No Pets in Previous Lease

[Geri May]

My husband and I purchased a duplex, took on the two tenants that were already on a contract through the previous management company. Flew to Texas to take care of some business and begin a flip on a single-family home we just purchased and I reached out to the tenants so that we could stop by and introduce ourselves, heard dogs barking in each unit so after returning home and looking over the contract I found they should not have pets.  I am not wanting to take away someone's pet or charge them an arm and a leg, but one tenant has responded to my email and said she must have "overlooked that in the contract". She has a child and I don't want to take his pet away, but according to the contract there must be a written agreement between the landlord and tenant and we do not have this. I am reaching out for some guidance on this. We have other properties and do not allow pets.  Anyone have a pet policy I can use and do you charge for breaking the lease, it wasn't under me so my heart says no but to just collect a pet deposit and/or monthly fee. What do you all do? I love having experts weigh in and provide guidance. I don't want to be a hard ballplayer, not my style, but don't want to just let it go either. 

I appreciate your input!

[Nathan Gesner]

@Geri May if you connect with me and send me a PM, I will share my pet addendum with you.

Their lease says no pets. I doubt they just "overlooked" that. They moved an animal in and hoped they wouldn't get caught.

I would tell give them written notice that they are in violation of the lease and face termination. However, since the animals are already there and the damage (if any) is already done, you could allow them to stay with a rent increase. I would consider charging $50 - $100 per month, per animal. That wouldn't be enough to even replace carpet in one room, but it will reduce your risk a little.

My personal policy is that I do not keep tenants that blatantly violate the lease. I do what I can to minimize my risk from this point forward, but I will not renew their lease when it ends. If they're willing to sneak a dog in, what other terms are they willing to violate? I don't want to keep them around long enough to find out.