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Landlord emergency!

O

Onarian

New member
My landlord informed me today that she either wants me to get rid of all of my snakes, or she's going to evict me. I'm trying to get her to be reasonable, but if she's unwilling to talk about it does anyone have any ideas for what I should do? Aside from the money and effort I've put into my kids, I really love them and don't want to sell them. Right now I'm looking in to possible long-term boarding with the local pet shop or the breeder that I got two of my snakes from. If anyone has any other ideas...

Thanks!
 
Check your lease is there anything stating that you cannot have caged animals and/or snakes? If not then i would think they couldn't evict you since they state nothing about it being against the rules.
 
Do you have a written lease agreement, or only a verbal agreement? If you have a written lease, is there anything listed regarding pets? If you are in violation of a no-pet regulation in your lease, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it. If not, she may have a hard time evicting you.

I feel your pain - I got busted with snakes in my apartment many years ago, and was also evicted. I found another place with a snake-friendly landlord, then eventually bought my own house.

I hope you can work something out with the pet store, or maybe a friend in your area could take them.

Kathy
 
Thanks all. I really don't want to have to litigate this, and I want to be able to renew my lease in a couple of months so I'm just going to find a temporary home for them. Here's hoping people are reasonable.
 
Honestly, I would look for another place. I got lucky, my Land Lord, when she found out that I have snakes, told me about a Bull Snake, that she had for 15 years.
 
That really sucks. I actually had to hide my snakes the other day because the landlord took some future lessees on a tour of my apartment. Thank god, my next landlord is snake-friendly and I won't have to worry about it anymore.

Why don't you talk to your landlord about this? Perhaps you can sit down and have a conversation about this and come to some sort of agreement. I would try to reason with her explain that they are caged animals, they are harmless, and they keep rodents away. Come up with reasons why they are good and see if you can get her to just accept it. Ask her to come check out your collection and show her how harmless and 'friendly' they are. Explain that they are very clean animals and ask why she has a problem with them.
 
lilwing89 said:
Why don't you talk to your landlord about this? Perhaps you can sit down and have a conversation about this and come to some sort of agreement. I would try to reason with her explain that they are caged animals, they are harmless, and they keep rodents away. Come up with reasons why they are good and see if you can get her to just accept it. Ask her to come check out your collection and show her how harmless and 'friendly' they are. Explain that they are very clean animals and ask why she has a problem with them.
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Working on that right now. She sent us the letter yesterday and we emailed her back but haven't heard back from her yet. Great advice, I'll see how she responds.
 
In most areas of the country right now, there are LOTS of places for rent, more than there are renters. So you may have some leverage, either with this landlord, or another.

One tip - if you are negotiating a lease with a new landlord, try to make sure the lease says you can have small caged pets, or something similar. DO NOT specifically mention snakes (or even reptiles) unless you are sure they are good with that. Most people just don't like to hear the word snakes. But small caged pets would cover you, and they may never even notice exactly what kind of pets you keep.
 
My fiance has had issues with this before. He rented in an apartment complex where a few of his friends had rented before and his friends were allowed to have snakes there, but when he rented they had apparently changed the lease and they were no longer allowing ANY pets. So when they found out he had snakes they told him to get rid of them, so all he did was house them at a friends house for a while and then brought them back later. He had to do that a few times though because of random checks and repairs the company had to do. Once that lease ran out we started looking for a new place and we found one not even 5 minutes down the road that allows ALL types of pets. They said they accepted reptiles and Brandon even asked about venomous and they said as long as they are properly housed locked containers for the venomous) then they have no problem with anything that is caged. We had to pay a pet deposit for the dog and cat of course but we know we're fine with everything else.
 
Unless you have a written lease that states "NO PETS" then she has no legeal right to evict you and you could fight it. Granted, if that happens then you know she will not be allowing you to renew your lease or would probably change the new lease to state NO PETS.
 
josie said:
Unless you have a written lease that states "NO PETS" then she has no legeal right to evict you and you could fight it. Granted, if that happens then you know she will not be allowing you to renew your lease or would probably change the new lease to state NO PETS.
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Exactly. So, I think I'm going to try to get her to be reasonable until the termination of my lease and then I'll find a new place where the landlords explicitly state that any pet I want to have is okay so long as its properly enclosed. Wish me luck.
 
Sorry to hear you're in a bind like this. I wish you luck getting things figured out. I'm sure that you will.

I'm lucky with my landlord, although I believe it's illegal in Ontario for a landlord to have a no-pets policy (lots of them still do, though). My landlord even helped me look for my python when she got out!
 
I would still try talking to your landlord. Do you reread your lease? Does it state no pets? Do you live in an apartment complex?
 
josie said:
I would still try talking to your landlord. Do you reread your lease? Does it state no pets? Do you live in an apartment complex?
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My lease states that I may have pets. I have reread it multiple times and according to its terms I may have the snakes. So, I know that I could fight this in the courts and likely win. But, then my landlord would either change the lease in a couple of months when its time to renew or refuse to renew the lease at all. My fiancée really doesn't want to move again, so I think that finding them a temporary home is best for the time being... even if I could fight and be able to keep them here. I'll be able to have them again as soon as I move out and I think the trade-off of not having to fight constantly for the next 4 months is worth it.
 
Onarian said:
My lease states that I may have pets. I have reread it multiple times and according to its terms I may have the snakes. So, I know that I could fight this in the courts and likely win. But, then my landlord would either change the lease in a couple of months when its time to renew or refuse to renew the lease at all. My fiancée really doesn't want to move again, so I think that finding them a temporary home is best for the time being... even if I could fight and be able to keep them here. I'll be able to have them again as soon as I move out and I think the trade-off of not having to fight constantly for the next 4 months is worth it.
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What? Are you kidding me? Keep the snakes in your apartment - if your landlord is going to threaten eviction, show her the terms of agreement, because she can't legally evict you. Tell her that she is about to lose a good lessee with her attitude. Tell her she's free to pursue the eviction attempt if she wants, but she will not be successful.

You're seriously better off finding a landlord who is okay with your snakes - it doesn't matter whether your fiancée doesn't want to move. You have a responsibility to those snakes.
 
lilwing89 said:
What? Are you kidding me? Keep the snakes in your apartment - if your landlord is going to threaten eviction, show her the terms of agreement, because she can't legally evict you. Tell her that she is about to lose a good lessee with her attitude. Tell her she's free to pursue the eviction attempt if she wants, but she will not be successful.

You're seriously better off finding a landlord who is okay with your snakes - it doesn't matter whether your fiancée doesn't want to move. You have a responsibility to those snakes.
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Thank you for your concern. I care deeply for my snakes and this is being a very, very difficult decision to make. I have to balance many different factors and this is the right decision to make for the time being.

The temporary home that my snakes are going to is with a man who has owned reptiles for his entire life and breeds corn snakes. I purchased two of mine from him originally. His facility is top-notch and his knowledge of reptiles is superb. I know that he will provide excellent care for them while he is boarding them.

After further discussion with my fiancée we WILL be looking for a new apartment in August, one that expressly allows snakes. I do not have the time or energy right now to take this to court.

Thank you again everyone for your encouraging words. I refuse to give up my snakes, they are far too important to me. As you said, I have a responsibility to them. This is the best way to ensure that they have a good home in the interim until I can find an apartment that will allow me to live in peace.
 
At the risk of sounding like the bad guy here, being honest and following the lease is the best idea. As an animal lover I would like to be able to say any pets are allowed. As a landlord though I have been the victim too many times due to animal damage when animals were not allowed. Nothing worse than having to spend $10,000 to rehab an appt after a tenant has out of control animals that were not allowed in the first place.

That said what others said above is correct. If your lease allows pets then you cannot be evicted for having legal pets. You are also correct the landlord will probably alter the lease to reflect no pets at the renewal date.
 
My first apartment with my boyfriend (now my husband of seven years) had a no reptiles clause. There was no getting around that one.

Unless you are paying the boarder to keep your pets, you may loose them legally to him after the statues of limitations has ended. I hope it does not come to this, but it is something you should also be aware of.

Getting everything in writing with everyone involved is the best bet.
 
Dreamsnake said:
Unless you are paying the boarder to keep your pets, you may loose them legally to him after the statues of limitations has ended. I hope it does not come to this, but it is something you should also be aware of.

Getting everything in writing with everyone involved is the best bet.
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No worries, I've written up a boarding contract that will be signed before any of my snakes go to his home. Just waiting to hear back from him on if he wants to amend it.
 
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