Property Manager · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes
My tenant is mid-lease and we just found out she got a dog without prior approval. This is a lease violation, but we do allow dogs and told her she can keep the pet if she pays the required fees. I gave her 7 days to pay and the pet fee is now considered late. Can I charge a late fee for not paying the pet fee on time? Can it be considered late rent?
I don't know the local or state laws where you're at but if this happened in my market (and I accepted dogs) I'd post a 5-Day Quit (this is the duration in my PA market) on her door.
Since it's not a payment dispute (you could argue she got a dog without your approval and it's not over the fee) you could technically evict her. I feel that's not what you want - you simply want the monthly pet fee - and the notice should scare her into doing what's right and paying you the monthly fee.
You could make the argument she owes you a late fee as well as she did not pay rent in full this month - or you could simply tell her (once she contacts you which she will after receiving the notice on her door) to pay you the fee by X-day or be responsible for a late fee as well. She'd likely choose the better of the two options and quickly pay the pet fee.
What I would do is reach out to them again respectfully and let them know they are in violation of their lease terms (over the phone and certified mail). I would stress the point that they either need to remove the dog from the property or pay the required animal fee. If they don't comply within a reasonable amount of time I would send them a lease termination letter. In my state, I believe 30 days is considered reasonable in most instances other than non-payment of rent. Although, I'm not sure there is a defined length of time that supersedes what a landlord considers to be a reasonable amount of time for a pet violation.
Now the reasoning behind a no pet allowed clause or a pet fee is to alleviate the financial loss the landlord is going to incur from pets living in the property. it's very probable you will have damage and depending on the size of the animal and the breed of the dog it will affect your property insurance as well.
Send your material breach of contract notice to the tenant regarding the pet. This will have a cure period and if they do not cure the breach at the end of the period then you are able to move to an eviction. Even if you do not wish to evict the tenant, the letter will likely result in them taking action and making that payment to you.
Do you they have way to see their balance owed such as a tenant portal? If not create an invoice for the rent owed and include a separate line showing the pet fee. Yes this is more work but so is an eviction. Most courts will not allow late fees to be applied for unpaid fees, only rent. In addition, they are not going to evict, especially now for an unpaid pet fee. Court cost is how much compared to pet fee? Keep communicating with the tenant and put it is writing so they can clearly see it.