Bumping this in hopes we will find out the reason they are being asked to move out. I’m just nosy that way.
Sorry to be away so long. This past Monday, I crawled to the manager’s office and begged her to rescind the demand. She said that it was beyond her authority to do so, that the order to deliver the notice had come from above, and that if I wished to have it reconsidered, I would need to write a letter to the management company (there’s apparently some unspoken agreement to pretend that the “management company” is NOT the owner). She also insisted that she did not know the reason for the notice being ordered.
Further, she notified me that she was aware of my attempts to obtain a phone number from the manager of another property.
So, the next day I put the following into the mail (certified).
Yesterday, the manager asked me if I would be able to meet with her supervisor in her office today.
This afternoon, I went there. The “supervisor” (the owner, actually) told me that I had been receiving more 3-Day Notices to Perform Covenant or Quit than he was prepared to tolerate. These were related to the frequency with which we pick up the dog crap on our back lawn (fifteen and a half years of doing it once a week apparently suddenly became unacceptable to them). He told me that if I’m prepared to sign a clause in our lease agreement that we’ll pick up after him daily, he’s prepared to rescind the demand.
So the crisis has been averted, kayla gets to graduate from her high school on schedule, I don’t have to find a new place to live, and all’s well that ends well.
I have a suspicion that my explanation will not end the questions here on the SDMB, though. I won’t try to preemptively answer them; I’ll just see what shows up.
Thanks to all for your time and advice. 
A.) Yes I did, and B.) In your face. 
So what I’m reading between the lines is that you’ve been receiving regular notices for some time that you are in violation of the lease in that you are not doing something you promised (this is what a covenant is) to do in the lease agreement. Specifically you are not disposing of pet waste in the appropriate manner as per the terms of your lease.
If you’ve been receiving such notices regularly why were you so shocked at the termination of tenancy notice, and why wouldn’t you have suspected this was the cause of the termination?
I don’t know your lease/situation but most of the communities we’ve worked with the standard rules on pet waste are that you are required to dispose of pet waste immediately, and are in fact in violation of the community policies if you are walking your pet on community grounds without appropriate pet waste disposal equipment.
Someone that repeatedly over many years refused to properly dispose of pet waste in one of the residential complexes we are responsible for would almost certainly have their tenancy terminated if they were month to month or evicted on the grounds of violating the lease otherwise.
Glad it worked out, especially for your daughter’s sake.
But I’m very confused as to why you didn’t start cleaning up after your dog more regularly after getting the first 3-day notice. If my landlord sent a notice like that, I’d be pretty concerned and careful not to do it again. Not to mention that leaving piles of dog shit all over your (or really, the landlord’s) yard to accumulate for a week is pretty gross, stinky, and unsanitary in and of itself. How do you use the yard like that?
How many “3-Day Notices to Perform Covenant or Quit” did you receive anyhow? Because as others said, if you’ve received multiple such notices, you shouldn’t have been surprised by the termination of the tenancy.
But congratulations on changing the landlord’s mind.
When I first read this…
…I thought to myself “that’s maybe something I would have left out”.
Imagine my (non) surprise to find out the reason for the 60 day notice was…
Weekly pickup might be acceptable for a place you OWN, but in a rental (and I’m not sure but do other tenants share this yard??) I think nothing short of picking up after EVERY INSTANCE would be acceptable. (and I speak as a dog owner AND a renter).
I sympathize however with the fact that they tacitly allowed it for 15 years so it is a little unfair to suddenly make an issue of it, and in such a dramatic way.
Perhaps a new tenant moved into one of the other units and proceeded to make a fuss?
This is why I originally posted in GQ; I wanted to limit the discussion to “how can I find a way to initiate a telephone conversation?”
I’ll point out again that our practice for over fifteen years had been to pick up once per week, and this had never been considered a problem before the past few months. IOW, it is our belief that we have been properly disposing of the waste, and that they have arbitrarily changed the meaning of the word “properly.” It’s okay, though; as I mentioned in the letter, I am HIGHLY motivated to stay, and willing to put up with a certain amount of arbitrariness.
The dogs (serially; we’ve never more than one guide dog at a time) have never been allowed to relieve themselves in common areas of the complex. That has never been at issue.
Neighbors on both sides lived here when we moved in. On one side, the tenant used to occupy the apartment with his parents, but last year they passed away (within a few months of one another). He’s still there, and the only complaint he’s ever made to me is that our air conditioning unit made more noise than he wanted to put up with.
We have 3 dogs. They go to work with me each day where they have access to acres of fields to romp (and shit) in. At home they very often go into the woods a short way to eliminate. But the older one still occasionally leaves a pile in the yard. I patrol the yard daily, just because it’s easier IMO to scoop up fresh. Plus exercise and vitamin D!!
Celebrate.
The answer to your question in the OP is that you should go to the superintendent, apologize for not cleaning up after your dog, and ask if you can sign an addendum to your lease committing you to picking up after the dog forthwith when it defecates.
Unfortunately, your being disingenuous by leaving out the material facts led to your not receiving a good answer, and instead made the thread a bit of a waste of time.
Perhaps. It depends somewhat on what one considers a “good” answer. When I posted, my criteria was: a set of steps I could take that would result in me being able to initiate a phone conversation with the property manager’s superiors.
ISTM that the reason I wasn’t able to get the “good” answer is because there really never was a set of steps that would achieve that outcome for me.
My medium-sized dog would produce 2 largeish piles of smelly dog shit a day, and more when he was on certain meds. So you’ve let 7-14 larger piles of dog shit accumulate every week in a warm/hot weather climate. That’s kind of a disgusting situation, and makes me pity anyone who lives downwind of you. The fact that you’ve been doing it for over 15 years is not exactly a point in your favor.
Leaving out the part about not picking up your dog’s crap was pretty shitty.
Before you do something which will GUARANTEE your being listed as a “problem tenant” (repeatedly threatening to “go over the manager’s head” may or may not - actually doing so will remove any question) - talk POLITELY to the manager and see if you can get her to write a letter of recommendation.
Even if she refuses, a polite request may keep her from blacklisting you.
You are in a very competitive rental market - you don’t hold any aces.
Fold gracefully and ask if you can still use the address for school purposes - if memory serves, USPS mail forwarding ended at 6 months - not enough to glide through graduation.
If she seems amenable, you might ASK for an extension for the kid’s sake.
Go read the Craigslist’s Housing Wanted section - it is hilarious - "do you mind that we are being subject to Unlawful Detainer? (the legal procedure to evict). And “please work with us on the deposit”.
I won’t even go into the folks who want to charge you for “house sitting” your empty home, or the "upscale lady with her “upscale sports care” who is now available to move into your Upscale home and enjoy your refined and relaxed atmosphere. Wow! I am so lucky! you will maybe consider allowing me to house and feed you?! And not charge me anything??
And this is Sacramento - not exactly Nob Hill here.
No, all the Nob Hills are down in the Bay Area. It’s Raleys and Bel Air up in Sac.