Neighbor Has Pet But New Tenant Can’t

QUESTION: When I moved into my Long Beach apartment about a year ago, the rental agreement said that there were absolutely no pets allowed. I even asked if I could pay more security deposit and possibly have a pet. I was told that I could not.

At the same time, the woman who lived upstairs from me had a dog. Granted it was a very old and sick dog that I never heard bark and was probably incapable of doing any damage. But, my feeling is that a dog is a dog.

Her dog died recently and now I suspect that she has two cats, though I can’t prove it. These cats seem very healthy and are always hanging around her door, but there are no addresses on their collars. (I checked.)

I don’t want to confront my neighbor about the pets (she’s very nice), but is it fair for a landlord to allow one tenant to have pets while prohibiting others from having them? How should I approach my neighbor and/or landlord about this situation?

ANSWER: Landlords can make and enforce rules about pets, including prohibiting them. As a general rule, they may impose restrictions on the uses of apartments unless they are specifically prohibited from doing so by the law, such as for seeing-eye dogs for the physically challenged.

Likewise, they are not required to enforce rules against a particular renter, even though they are in force, or enforced against another tenant.

At the same time, the Unruh Civil Rights Act says that “All persons . . . are entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.”

These apparently contrary rules can be accounted for, however. It seems that if there is a rational basis for what appears to be discriminatory treatment, and that treatment is not prohibited by law, that different treatment is probably legal.

Thus, the landlord can argue that he doesn’t mind some tenants having pets, or certain kinds of pets, but he is not running a zoo, so he is limiting the number of pets in the building. Or he can argue that is unwilling to take a chance on rival dogs fighting each other on the property, so he will only allow one dog per building.

Of course, if a landlord prohibits pets in a building in which pets have previously been allowed, that new prohibition does not affect his existing tenants with pets (they can keep them) until those pets die.

I don’t think you can compel the landlord to allow you to have a pet. My advice to you is to look for another apartment that accepts pets if you can’t live without one.

Lease Can Survive Change in Ownership

Q: As a former landlord, who is now a tenant in Laguna Hills, I have been under the impression that a lease does not survive a change in ownership unless it is recorded as an encumbrance on the property at the time of sale.

Yet, in your Feb. 7 Apartment life column you said that the new owner of a property has the same obligations to the tenants as the seller did. Is that true only if the leases are recorded or is it true in all situations?

A: According to the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles’ General Counsel, Trevor Grimm (who answered the question to which you refer), “the answer stands.”

Grimm said, “The issue involves priorities of interests in real estate, which generally are based upon their dates of creation. The tenant’s lease interest in our prior question was created prior to the sale, giving it priority over the subsequent ownership interest. Thus, the lease prevails.”

Grimm also said that there may be at least one limited exception to this rule for a buyer who is a “bona fide purchaser (BFP) for value without notice.” A BFP is a buyer of property with no recorded leases who, with reasonable diligence, could not have discovered the existence of the prior leases.

The amount of diligence required varies from case to case, but it at least entails a duty to make inquiries about leases from occupants, neighbors, realtors or anyone else he believes may have knowledge of the facts.

“Assuming a BFP made those inquiries, got no indications of any leases, and the deal closed, later disclosures could not create or recreate any lease interests about which there was no prior notice,” Grimm said.

When Can Landlord Enter Apartment?

Q: . Under what circumstances can a landlord enter my apartment? Does he have to notify me if he wants to enter? And, what if he enters thinking you’re not home? Is that against the law?

A: Unless it’s an emergency, which is subject to interpretation, the landlord is required to give you at least 24 hours notice of his intention to enter.

For instance, it’s Sunday, and the landlord’s electrician needs to test your smoke detectors on Tuesday. He could give you a notice on Sunday that says the electrician will be entering the apartment between the hours of 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Tuesday.

If it were Monday, the notice for entry on Tuesday would only be proper if served at or before 8 a.m. The range of hours, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., is fine as long as they are “normal business hours.”

As far as the landlord entering the unit without notice in a non-emergency situation while you’re at home, or at any other time, it is a violation of the California Civil Code, section 1954. Any money damages you may get in a lawsuit for such an intrusion would depend on the severity of the inconvenience and would be determined by a judge or jury.

Mail your questions on any aspect of apartment living to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90025.