Hi, this is my first time asking here, so thank you in advance to any help I receive. I live in the state of Washington, if that is of any relevance.

My soon-to-be-husband and I previously lived in a small one-bedroom apt, while we were living there I had an older male cat who started to lose control of his bladder and ended up soiling the carpet in the bedroom heavily before he passed on. We got another cat who lived with us for the remainder of our occupancy.

When we found out we were expecting a baby later this summer, we began to look for a bigger apartment. We researched the internet for properties that were affordable, larger and of course, PET FRIENDLY. After finding the complex we are in now on apartments.com, we took a tour and immediately fell in love. There are pets all over the place and it is exactly what we had wanted, so the first of May, we moved in.

At the time, we could not afford the pet deposit so I asked my mother to take in the new cat for a few months until we could put him on the lease. A couple of days ago our new landlord asked us to come speak with her, the management company that owns our new apartments is also the company that owns our old ones. She stated that she had received a call from our previous landlord and that the carpet in our old place would most likely have to be replaced due to the pet soiling. I quickly agreed to pay the cost of ALL damages.

She then asked if we still had the cat, I explained that we no longer had THAT cat but I did have one that I intended to bring over after paying the pet deposit. Her first words were "Absolutly Not!" She then informed me that they were no longer accepting pets and that the ones I saw around the complex had been "Grandfathered in". We were stunned, we had chosen this place on the belief that we could have our kitty at some time. The problem is after I informed my mother of this, she said she would not keep the cat until our lease ran out and we needed to figure out what we were going to do.

In our lease there is nothing that states we cannot have pets, only the pet-agreement page that has a big X through it because at the time it wasn't an issue. We also were never verbally told that we could not at some point have pets. Out of curiosity yesterday we went back to apartments.com and it STILL says that our complex is Cat friendly and that the information on the site was provided by our landlord.

We would like to know what our options, if any, are. We LOVE it here. The way we see it we either have to 1. Break our lease and move out, losing almost $1000 in concessions and the apartment we love. 2. Get rid of my kitty, which I mostly refuse to do, or 3. Hide him and hope that we don't get evicted but we've always been very respectful, abiding tenants and really do NOT want to do that, we just don't see what other options we have.

Ideally we would like to either be able to pay a pet deposit, even if it is higher than usual because of the damage at the previous apt (we totally understand that) or be let out of our lease without significant penalty because we signed under the belief that we could have our cat as soon as we paid the deposit. Is any of this possible?

As far as the legal stuff, I have no clue. One thing I would want to do if it were me in the situation is to have a friend (or even yourself anonymously) call the complex like you're a prospective tenant and ask if they are "cat friendly". This would be a good way to know if they really did change their policy or if they are feeding you a line because of your past cat. If at all possible, record the conversation for proof. ;)

Hello by:

This is fairly easy. This is a typical tactic used by underhanded business people - called "bait and switch". It's illegal. I understand that this complex may have inadvertently done it, but they did it, nonetheless.

They cannot advertise one thing, and then give you something else. Yes, you should have mentioned that you were going to bring a cat. Yes, that should have been in writing. And, if the landlord hadn't screwed up, you would have been stuck. But they did screw up.

It's true - the landlord can change their policy regarding pets, but they can't keep advertising the old policy. Make sure you document the add as it stands TODAY.

Armed with that documentation, you can break your lease and probably make them cover most of your costs in doing so. Or you can just threaten to break your lease, but that you'd be willing to relent if they just did what their advertising said they would do.

excon

This is an interesting one. "Pet friendly" doesn't necessarily mean that you can bring in any pet you want. Many complexes will put in size, age, breed, and temperament restrictions. So we have a renter, who the complex _knows_ allowed their cat to do a lot of damage to a different unit that was managed by the same company. Plus, it doesn't sound like Starlight asked about having a pet when they moved in. So, we have people who have rented a unit _without_ a pet, and their lease has the pet agreement crossed out. Does the complex have to agree to allow them to have a pet _after_ the lease is signed? Especially given that their past history with the renter suggests that they aren't (in the complex's view) necessarily responsible pet owners? It seems unreasonable to say that the complex is going to have to potentially absorb the costs of damage to the unit caused by the pet, simply because the ad says it's "cat friendly". No more than I think that "pet friendly" would force them to accept a viscious dog.

But, I can see the other side as well. I'm just not sure which way the law would come down.

Trey's suggestion is a good one. I would also check with some of the existing pet owners to confirm if there truly is a change in policy. If you can document the continued advertising of pet-friendly and that existing pets weren't grandfathered in, then you can probably force them to either let you out of the lease or accept your kitty.

Its too late now, but you made a big mistake in not replacing the carpeting or arranging for its replacement when you moved out. Had you been up front with that, things might be going easier for you.

If, however, you can't document that they have continued to advertise pet-friendly (and just because apartments.com lists it that way, may not be enough proof) or haven't really changed, then you are stuck. You can either find a temporary home for kitty until your lease is up of give up kitty.

Frankly, as someone who had to give up a cat because of allergies, with a new baby coming, I would find the cat a good home and concentrate on the new baby.

Thank you for your responses.
With all respect froggy, we are VERY responsible pet owners, I lived with my older cat for several years without a bladder incident, including 2 years in then old apartment, before he became ill and it was a problem. We did not just "let" him do his business on the carpet, he began having accidents, and we subsequently had to have him put down.

Our new cat has been neutered, and is still fairly young, with not one "accident" on his record. We take full financial responsibility for the damaged carpet in the old apartment, which was in immaculate condition otherwise, they even stated that to our new landlord. (We also are eligible for re-renting) FYI our last day in our old apt was the 31st of May, and we were not informed of the carpet damage until 6/09, and never disputed it.

That aside, we don't feel like getting rid of ZoSo (the new kitty) would be fair, responsible, or even an option. We adopted him with the intent of him being a life-long member of our family, we just consider him to be on "vacation" at grandmas. Maybe it was stupidity or naivety on our part, but when we searched for a pet friendly apt and found one with other pets practically everywhere, we didn't think to ask it it was okay to have them. We do not want any trouble or problems with our current landlord. All we want is to pay a deposit and put ZoSo on the lease, or be able to move to somewhere where we can without paying the entire $937 for breaking our lease after only a month and a 1/2. We really are good tenants other than the unfortunate carpet incident, which was unintentional, and we are not trying to reflect ourselves otherwise. This is really a tough spot...

P.S. Im not sure if this is of any relevance, but the $937 is the concessions for signing a one-year lease. Instead of taking the one and 1/2 month free, we had it spread out and applied to our montly rent, making it $546.88 per month instead of $625. We would be more than willing to pay the $156.24 that we have already received in discounts for May and Junes rent, but that leaves us with $780.76 that would be paid basically for nothing if we moved out, we can't exactly afford that. The carpet isn't exactly in our budget either, but as soon as they give us the final bill for it, we will not hesitate in paying for it. I also don't think I've stressed how much I really do enjoy where we are now, and the very last thing I want to do is leave. The neighbors are wonderful, everything is well maintained, and it has everything we need for our new family.

Your lease says no pets that means no pets. Even if the complex allows pets and advertises as a pet friendly complex your lease says no pets. Most places put a stipulation on allowing pets pending approval, which means that even if they allow pets they may not allow every tenant to have a pet.

Thank you for your responses.
With all respect froggy, we are VERY responsible pet owners, I lived with my older cat for several years without a bladder incident, including 2 years in then old apartment, before he became ill and it was a problem. We did not just "let" him do his business on the carpet, he began having accidents, and we subsequently had to have him put down.


And what, exactly, do you think apartment complexes hear from people who are NOT responsible pet owners? "It was a medical problem." Or "it happened while my friend was watching the pet while I was on vacation." What they KNOW is that you had a cat that did a lot of damage to an apartment. I can understand them not wanting to allow you to have a cat again in their place. Let's face it... their concern is for their property, not you and your family. Cat pee is very nasty stuff, especially if it gets into the subflooring. People have walked away from real estate deals because of it.

Now, if you really want to have your cat there, I'd go and talk to the complex about putting down a really big pet deposit. And perhaps even be willing to pay pet rent, and agree to have periodic inspections of your unit so that they can be sure that the pet hasn't damaged it. Keep in mind what I said up there... they are concerned about their property, not you. You are stuck... you've signed a lease, and I don't think that you have a legal basis for getting out of it. So couch all of your coversations with them as "we understand that you are concerned about your property, and we want you to know that we share that concern... blah blah blah". And tell them what you are willing to do to make sure that they don't have a problem at the end of this lease.