My roommate, Dabrota , and I are having problems with my landlord. We have been living in this apartment for a year, and about a month ago, we decided we would like to get a pet. No problem, we thought, the people upstairs have a cat, we should be able to get a caged pet. So we called the landlord to confirm. No dice. We beg and plead, they say no way. What about the cat upstairs, we ask? Well, they have a different contract, they say. Damn.
Anyways, Vancouver is very expensive and hard to find good places in. So we decide to sign another years lease here, even though we think the landlord is unreasonable (not just about the pet thing).
Then, today, I was having a friendly chat with the folks upstairs - and it turns out they got their cat because they found a mouse in their apartment! One mouse! WE have had at least twenty mice, as well as one rat (in the toilet, as I’m sure some of you remember), numerous spiders and woodbugs.
I think this is a huge double standard. So I called the landlord today, presented them with this new knowledge, and they sort of stammered and stuttered. “One pet is enough for one house” they said. I didn’t get that. I pressed further - and got “you know, we could rent your apartment easily for more”.
I don’t know, but this sounds to me like a threat. I am angry - I really want a pet, and also I feel like we are being treated unfairly. But do we really have a leg to stand on? What would other renters do in this situation?
Frist, as a landlady myself, I have a question to ask. Do you have a no-pet clause in your lease? If you do then you have no leg to stand on. If you don’t then the matter may be open to more negotiation. About the veiled threat to raise the rent, you shouldn’t have to worry about that until your lease is up, if the rent is a set firgure in your contract. My lease has a clause that allows pets with the written consent of the the landlady(myself). So if the tenant wishes to acquire a pet they may have one if I give consent(I don’t allow dogs for example). Try offering a pet deposit. My advice though would be to start low on the amount I would offer. And ask for a written statement concerning the deposit, and any wear and tear or damage the animal might cause. **Always ** get everything in writing.
Regarding the implied rent threat: check with your local fair-housing laws to see if there is anything about rent increases having to be under a certain percentage. If so and the landlord tries to raise your rent by an amount greater than that percentage then he has no leg to stand on.