Need input. Possible discrimination against me from Landlord

so i live in a very large apartment complex, consisting of 3, 1-br apartment buildings. there is a no pet policy, signed in the lease. that being said, so many have pets whether it be cats, dogs, rabbits, etc. i have two cats. i acknowledge i am in direct violation of my lease. i got a letter today stating that and warning me to get rid of them or face eviction. well i snooped around and come to find out i am the only tennant of them all who got a notice. this one lady below me has a great dane and didnt even get one. i pay my rent early, every month. my apt doesnt even look like two cats live there. i keep it well mainained. i am not a bad tennant at all

so that being said. do i have a case to argue to apt management that if they are going to have a pet policy, they need to enforce it across the board to all or not have one at all. i feel it is discrmination to tell me i can't have my cats but have a blind eye to the others who have em.

 

I'm not a lawyer, but that is a tough one. Judge Judy would probably give the landlord a hard time for not enforcing it equally, but she would stick to what the lease says.

You could mention the fact that plenty of other folks have pets and didn't get a notice, see if that makes them back off, but if not, you have to abide by the lease terms regardless of what others are doing.

Sucks, I know.

 

aaaah easy, put the cats in a kitchen cabinet, invite the landlord over, tell he/she you got rid of them and enjoy your life.

 

Yeah i am not wanting to burn any bridges or get evicted. I don't want to push it too much and piss them off more. But that is messed up how they pretty much picked me out

 

My wife is a lawyer. You are in the wrong legally.i would question him why you are the only one getting this letter. Maybe that would scare him in to backing off.

 

Did you ever think they are not the ones that picked you out. Have you pissed anyone off at the apartment complex?
Thing 1 is you are wrong to have pets....That won't help your case.
Next question is do you wanna be a snitch??

 

this is what my idea is, getting them to back off.

not that i know of. i don't really talk to anyone. i work, come home, work then go to friend's house. i am admitting i am in the wrong. and i appreciate their warning when they do not need to give me one. but if you are going to have a policy make it zero tolearnce for all or don't have one.

i don't want to be a snitch, i'd rather just say i know others who have em and didn't get a notice. they are cats, i'll get rid of em if need be. i don't want to snitch. i am a union man, we don't like rats!

 

i'll get rid of em before i move. these are great apartments for a great price. i hate moving anyways lol

 

Been through this myself. My wife and I have 2 cats. In the aparment we used to rent, it was clear by the landlord 'no pets'. Well, the manager saw one of our cats hanging out on the balcony. Sure enough, got a letter basically saying either the cat goes or we go. I took my cats over to a buddies house, then had the manager over to see no more cats (kind of like a fix it ticket where you have to prove the issue has been fixed). After she was happy there were no more cats, she left. Then I got my cats back from my buddies and back into our apartment. Just had to be real carefull not to let the manager see the cats from then on out. No issues after that.

The reason they knew you had cats is probably because similar to me, the manager saw them (maybe on the balcony). Just gotta make sure that mistake does not happen again.

 

that's just it, i work 12 hour shifts, what they do in that frame is out of my hands. and when i work nights, i sleep throughout the day so if they get up in the window then too, i can't help it. sucks!

 

sounds like the managers are just being catty. hehe

 

Wow. Not enough time to give them attention. I'd find a home where there would be someone home for them. Poor kitties. Why do you have them anyway if you can't be with them?

 

Im not sure how hard it is to get a good tenant where you live, who even pays rent early for that matter. I don't understand why you are getting singled out. Even though you don't have a leg to stand on if your lease says no pets. I would at least call them on it, unless you think they don't know about eveyone elses pets? and you don't want to get other people evicted?

 

Yea, maybe let the office know most apartments have pets (don't name names, but just a generalization). Trust me, they will not evict half of their units to keep up the 'no pets' rule. Maybe talk to the office. They might be convinced to take a little extra security deposit (which will be refunded if the cats don't trash the place) to cover the idea of your pet causing harm to the unit.

On a side note, how the hell do you hide a great dane? And it is being stored in a little apartment? That is animal cruelty right there.

 

I think this would be along the lines of "just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean it's ok". Landlords can easily say they are just working their way down a list and you were next. If there are really that many people with pets there you have no idea if they have confronted other tenants. Maybe some have made arrangements with the landlords?

 

Being someone that has rented out a small home I ask this, why rent a place that doesn't allow pets then get pets? Not picking on anyone just curious because it seems to be an accepted thing to do.

Personally I have a breed of dog that is often discriminated against I find places that allow them when we go on vacations. Its the responsible thing to do. If your pets aren't that important and you are gone as often as stated just cut them loose. Just my @.02

 

In my mind that means place them. Because I hate stray cats!!

 

hate to say it but yes. they are domesticated felines. i like living where i do way more than keeping them. don't get me wrong i love em to death. but they are just animals.

i have plenty of time to be with them. all i am saying is i can control what they do when i am here. but when i am not, i can't.

i am going to use the fact that i pay my rent on time, don't cause trouble, don't smoke, nor has my apt needed much work done to it since i take such good care of it. i don't see how they can't know about some. i mean they walk their dogs in the apartment yards!

i am willing to offer a security deposit as long as it is reasonable. maybe you're right, others have made arrangements. this is why i am going in level, and calm headed first.

as for the dog, i have no idea. great dane's as we all know are huge. these are 1 bedroom apts. some master bedrooms are bigger than my apt. it is sad really

you make a good point against me. hence why i am hesitant to push this too much.

kinda like what Ohbrian said, everyone else had em so i said why not. when i am working, yeah i am home less than 12 hours a day and sleep some of those off. but i guarantee these cats are no strangers to love and affection lol

 

Please don't take what I was saying in an aggressive way I'm just curious. I often over think things.