheet and saying " I wish I would have done this sooner! "
With the father paying the rent and enabling the son, the son has nothing to lose and won't care if the dog destroys anything. Daddy pays for it.
But daddy may have an interest to not have an eviction on his record, since he co-signed and obviously has enough money to throw around. He might have a business and needs good credit.
So, I would make sure to tell the father that you are now going through the legal steps of eviction and that he can save his credit by having the son move out now.
I would probably offer the deposit back, if the property is turned over in re-rentable condition
Send legal notice as state permits. I read something about the father paying, is he a co-signer? If so, I think you are in a lot better position. State law likely gives the tenant time to correct the situation after posting, so eviction might not be ab option, but it might be blessing if it is. I would be more concerned with a dishonest tenant and legal stigmas with pit bulls more than some of the out of control stereotypes about them that you may see here.
Cut your losses...Pit bulls bring risk!!!
I agree with Pete. Pitbulls are being given a bad rep. It's not the dog, but the owner. And this is the type of owner that creates that stigma. He's not responsible as a tenant and is obviously not a responsible dog owner.
Pitbulls are very smart, loving dogs, but they need a strong owner/alpha. If the owner doesn't do the right things to establish the alpha role, the dog has to be alpha for the survival of the pack. The same thing goes for other dogs, but some dogs, like golden retrievers are more willing to overlook a misstep.
If you're a surfer - it's like the difference between a short board and a long board. The long board is more forgiving of your mistakes and is easier to ride, but won't go as fast. The short board is much faster, but will immediately react to any movement, good or bad, and is much more complex. The short board gives you a much more fun ride, but it needs more involvement and expertise from you.
The same goes with certain breeds of dogs. And you put a 'bad owner' with one of the stronger breeds and you have a disaster in the making. You put a novice on a short board and they won't have as much fun.
Putting up your 3-day notice or whatever your state requires is part of the eviction process. So, you're not lying to daddy, if you're telling him that you're now starting the eviction process.
Here in Dallas the only place we see pit bulls is in front of a stash house, and the pound is call and another pit bull of the street and will never be able to attach anyone again.
My experience,
Joe Gore
I have been an animal advocate and lover for a long time.
The problem is the people.
A large dog DOES NOT belong in a small apartment. Go rent a house with a big yard and give that animal the space they deserve.
If you do not have time to take care of an animal and give them your love and attention then you do not deserve to have them. Sadly to many of these kids these animals are status symbols or make them feel tough or hard ( whatever ). They do not get the animal for the right reasons. A lot of animal attacks are humans being stupid. Example letting a 4 year old kid wrestle with a pit bull and putting their hands in the pits face. Then they look in shock when something happens. It's really common sense. I feel for the animals but they do not make sense for a landlord to allow them even if they get a bad rap or not.