...so, I have a 30 yr old guy move into my studio in January. I have a no pets policy..he knew that and signed the lease.

Just today I get a text from him stating that he is lonely, has too much time to himself and that a dog would give him great fulfillment! Of course he want s a dog!

I allowed the last tenant to have a dog...he was a "dog trainer" and he got a puppy. That dog destroyed my couch, a bookcase and there was hair everywhere.

I know I shouldn't judge every dog for this puppy, but I had had it! I allowed the girl on the 2nd floor to have an old declawed cat and a very old dog, but she has a huge place.

I had such a bad experience with the puppy and the studio is small so dogs were just another problem to me.

...so...am I being unfair? This guy sure seemed ok when I interviewed him. Has a good job, screened well...even came with his mother to view the apartment.

I told him that I was sticking to my policy of no pets. I told him he could Find another place to live and when I got a replacement then he could leave. His lease ends on May 26 of this year, so if he cries discrimination or gets an ESA then he will be gone!

Jo, no, you're not being unfair. He knew you wouldn't rent to him if he told you he planned to get a puppy after move in, so he waited until he was in there because he thought he could talk you into it then.

One thing you did that I wouldn't do was giving him the option of moving out early.

I've had several people try this--ask to get a pet one or two months after move in, after they initially presented as "no pets"--and they have always backed down after I told them no. I'm pretty allergic so I think I would know if they had brought it in anyway.

Be very careful how you treat me.

It will be easy for him to get a letter saying that he needs a comfort dog.

OOPS

Be very careful how you treat HIM.

All he has to do is to tell a psychiatrist (or less) exactly what he told you and he'll get his letter on the spot.

His lease ends on May 26th of this year. If he cries discrimination or gets an ESA then I will not renew his lease.

His reasons don't matter, if you rob a bank because you feel its ok does that make it OK?

Lease says no pets, refer to lease.

I doubt he's going to get an ESA letter at this point. He may not even know what ESA is. Most likely he will just drop the issue. If he does bring a pet in without permission then you know he has to go.

I wouldn't give a reason for the non-renewal if you go that route, though.

I think the real issue is do you want to keep him and try to make this work out, or not?

I would keep him if he doesn't push the pet issue. I will make it very clear that no pets means no pets.

How is he suddenly sad and lonely? He seemed perfectly fine at lease signing. You never know about people.

He does work at a physiatric facility...good stable job.....

Remember that, once he gets his letter, not renewing his lease will be discrimination based on disability.

Other tenants have asked me about pets and it's always been because they want to rescue the animal.

Personally, I allow pets so it's pretty easy. Pay the pet apply for a pet (none under 1 year old), get the pet and tenant approved, pay the pet fee and pet rent and all is good.

Jo, he may have owned that dog already before ever he moved in. He saw "no pets" in your ad and thought he could talk you into it after he moved in to your apartment. "Sad and lonely" is just to push your buttons and get you to agree.

J...Maybe you are right about that...dog at mom's house.

Would it be discrimination if I did accept the pet, charge him a pet fee and monthly rent if I didn't charge the person upstairs from him?

Can I justify that? I could open a can of worms possibly?....

I just hate this foolishness!

"He also said that the place was super clean and he wouldn't get a puppy and that he would be losing out of HIS security deposit if there was any damage, and he wouldn't get any kind of puppy that would ruin anything that he wouldn't take ownership of."

In a apartment complex I own I screened every applicant/tenant with trick questions about pets, mainly dogs and cats. They all failed so all of my units have a "No Pets Clause".

A lady down the block had puppies and was giving them away for free. So on a Friday afternoon 4 of my tenants each brought home a puppy. Monday each family left for school or work, leaving the puppy alone in the unit. These puppies were in a transition phase, they could walk, bark, poop, pee, eat, climb, scratch and dig.

When the 4 tenants came home to their unit, each of the 4 apartments were destroyed! I didn't care much about the the tenants belongings but the puppies did the following my property:

a) while on the sofa or bed the puppies wanted to see out the windows so they destroyed my window treatments -- mini-blinds and curtains

b) the puppies heard tenant walking down the common interior hallways and scratched at the inside of the apartment doors making deep scratches.

c) some of the puppies began to dig under the doorway, or at least tied, damaging the carpet, padding and hardwood flooring underneath.

d) the puppies made #1 and #2 on the carpeting

There was more but you get the pictures. That night the tenants that got the 4 puppies got together, returned the puppies and filed a police report that someone broke into these 4 unit and did the damage.

Then the tenants contacted Housing and I was ordered to:

1) Repaint those units

2) Replace the carpeting

3) Replace the window treatments

4) Compensate the tenants for the inconvenience

I went to court. In Los Angeles, in order to evict a tenant the unit has to be in good conditions with NO violations. I had to fix up the units and then:

1. File a case in small claims court

2. Start an eviction

The average cost to fix up A unit after a six hour puppy attack was (back in 1999) $1,800. Then the cost to evict was $1,000. And lost rent was an additional $1,800.

To me a puppy is a form a terrorist!

UNLESS the tenant:

a) Pays their rent on time

b) Owes NO back rent

c) Has renters Insurance covering dog damage to my property, naming me as a beneficiary on the policy

d) the dog has all of it's shots and vacinations

e) is fixed so it won't be aggressive and the tenant won't have puppies while living there

f) they have a dog license, lease and collar

g) DO NOT WORK FAR away and can't come home at lunch or after a 4-5 hour period to walk and feed the animal

h) not a dangerous bread

i) If the dog is a comfort animal, I need a doctors note from a non-bias doctor, not a doctor who operates a web page and for a fee issues notes.

j) If the dog is a real service animal, I want to see the training papers and speak to their trainer.

If the tenant says, oh the dog is too young to train, then I tell them to board them until the dog passes it's training class and get certified, OR, give me a $5,000 bond on damage to my unit.

A letter from my attorney that asked for:

Proof of vaccinations, license, insurance and their general knowledge on care so the dog won't be left alone barking keeping my other tenant from their right to Piece and Enjoyment.

Robert J...yikes!!!!! I was fainting just reading your post!! He said he wouldn't get a puppy, but that is a relative term.

Moshe is right -- be careful here.

Also, you said: "[if he] gets an ESA then I will not renew his lease"

You do realize that you just wrote that you'd violate federal law, right? Not a wise thing to say in public before you decide to illegally discriminate...

- John...

John, what I meant was that if he got a dog without my permission, that is grounds for eviction...an unauthorized pet.

If he used the ESA to just get his way, then when his lease term is up..May 26th 2018, I wouldn't have to renew. That would be my right...correct?

Why, just suddenly all this spare time and loneliness???

I had a new tenant ask for a puppy just today. I told them we are pet-friendly but NO PUPPIES are allowed.

I said, "I’m afraid that while we are pet-friendly (or can be) we are definitely NOT puppy-friendly in any way. Puppies are adorable and fun. They also, before they mature, chew and piddle and poop and can be enormously destructive. They also bark and howl when left alone.

While I understand wanting a puppy, totally, we just can’t allow it. If you want to consider a cat or a rescue DOG, we can talk about that!"

She seemed to understand...

NO PUPPIES.. Even the most experienced of owners have difficulty with puppies. Sad and lonely is not your problem. Your lease says no animals stick to it.

Now I do allow pets. I don't advertise, but when the prospective mentions it, I explain that they have to be neutered, up to date on vaccines and vet visits AND I have to meet the animal on its territory. That animal cannot be aggressive or uncontrollable. I allow pets only for people who have them, not people who want to get them.

"If he used the ESA to just get his way, then when his lease term is up..May 26th 2018, I wouldn't have to renew. That would be my right...correct? "

NOT CORRECT.

Sorry Jo. If you refuse to make a new lease with a disabled tenant, then you are presumed to have violated his civil rights under the ADA.

Once he gets a doctor (or whoever) to certify that he NEEDS the animal for his health and shows you the letter, then he has disabled privileges.

Even in our rentals where we allow pets our policy is NO PUPPIES.

Why? There's a reason puppies are so darn cute. And the reasons have been discussed here.

And heck, I volunteer in animal rescue. Both cat and dog. Right now I'm "enjoying" dealing with six puppies and their momma who were abandoned when their owners were evicted and left the pregnant dog behind (NOT one of my tenants). Got the puppies when they were one day old. Currently 4 weeks old. Cute at buttons. Also leaky little things. Can barely wait until they are old enough to be fully vaccinated, weaned and able to go on a transport up north so adopters can pay big bucks to "enjoy" the delights of puppies in their homes.

I'm glad I saved them (not all of them; mom crawled under the house her owners had been evicted from, had her puppies and one froze to death before these were found and rescued) but not glad enough to keep them or deal with puppies for longer than a few months.

Even in our rentals where we allow pets our policy is NO PUPPIES.

Why? There's a reason puppies are so darn cute. And the reasons have been discussed here.

And heck, I volunteer in animal rescue. Both cat and dog. Right now I'm "enjoying" dealing with six puppies and their momma who were abandoned when their owners were evicted and left the pregnant dog behind (NOT one of my tenants). Got the puppies when they were one day old. Currently 4 weeks old. Cute at buttons. Also leaky little things. Can barely wait until they are old enough to be fully vaccinated, weaned and able to go on a transport up north so adopters can pay big bucks to "enjoy" the delights of puppies in their homes.

I'm glad I saved them (not all of them; mom crawled under the house her owners had been evicted from, had her puppies and one froze to death before these were found and rescued) but not glad enough to keep them or deal with puppies for longer than a few months.

Moshe.....he is not disabled...not now anyway. He has a job that keeps him very busy. I have tried to reach him in the past and he gets back to me days later telling me he is so busy at work and that he works so many hours!!

Now he tells me he has lots of time on his hands?

So, what you are saying is that I have no legal right to end a tenancy after the lease expires? What about lapse of time? When a lease is up, then a lease is up.

Moshe is, as usual, incorrect with what they posted to you.

Your state is not California which has some of the strangest laws for tenants known to humankind.

And, as you pointed out, your tenant is not disabled.

Sounds like the guy needs a girlfriend, not a dog.

JO,

Suggest a caged animal such as parakeet.

Me? I LOVE animals because they bring in extra money. There is a huge difference between an intrained puppy and a lazy lap dog.

Pre-approval visit is key. Your previous res was scamming you. An In Home Visit would habe given you clues.

I’d visit this dog before I approve it. I’d also require Good Dog training.

JO,

When I read your title I thought we were gonna talk about sad and lonely LLs!

JO,

When I read your title I thought we were gonna talk about sad and lonely LLs!

" he is not disabled "

If he has a letter from a doctor saying he is, then he is.

Loneliness is an emotional disease, but a disease nontheless.

Once you know that he is disabled, you cannot discriminate against him, and refusing to renew the lease because he wants what the doctor says he needs, would be presumed to be discrimination and would be VERY VERY hard to fight.

P.S., ADA is a federal law, not CA.

This is getting off Jo's topic, but...how are you all of you handling when you have a "pets allowed" rental and the tenant moves in with no pets and asks you if they can have a pet a month shortly after they move in? (I'm not talking about ESA that have to accept, but a new pet)

Brad...LOL! We are all too busy to be sad and lonely!!

The studio is small. I know a puppy is different from a lap dog and I shouldn't judge all dogs by the last one.

So, if I relented I would do a pet fee and pet rent...however, I did not do that for the tenant upstairs and so therefore, how could possibly yell discrimination.

The tenant upstairs has lived there for a year. The previous tenant in the studio really had a dog trainers license...works st the local large pet store, but his big puppy was uncrontrollable, was home a lot, not enough room in the house, peed on his bed, ruined my couch and chewed a bookcase and hair everywhere.

Mr. Sad and Lonely might just need

Jo: Again, as I said before -- Moshe is right here.

You said: "If he used the ESA to just get his way, then when his lease term is up..May 26th 2018, I wouldn't have to renew. That would be my right...correct?"

No, it would NOT be your "right" to not renew his lease based on the fact that he has an ESA -- even if you feel that he did it just to get around no-pet rules.

Don't get me wrong here, I understand what you are saying and how frustrating that is. But the reality is that you keep repeating that you think you can just not renew his lease if you don't like that he got an ESA. That is simply not the case.

If he gets a proper, documented ESA, then that would mean that he is considered "disabled" by a healthcare professional.

You've also said that you know he isn't "disabled" based on him "working a normal job." That is an assumption that you cannot make.

All we're saying is that you need to be careful with this. You have made repeated statements above that, if they ever showed up in court, would like show that you were illegally discriminating against a disabled person with an Emotional Support Animal. That is all we're trying to protect you from.

(Again, this is assume that he gets proper documentation regarding the ESA -- but, as was also pointed out above, if he simply says the same thing you posted in the first post here to a healthcare professional of some sort, then he'll have no problem getting that documentation.)

- John...

To clarify: Yes, you DO have the "right" to not renew a lease. The problem is that you've repeated more than once that your REASON for not renewing the lease would be because of the ESA. THAT is where you no longer have that "right".

You can not renew a lease for many LEGAL reasons -- but "because he got an ESA and I don't like it" is NOT one of them.

- John...

Does the woman with the dog and cat still occupy one of your properties or units? If so then that is an issue. You already contradicted your "no pet' policy. We just had a recent discussion on here regarding enforcing your lease uniformly and the potential fair housing repercussions for failing to do that.

If he is a good tenant then I would ask him if he is planning to rescue an older dog or if he has a particular dog in mind (i.e. living with is mother).

We have a pet friendly policy and most of our tenants both past and current have dogs (oddly very few cats). Most of them crate trained their dogs and when they leave the property for work the dog goes in the crate. You could require him to crate the dog in his absence.

John and Moshe are wise to advise caution. ESAs are tenant's current way of getting around no pet policies. Yes, ESA's are a pain, yes, they are often an "abused" right, but sorry....that doesn't mean you get to non-renew based on the abuse of the law and/or you perceptions that he doesn't need an animal.

The other problem I see is you have violated your own "no pets" policy in the past several times and are considering doing so again. Consistency with a policy is key to proving you treat all tenants fairly. Stay consistent or get rid of the no pets policy.

Quotes of concern from initial post include.

"I allowed the last tenant to have a dog..."

"I allowed the girl on the 2nd floor to have an old declawed cat and a very old dog..."

NC,

Good point.

It seems to me like the safest way, if she's sure she wants him out, is to give the notice now via certified mail that it will be ending May 26. Before any "ESA letter" is presented (if it was going to be at all).

I still think this tenant could work out though. He hasn't actually violated the lease. He just sounds a bit childish to me.

Just to clarify the details of the situation:

"Disabled" doesn't just mean that he can't work. It means that he has some kind of condition that disallows him to perform some of his normal life activities. That includes life, liberty & Pursuit of happiness. Being lonely can be one of those conditions. mental illness can be a disability.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a US Federal law which protects Americans with Disabilities. It provides that you are discriminating against a disabled person if you do not reasonably accommodate their disablity.

The criteria for a landlord to decide if a tenant actually has a disability fo which he is requesting accommodation is generally a letter from a doctor, like a prescription, stating that he has this disability and would (medically, including psychologically) benefit from the relief suggested in the letter (prescription).

Fighting such suits is VERY VERY difficult. The suit is not brought by the plaintiff, but by the federal government, through their local advocats. The advocats get paid (ultimately by you, the defendant, and they can even ask for an award for themselves (in addition to attorney fees and expenses, where they are the attorney). The law is full of presumptions which are very hard for you to overcome, like that you are in violation if the patient has his letter, and you try to evict of decrease services.

For the record, please let me clarify this. It's not the ESA animal that I can do anything about, ..its the INTENT of the tenant!

He KNEW what the policy was when he moved in and signed the lease. Now he wants to play games?

Who says we can't change our rental policies? If you allow one thing for someone a year ago, who says you have to stick to that policy? Do we really not have control and decisions about our properties? I do understand federal regulations, but don't we have any say?

What is the INTENT of the tenant?

Even if he knew the policy before he moved in, who says that he cannot claim that his circumstances have changed?

He is entitled to claim disability and request that you reasonably accommodate his disability by allowing the ESA. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to refuse such an accommodation without consequences.

Of course, you can change your POLICY. You cannot change the conditions of a lease (while it is in effect); you will find it difficult to change the conditions of a lease after it expires, if the tenant is continuing and the lease revision affects his disability. You will also get in trouble if you had a policy before and then later refuse these conditions to a disabled tenant, whose disability would be affected by the old conditions.

Legal ingenuity has no bounds.

Jo: You seem to be mixing two different things -- and one is just a "what if?" question.

So, yes, you can absolutely tell him that you still do not allow pets even though you have made an exception in the past. There is always a little concern here -- there have been cases where landlords not enforcing rules in the past has been an issue when suddenly want to enforce them now. So, still good to give that thought.

But, yes, if this is just a guy asking if he can have a dog, then you are fully within your rights to say "No, sorry, we don't allow pets" like you did.

Where it gets different is that you then continued on and said that if he tries to get around your no-pets rule by getting an ESA, that you would then discriminate against him by not renewing his lease because of that.

THAT is very different than the first situation where it is just a guy that seems depressed that asked you if they could get a dog. VERY different.

Don't combine them into the same thing. If he is asking for a pet and you don't want one, then keep telling him no.

But if he shows up with some animal along with a letter from a healthcare provider stating that he has a disability and the dog helps him to live a more normal life -- then you better think twice before you follow up with your "Ok, well, I'm not renewing your lease then" argument. :)

Just keep the situations separate and you should be fine.

- John...

John, yes, you summed it up very well. I got caught up in the emotion of it all...I know, we are not suppose to do that.

It isn't a question of being allowed to change policies it is how you implement change.

You need to memorialize policy changes by committing them to paper that is signed and dated. You then need to provide a copy of policy changes to both existing tenants and prospective tenants to denote consistency. This is especially critical if you have existing tenants that will be "grandfathered" under the previous policy.

By doing this you are clearly demonstrating that any change in policy was neither an arbitrary or capricious decision predicated on the request of a specific tenant or class of tenants.

"I would recommend you talk to your attorney immediately if you get one of these therapy dog letters."

So far I texted him and said I was going to adhere to my no,pets policy. I've heard nothing from him, even responding to that message.