suprchkn79
Junior Member
California
My question is this: My girlfriend and I live in an upscale apartment complex and when we moved in, we signed our lease and paid a $750 pet deposit about a week later. Nowhere in our lease agreement -- including the pet ammendum -- does it reference the rate of a pet deposit, if it is per pet or a one-time fee, or anything.
Recently, we got a second dog and have yet to notify management. Well, upon our annual inspectioin this week, they noticed the first dog (the second one was at the dog park during the walk-through). They posted a "warning" on our door saying we had never paid a pet deposit and it was due immediately. We resolved that issue and they said they did receive that payment and the notice was a mistake. But on the warning, it says "$750 for dogs".
Here is my question....we know once they discover the second dog, they will try charging us another $750. Is this allowed? Nowhere in our lease does it make reference to the cost of a pet deposit or if it is per pet or covers multiple pets. The wording on their official "warning" was not "per" dog, but just "$750 for dogs" in general. My girlfriend writes contracts for a living and I am a journalist, so we know the importance of phrasing things correctly for legal reasons, and the way they wrote it implies multiple dogs fall under the same $750.
Any thoughts/advice? If I am correct in thinking we shouldnt pay a second deposit, then I intend to be pro-active and tell them about the second dog. If we do have to pay, I'm gonna keep her hidden a while longer.
My question is this: My girlfriend and I live in an upscale apartment complex and when we moved in, we signed our lease and paid a $750 pet deposit about a week later. Nowhere in our lease agreement -- including the pet ammendum -- does it reference the rate of a pet deposit, if it is per pet or a one-time fee, or anything.
Recently, we got a second dog and have yet to notify management. Well, upon our annual inspectioin this week, they noticed the first dog (the second one was at the dog park during the walk-through). They posted a "warning" on our door saying we had never paid a pet deposit and it was due immediately. We resolved that issue and they said they did receive that payment and the notice was a mistake. But on the warning, it says "$750 for dogs".
Here is my question....we know once they discover the second dog, they will try charging us another $750. Is this allowed? Nowhere in our lease does it make reference to the cost of a pet deposit or if it is per pet or covers multiple pets. The wording on their official "warning" was not "per" dog, but just "$750 for dogs" in general. My girlfriend writes contracts for a living and I am a journalist, so we know the importance of phrasing things correctly for legal reasons, and the way they wrote it implies multiple dogs fall under the same $750.
Any thoughts/advice? If I am correct in thinking we shouldnt pay a second deposit, then I intend to be pro-active and tell them about the second dog. If we do have to pay, I'm gonna keep her hidden a while longer.