Will we lose our deposit?

There is a building that needs a cat to chase all the mice on East 65th street. Currently the condo board has a memo out to the owners looking for anyone who knows a good cat for the job.

locher, the memo of the board of the building on East 65th Street that has a mice infestation specifically requests a cool cat, and apt_hunting hasn't indicated the temperature of her cat.

Ask to see the memo.

Your landlord would be within her rights to withhold your deposit if you've gone against the terms of your lease. Cat pee is extremely harmful to wood (often it is necessary to replace wood floors after cats have been living in an apartment) and if your landlord makes a case your cat did damage to the floors or other elements of the apartment you'll be out of luck in getting back your deposit.

Why would you have willfully gone against the lease agreement?

Squid thinks you should have killed the cat. Squid should be made into calamari.

I know it's this way with dogs so I have to assume it would work the same with a cat: once the ownership/management is made aware of the presence of the animal against the term of the lease, they have 90 days to take action or they are deemed to have waived the no pet provision of the lease.

So, it depends on how long "management" has had knowledge of the pet to tell if she waived that provision. But in addition, an owner can only keep some or all of the security deposit based on ACTUAL damages, not for breaking some lease provisions.

____________________

David Goldsmith
DG Neary Realty

http://law.justia.com/newyork/codes/new-york-city-administrative-code-new/adc027-2009.1_27-2009.1.html

If you have a lease that does "prohibit the harboring of household pets" but you have lived in that apartment with a pet "openly and notoriously for a period of three months" and the "owner fails within this three month period to commence a summary proceeding or action to enforce a lease provision prohibiting the keeping of such household pets, such lease provision shall be deemed waived."

That is the law. Now the practical points:

1. Note that "open and notoriously" may not mean that the owner has to have actual knowledge of the pet. The owner may have "constructive knowledge" of the pet if the renter has not taken any affirmative action to hide the pet.

2. The owner may keep the deposit incorrectly, in which case you may have to go to landlord/tenant court if you want to get it back. Being in landlord/tenant court, even if you are in the right, is something that your future landlords and lookup and may count against you as a potential tenant.

secondandc is correct except that you'd go to small claims not landlord/tenant to resolve an unreturned deposit. small claims is not a blemish and wouldn't be until after you've moved in somewhere else. the small claims filing form actually has a checkbox for failure to return a deposit.

Remember a landlord needs to have damages that can be quantified with money, not simply a breach.

If there's no pet damage, I don't think you need to worry at all. Keep the cat and relax.

IF landlord causes trouble, quote 30 Years and secondandc. That should do it.

Landlords aren't all born greedy bastards. But bad experiences, such as described by squid, could turn Mother Teresa into a greedy bastard. But squid is wrong about the law, to the best of my knowledge.

{Manhattan real estate agent. Also investor-landlord.}

>>Squid should be made into calamari.<<

One doesn't "make" squid into calamari, locher. Squid and calamari = same thing.
Squid - English. Calamari - Italian.

Getting back to the discussion at hand, again, if the cat has caused damage (and many cat owners will swear up and down that Kitty doesn't tinkle on the floor even though the stink of ammonia has permeated the very pores of their home) then your landlord will rightfully withhold deposit money.

I'll say it again--cat pee can wreck floors. I don't allow cats in my rental for this very reason.

if there is no damage, just don't pay last month's rent and let them keep your deposit. i know people who do this every time they change apartments, just because it can be difficult to get your security back regardless. whatever your security deposit is, litigation is more expensive.

Firstly, let me point out that you signed a legal agreement that you would not have a pet & YOU HAVE A PET- not smart, not nice. I don't know the law but at this point, since you did breach your agreement with the landlord, the only thing you can do is take lots of photos on your way out the door & hope for the best. I'm glad I'm not doing business with you.

how can you even ask this question... you signed a lease saying no pets and you have one. you made that decision and now you deserve to lose your deposit. i love animals and have one but i play by the rules and when i know i am not i am big enough to accept the consequenses

Just pretend not to know the cat.

give me the address, the cat will be gone before you get home....I'm the cleaner, its what I do!

CAT, what cat? That's not a cat, it's my pussy.

>>IF landlord causes trouble, quote 30 Years and secondandc. That should do it.<<

This is classic. Next time I get into any trouble I'll remember to quote anonymous posters on a discussion board. "But officer, my chat buddies said it was OK to run a red light as long as I looked both ways first!" Yep, that should DEFINITELY do it.