Tenants Pet Caused Damage, Lease States NO Pets Allowed?

Question

I own a rental house. Although the lease agreement states that no pets are allowed, the tenant’s dog damaged the plastic water supply line where it enters the house resulting in water damage in addition to the broken line. What can I do?

Answer

It depends on a number of things, including the terms of the lease agreement, particularly whether or not the “no pets” clause is adequately written and, potentially depending on a particular judge, and possibly whether or not it specifies that eviction will result from noncompliance. It can also depend on whether you took immediate action regarding the dog upon first discovering its presence on the property, as failure to have done so can indicate a waiver of the lease clause.

Assuming the “no pets” clause is adequately written, there is no “waiver” issue, and you wish to get rid of the tenant, you can terminate the lease by serving the tenant with an “Unconditional Quit” notice, if such a notice is allowed in your state. If the tenant does not comply by vacating within the time specified in your state, you can initiate an eviction proceeding. If the court of jurisdiction allows, you may be able to ask for money damages in the amount of the cost of repairs in the same complaint (ask the office of the court clerk).

If you wish to keep the tenant and have him/her pay for the damages, you can serve him with a demand for immediate reimbursement for damages and serve the “Cure or Quit” notice if payment is not received forthwith or instead file a lawsuit for damages without terminating the lease.

In the meantime, if you have not already done, you should take photos of the damages, make notes regarding the matter, and/or have them seen by the person you will hire to make the repairs if not you. Also, if you have not already done so, you should immediately have the damages repaired. Not doing so might allow the tenant to claim constructive eviction and break the lease or sue you for damages because of loss of water service. It is quite likely that the tenant, being the cause of the problem, would not win in court on such a complaint, but that could depend on a number of factors including the exact facts of the case and whim of a judge. Another advantage of having it repaired is that you will have the exact amount of repair cost for your claim against the tenant.

Finally, if your state’s statutes do not provide for an “Unconditional Quit” notice, you would have to proceed using a “Cure or Quit” notice, the potential “cure” being immediate payment by the tenant for costs of repairs. For either type of notice, if the tenant refuses to comply with the notice within the time period provided for in your state, you would file for eviction.

If you are not experienced in court proceedings, you should consider utilizing a competent landlord-tenant law attorney, preferably one experienced in representing landlords in the particular court of jurisdiction.

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