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Pet violation charge

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katacrow

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA

I'll try to keep it brief. My husband's friend came by with his puppy a couple of weeks ago. They weren't in our apartment long, but my husband put some water for him in a crockpot on the kitchen floor. We had an apartment inspection the next day with the bowl of water still on the floor, and when the woman asked my husband if he had a dog he told her no. A few days later I went online to pay our rent (only payable through an online portal) and it was $320 over our normal rent and water bill, stating a $300 pet security deposit and $20 monthly pet rent. I'm sure they get the run around from people all the time that DO really have pets and want to skip out on the deposit, and they removed the $20 pet rent fee but still say we owe the $300 deposit for having a dog in our apartment for 15 minutes because it violated our lease. Here is how our lease reads:

Animals : To the extent permitted by applicable law, no animals are allowed, even temporarily, anywhere in the apartment or apartment community unless we've so authorized in writing. If we allow an animal, you must sign a separate animal addendum, which may require additional deposits, rents, fees or other charges. An animal deposit is considered a general security deposit. You must remove an illegal animal within 24 hours of notice from us, or you will be considered in violation of this lease contract. (It goes on to detail exceptions for support animals.)

I understand it says they aren't allowed temporarily, but to me it reads that in order to be charged a pet deposit, we have to first sign an addendum in which they gran us permission to house an animal. It also reads to me that even if we have a pet we aren't supposed to, that we have 24 hours to remove the animal before we're considered in violation. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but $300 seems ridiculous for a few minutes of hospitality.
 


FarmerJ

Senior Member
fifteen minutes from the time a dog comes into a unit is enough time to pee on hard floor , carpet, (if a boy dog ,raise his leg and pee on wood cupboards) If you refuse to pay it you risk them refusing to renew your lease and instead giving you proper notice to move out. (BTW if a dog pees on carpeted floor its not just the carpet that can be damaged , padding and if the apt has plywood / or real hardwood it can become damaged too.
 

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