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Renting With Rover

Know Your Rights

Millions of animals are relinquished to shelters every year because of “no pets allowed” policies. As a renter, it’s important to get familiar with laws that protect you and your companion animals. Your rights can depend on a number of variables, such as your city or town’s local laws, what type of housing you live in, your physical or mental status, your animal’s role in your life, and your age.

Resources

If you live in federally funded housing, contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

If you live in state- or city-funded housing, consult your local agency or entity overseeing the housing program.

Find out from a local tenants’ rights organization exactly what laws would protect you and your nonhuman companion if you were threatened with eviction. Local laws sometimes provide loopholes to lease agreements, such as the right to be grandfathered in if your apartment suddenly adopts a “no pets allowed” policy or the right to remain in a “no pets allowed” apartment if you and your nonhuman companion have been living there peacefully for a certain period of time.

Landlords should not require you to declaw your cat. As a renter, you are already fully liable for all destruction of property. Often, landlords don’t understand that declawing is very cruel and can lead to chronic pain, neurosis, and even skin and bladder problems. Educate your landlord about declawing, pointing out that many declawed cats develop aversions to the litterbox and begin urinating and defecating outside of it. These behaviors are not only more difficult to correct, but also more damaging to rental properties. Cats can easily be taught not to scratch furniture with the aid of a scratching post and firm, consistent instructions on where they may and may not scratch.

If you live in or own a condominium or cooperative, look up the condominium or cooperative’s regulations, and consult an attorney to see if any other local laws apply.

If you have a disability, federal, state, and local housing laws prohibit discrimination against you and require that landlords make accommodations for you to keep your companion animals. Included under these laws are guide and hearing dogs as well as dogs trained to help people rehabilitate from a variety of mental and physical illnesses. For more information, consult the federal Fair Housing Act. Consult your state and local civil rights laws for additional information.

In any of these cases, you can also consult an attorney with additional questions.

You can improve the lives of dogs and cats suffering from cruelty and neglect.

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