Little Legal Protection for Pet Owners
Question: I have lived in my apartment complex for eight years and own a well-behaved dog. Recently my landlord said I cannot keep my dog because he might bite someone. I explained that my dog had never bitten anyone, but the landlord still gave me a 30-day notice to remove him. I paid a $200 pet deposit when I moved in and want to know if there is a law that protects tenants with pets.
Answer: It depends. The California Civil Code allows pets in mobile-home parks and in public housing for tenants older than 60. The code also allows for a designated “service animal.” A service animal is trained to assist the blind, deaf or physically or mentally handicapped. Otherwise, there is no law that provides a tenant the right to keep a pet.
A property owner has the discretion to disallow pets of any size, shape or demeanor. Even if a pet has been allowed, a landlord can change this condition with a properly served 30-Day Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy. This change is only allowed for month-to-month tenants.
To help your cause, you might want to offer your landlord an additional pet deposit. This deposit plus any security or cleaning deposit already paid cannot amount to more than two times the rent for an unfurnished unit or three times the rent for a furnished unit.
You could offer to obtain a renter’s insurance policy covering liability that might arise from keeping your dog and to offer to have your dog participate in an obedience program.
Some local rent control ordinances limit landlord rights to impose pet prohibitions on tenants. Check with your local rent control agency. Even if civil code or local ordinances allow for pets, no pet can be kept in violation of humane or health laws.
Landlord Must Honor Last Month’s Rent
Q: After receiving the current month’s rent from my tenant, I gave her a 30-day notice to move. She said she is entitled to an additional month to move because she paid the last month’s rent when she moved in. Do I have to give her one more month?
A: Because she has paid the last month’s rent and the current month’s rent, she is entitled to an additional 30 days. If you want her to move in 30 days, you must return the current month’s rent just paid. To avoid returning any funds, perhaps you would be willing to extend the 30-day notice to move an additional month. This may help you as well as your tenant.
To avoid this problem in the future, label all deposit moneys paid at the beginning of a tenancy as “deposit.” Moneys designated as “last month’s rent” can only be used as rent and not applied to damage or cleaning charges when a tenancy ends. Contact your local housing mediation program for more information or assistance.
It’s Unclear Whether ‘Cleaning’ Fee Is Legal
Q: I live in a small studio apartment and just renewed my lease for two years. The lease has a strange clause that requires me to pay an additional $10 a month into a separate “cleaning” account to be used when I move out. When I asked what happens to any money leftover in this account, the property owner told me that any balance would not be returned to me.
At the rate of $10 a month for 24 months, this account will build up fast. I already paid a security deposit of one month’s rent when I moved in two years ago. Can the property owner collect this additional amount for future cleaning?
A: This is an odd procedure, and it is unclear whether this additional amount can be collected. First of all, the California Civil Code allows for a maximum amount of deposit to be collected. The maximum limits are two times the monthly rent for an unfurnished unit and three times for furnished units. Depending on how much deposit was collected when you moved in, the $240 ($10 a month times 24) could push your deposit amount over the allowed maximums.
Second, the code states that no deposit can be designated as nonrefundable to a tenant. However, if the extra amount is deducted from the monthly rent, the deposit can be considered rent and, therefore, allowed. In this case, the landlord can do anything he or she wishes with the funds. Call your local housing mediation program for more information.
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This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, Calif. 94087 but cannot be answered individually.
For housing discrimination questions, complaints or help, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212 or the Fair Housing Council, Fair Housing Institute or Fair Housing Foundation office in your area:
Carson: (888) 777-4087
El Monte: (626) 579-6868
Hawthorne: (310) 474-1667
Lancaster: (888) 777-4087
Long Beach: (562) 901-0808
Pasadena: (626) 791-0211
Redondo Beach: (888) 777-4087
San Fernando Valley: (818) 373-1185
South-Central L.A.: (213) 295-3302
Westside L.A.: (310) 474-1667
Orange County: (714) 569-0828
San Bernardino County: (909) 884-8056
San Diego County: (619) 699-5888
Ventura County: (805) 385-7288
