Q: My spouse and I’ve rented an condominium in a three-family home in Queens, N.Y., for the previous decade. Every time our son is on rotation within the U.S. navy, we canine sit his golden retriever. Our unique lease gave us permission to do that, however it expired years in the past and we’ve been on a month-to-month settlement ever since. We are actually canine sitting once more. The opposite day, the owner advised me that the constructing allowed canines solely underneath 20 kilos, regardless that our unique lease didn’t embody weight restrictions. (Different tenants within the constructing have canines, although theirs are smaller than ours.) The owner then advised me that we may transfer out at any time. Can he actually evict us?
A: Your place is precarious since you reside on a month-to-month rental settlement. Your landlord may resolve to finish it at any time — with correct discover — so long as his actions usually are not discriminatory. In your case, he may terminate the lease with 90 days of discover, underneath New York regulation. So, if he decides he’s had sufficient of larger canines within the constructing, even when the unique lease permits pet-sitting, you could possibly lose the condominium, in accordance with Darryl M. Vernon, an actual property lawyer who represents individuals with companion animals.
However hope isn’t misplaced. Your landlord does enable canines underneath sure circumstances. “They are able to work this out,” Mr. Vernon stated.
If measurement is the problem, the owner could also be involved about security. Since this explicit canine has lived within the constructing every now and then (presumably with out incident), you may converse from expertise about his habits and temperament.
Ask your landlord to have a dialog concerning the canine and your lease phrases. Clarify that your son is a serviceman away for a time frame and that the canine has been nicely behaved up to now. Deal with the scale issues immediately, asking how you could possibly mitigate the owner’s issues. For instance, you could possibly conform to hold a distance from different tenants and pets. If you may get the owner to conform to this, ask for a brand new one- or two-year lease that features these phrases.
But when the owner doesn’t budge, your son may have to search out different preparations for his canine, otherwise you and your spouse danger shedding the condominium.
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