Current tenants with pets.

[Chris Bisaillon]

So I'm hoping to aquire a 3 unit property fully rented. Each unit is a one bedroom. One tenant has 2 dogs, a small one and a medium size one. The smaller one barks a bit. These tenants have no pets addendum. They are on a lease. Another tenant has a small dog as well. She also has no pet addendum and has no lease.

I'm curious as to what my first steps would be once I take over the property.

[Andrew B.]

Have you asked the current owner what his policy is? If he verbally agreed to allow the pets, or has seen them and ignored the issue for a long period of time, it might be difficult to convince a judge that's its a lease violation. This is because a judge can uphold the fact that failure to enforce a lease violation, when the landlord knows about it, is implicit permission of the act. (This will depend on state laws and case law)

Beyond that, its kind of immoral to buy a place and try to kick someone out over something that the previous landlord gave them permission to do. When you buy the property, you reduce your asking price to account for the current and potential future pet damage. If the old landlord gave permission, he has to pay the costs of that pet.

If the current landlord did not give permission, add a contingency to your contract that there be no pets when you buy it. That puts the onus on him to figure out the problem.