All Forum Posts by: Dawn Brandt

@Natalie Schanne Wonderful advice. I really like the idea of the note and adding in the fees. Letting it be their choice. 

I do understand the need for service animals. In this situation, it isn't really a necessity.

We originally had a pet policy in place, with fees and added rent, and they said they will not have pets. So now they are bringing in pets, we are feeling shortchanged. They should be paying for that, because yes, they will create extra damage. 

The house is 1700 sq feet and it will cost about 3k to recarpet it. The security deposit is 1800 so it wouldn't even cover the cost to replace it. Yes I know we could go to court for more, but lets avoid that, right?! So having a non refundable pet fee of 250$ plus 50$ a month for each pet sounds reasonable. - But when I brought this up with our phone conversation yesterday, the house manager said she will tell everyone to not bring their pets to work...so they will abide by the original rule of no pets.

I still think I should put something better in place then what is stated in my original lease - it seems a little loose to me.

Having a list of frequent visitors sounds interesting as well. Because I have no clue who is there. I only contact the House Manager, who is in charge of the house staff.

Thanks again for your input, it has me thinking!!!

@Christopher Phillips Thank you. After further research I have come to the conclusion I will need to make a lease addendum. There are other issues we need to address as well, repairs..but that's another conversation.

This I'm hopeing will better spell out the rules for all of us. So moving forward there will be no questions.

This addendum will better spell the pet policy. NO PETS SHALL BE ALLOWED, EVEN TEMPORARILY, ANYWHERE ON THE LEASED

PREMISES, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF LESSORS. LESSEES WILL BE

SUBJECT TO CHARGES, DAMAGES, AND EVICTION PROVISIONS OF THIS LEASE IF THIS

PROVISION IS VIOLATED. IF A PET HAS BEEN KEPT ON THE LEASED PREMISES AT ANY

TIME DURING THE LEASE, THE DEPOSIT WILL BE FORFEITED

@Christopher Phillips I thought that No Pets Allowed meant just that. That includes the tenants guests (and in this case, staff). So a dog could be there 8 hrs a day, every day or a couple of days of week, and go home with the staff member. It doesn't really live there. But is still in a house where no pets are allowed. And that would be ok for the pet to be there because it doesn't really live there, the pet is a guest?

My thoughts are to send a written warning, remind them of the no pet policy. And if I see damage caused by pets, I have some kind of leg to stand on if we have to go to court for damages.

They have one more year left on the lease.

(I suppose I need to tighten up my lease in this area!!)

@Christopher Phillips Thanks for your response. The staff are just guests. They are not listed on the lease. They rotate shifts, so staff is there 24/7, but not the same people, if that makes sense.

The lease states: Pets: no pets allowed. 

They at first wanted a pet, but once I spelled out the deposits and gave them my pet rules, they said no, we won't be having any pets here - so I just left it as No Pets Allowed. Nothing more - now I feel hoodwinked.

Hi Everyone.  I have a house I rent to 2 men, or who need staff for care giving.  Each man requires 2 staff at all time to help with their needs. So we have 4 staff members in the house at all times. The Lease is set up in the men's name only, treated as roommates, the staff is not listed anywhere on the lease.

We have a no pet policy. There are no pets allowed on the premises. However, it has come to our attention, that The Staff is bringing their pets to work - which means, dogs and puppies (which I would never agree too!) have been in the house. This is not on a regular basis, but it's happening. I have spoken to the house director, and she said "I bring my dog to work all the time, is it ok if we leave the dogs outside"? I clearly stated we have a no pet policy. If she wants to pay a non-refundable deposit, then we can readdresss it. She said no, she will send a note to the staff to not bring their pets to work.

My point is, they knew from the beginning there was a no pet policy. Who is to say this isn't going to continue. And now what kind of damage has been done to the floors and the added wear and tear?

What can I do as a landlord? My thoughts are sending them a signed warning of some sort that they are in violation of the lease, and that they are risking their security deposit (if this is really true?)

What is considered beyond normal wear and tear? While we understood this house was going to house a few more people at a time, we are amazed at the number of traffic that is going on in the house. I would suspect at the end of their tour here, the carpets and floors are going to be trashed. How can I really determine this? The carpet was 2 years old when they moved in. Can I really make them pay for new carpet when they  move out? Especially now that they brought pets in the house?

Thank you for your input.