I am writing in regards to a problem I am having with my landlord. We have lived in an apartment for over a year.Prior to moving in our landlord knew we had a cat and two birds.
Our neighbor has 9 cats and run around the apartment and such.
The other day one of our neighbors cats got out on the roof and entered our apartment and attacked one of our birds.
We got upset and called the landlord about this. She has decided that we all have to get rid of our animals or move.
We feel we are being asked to get rid of our animals because of our neighbors inability to take care of his own cats.
Can our landlord legally make us get rid of our animals? We do not have a lease. We have not had complaints about our animals.
What are my rights in this situation?
Sincerely,

Jason Woolard

Greenbrier county, West Virginia

Hello jason:

You are a month to month tenant. That means you have a lease that lasts for a month. At the end of the month, either party can change the agreement. Therefore, with 30 days notice, your landlord can change the rules, raise your rent, or ask you to leave.

excon

There really isn't much legal-wise that you'll be able to do. And honestly, it all depends on the land lord's feelings about the matters. They probably feel as if they will receive less complaints if no one has animals to get into trouble to begin with.

What I feel would be good for you to do is try talking to that neighbor of yours. Perhaps if you resolve the conflict with their unruly cats, you can both approach the land lord again and ask that she give you one last chance. Try to cooperate with your neighbor. They probably aren't too happy about giving up their pets too.

If you are on a month to month rental, they can with a 30 day notice change the agreement. So they can give you a 30 day notice to get rid of the pets.

I have to wonder what you wanted the landlord to do ? Why you did not merely sue in small claims court against the other tenant.
The landlord is now protecting himself against possible liablity after you filed a complaint.

Your landlord is taking the path of least resistance. Rather than deal with the hassle he figures he'll just get rid of you both. And yes, this is perfectly legal as long as he treats you both equally.