kids and dogs - Landlord Forum thread 341252

kids and dogs by carla (tennessee) on November 30, 2015 @14:06

Tenants signed lease with 1 child and agreed to no dog. they now have a dog and three children under 3. Can I evict due to extra wear and tear on my floor and with appliances?

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Re: kids and dogs by Anonymous on November 30, 2015 @14:44	[ Reply ]

You will not be able to do anything about the children unless the total number of tenants exceeds 2 per bedroom that violates Federal guidelines or otherwise violates a local ordinance. You can serve the tenants with a "cure or quit" notice about the dog but do not expect to get anywhere with that either. It is doubtful that a Judge will evict on that alone. Your circumstances are the reason why some landlords only offer month to month leases for at least the first year.

Re: kids and dogs by Anonymous (NJ) on November 30, 2015 @14:56	[ Reply ]

What T is doing is wrong but always think about proving before giving notice to T for anything other than non payment of rent. Do u have witness? Security cameras? I had same incident month ago. I informed T orally yet other T told me that she has unauthorized occupant but other T did not want to get involved in court matter. We immediately placed cameras which cost us 600 dollars. Next day, T said she wants to pay $ 75 more ( which is in lease for extra occupant) and add her boy friend.

Re: kids and dogs by Garry (Iowa) on November 30, 2015 @15:50	[ Reply ]

I agree with the first anon 100%. NEVER try to even COMPLAIN about "wear and tear" The bar is set SO HIGH to be able to prove damages past normal wear and tear, that you would never be able to prove them. And a judge will never accept you saying that damages MAY/CAN occur in the future from w+t. Also, never try to show what CHILDREN may do in the future. You can, however, ask them to either get rid of the dog, or pay an extra deposit and/or pet fee. BUT-----they do not have to agree to it, since you already signed a lease, and that wasn't in it. You could take them to court over the dog, but you would only have a very slim chance of winning. About the only choice you have, is to give them notice towards the end of their lease that you are not renewing it. Once they are gone, then you can charge any damages past normal w+t against their deposit That's why I only sign M2M leases-----so I can stop certain behaviors soon after they get started.

Re: kids and dogs by MrDan (Georgia) on December 1, 2015 @12:24	[ Reply ]

Yes, your Honor, I’m evicting the tenants for the following reasons. 1) They violated their lease by having more than one child. They are now in possession of a total of three toddlers under the age of three. The lease says they are allowed only one. 2) They also have a dog in which they agreed to not have if I agreed to allow them one child. They probably acquired the dog when they got the other two toddlers. I don’t know when that might have occurred, as I just recently found out about both the dog and the extra two toddlers. My point your Honor, is that between this batch of toddlers and the dog, my floor is resulting in extra wear and tear from the toddlers running and playing with the dog. All this continuous rough housing causes everyone -including the dog- to become either hungry or thirsty. My water bill has sky rocketed due to the dogs thirst and the toddlers needing baths often. My appliances are enduring extra wear and tear because of the constant need to open and close the refrigerator door and the use of the stove in order to provide food for this big family. The microwave is in constant use, heating up food and snacks to feed this gang of toddlers. My greatest fear is the damage that they can do to my rental property. The mischief and damage that occurs when toddlers are in their “Terrible Two’s” is very costly for a landlord to repair, often requiring the service of an experience contractor. I want the whole lot of them out before they cause any more damage to my place. There forth, I ask that you grant the eviction.

Re: kids and dogs

Re: kids and dogs by Anonymous on December 1, 2015 @13:55	[ Reply ]

I assume your original lease is well past expiration and your tenants are now month-to-month (you wouldn't renew a lease without updating your occupant information, right?). So I would give her a 30-day notice to terminate the tenancy and be done with it. The dog is a serious violation of the lease (despite MrDan trying to make light of it). And depending on the size of the rental, 4 occupants may also be a violation of city occupancy codes. The dog would be the breaking point for me.

Re: kids and dogs by anon on December 1, 2015 @22:08	[ Reply ]

Yes. You should have been doing lease violation notices served properly to tenant. The children would have to be looked at for the situation and apartment size. The dog is easier to use as eviction reason, I would think.