No animal policy now? Can they make us get rid of our cats?

[favouriteslave]

What is the name of your state? CA

Can someone please tell me about animal laws for apartments? When we moved in 4 years ago this complex allowed animals. Before we rented we asked and were told that cats were allowed but no dogs. So we moved in.

Now our neighbor of 1 month has been told to get rid of their cat because the new policies do not allow any animals. So the neighbor tried to point their finger at us because we have 3 cats. The fact is that cats were allowed when we moved in. Can the management legally make us get rid of them. Of course we would never do that, we would move before giving up our babies. We are just curious if we have a leg to stand on.

Help........anyone?

Thanks!

 

[queenofsand]

Do you have a written lease? New management can change policies only after your current lease expires. If you are month to month, they can institute a no pets policy with proper written notice.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/before-rent.htm#rentalagreementsandleases

 

[favouriteslave]

CA

Our lease expired almost 3 years ago and they never asked us to sign a new one. The management has changed the onsite manager 3 times since we have been here.

They didn't even know how much of a deposit we put down. They came to ask us when the new managers moved in to the front building. They are not very professional here as you can tell.

 

[favouriteslave]

CA

Oh and on a second note the manager came over today and he told me that I was allowed to have the cats since that was the policy when I moved in but the new neighbors must get rid of their cat.

Im just worried that maybe they will change their mind if the neighbor squables about it. I am not dealing with very smart people here so hopefully they don't try to tell me about my lease expired.

 

[FarmerJ]

As far as your nieghbor goes all you need to do is tell them you have a older lease that allowed cats when you moved in , and drop it . some day your ll could change your lease terms with proper notice but in untill then there is nothing wrong with the practice of LLs who do not give newer tenants the same terms as long time residents , Many LLs do slowly over time make changes because they simply dont want long term tenants who give them a lower cost per unit to move .

 

[HomeGuru]

CA

Oh and on a second note the manager came over today and he told me that I was allowed to have the cats since that was the policy when I moved in but the new neighbors must get rid of their cat.

Im just worried that maybe they will change their mind if the neighbor squables about it. I am not dealing with very smart people here so hopefully they don't try to tell me about my lease expired.

**A: so get everything in writing. And it would behoove you to get a long term fixed lease.

 

[favouriteslave]

Thanks everyone for your advise.

The neighbor lady was a real B i t _ h ! The manager even told her my situation that I have been here a long time and I paid a pet deposit and pets were allowed when I moved in. The lady got all up in his face yelling at him in Spanish. She tried to say all kind of lies about me, like I let my cats outside and I have a whole bunch of cats and she's gonna call animal control on me. I've got the cleanest, nicest apt in the whole complex. You would never know I had cats unless you asked!

He knows she's lying. He knows me very well and is always coming in my apartment to talk with me. He knows my cats never go outside and they are all fixed. Shes is just mad because she can't do what she wants. I have worked very hard here with animal groups and the city of LA to trap and neuter all these stray cats out here that cause alot of problems. I spent all last spring and summer traping and fixing on my own time and gas. I did a good thing and the population is so much less. Most of the cats have disappeared and we are down to 2-3. Which we feed at night. We leave a bowl of food in the back of my husbands truck. I guess she thinks, according to the manager that those are my cats out there because I feed them. They are ferals and strays. I feed them because if I don't they dig in the trash and spread it all over and make a mess. I guess she wants to call animal control on me because of this good deed I have done.

This whole fiasco started because we live on the second storey with balconies. They lock their kitten out on their balcony while theyre gone all day and the cat screams and tries to jump off. I had to go wake them up last Sunday morning to tell them to let that kitten in. Well they did it again yesterday and the manager was preparing to bring me a ladder to get the kitten teetering on the ledge but they came home first. That's when the manager went to talk to them.

I have already filed a report of animal endangerment against them. I don't know if they give the kitten food or water or a potty place out there. It screams for hours and tries to jump. It was just a matter of time before someone else saw the cat.

I just hope this ends here and they stop locking the cat out on the balcony. The Manager gave them 30 days to get rid of the cat and I feel really bad about that because I didn't know the policy had changed. If they would have just listened to me last week the manager wouldn't even know they had a cat.

 

[HomeGuru]

Thanks for the update.