Ask if you can pay more for additional pets.

What is the reasoning for the one pet rule. One pet can damage or produce the same amount to hair/danger as having many. Offer to get the place professionally cleaned at the end of the lease and in the meanwhile promise to fix/replace anything the pet damages.

u gotta mvoe
That's the unfourtunate thing about condos and apartments...

Well, we can always *bend the truth* to use the law to our advantage in this case.

Hypothetically speaking now - if a person has an anxiety disorder and registers their pets as service dogs - the pets can not be taken away from them.

Dogs have to go through training and become certified, but its doable.

I say Fake it and get the dogs certified.

Yay!

Your best course of action is to go talk to the managers of the building. See if you can work a deal, especially if you are a renter in good standing. Most places are desperate for good renters who pay on time. You can do as another poster suggested and pay them more money for a deposit or pet rent.

If they were aware of your situation and allowed it to happen, there might be something to that where you can dispute it. Also, check your lease and see what is says. Does it list the rule or is that just a word of mouth rule? If it's word of mouth, you never signed a legal document around it. Although it works in their favor if it is in the lease.

You only "legal" route is to probably move. Although if you want to run the risk of staying as is and hoping they won't bust you... you can go that route. I know most places don't really check up on it. If you do get caught though it can be grounds of eviction... but they you will have to move anyway!

Check with your local non-profit renters' advocacy group (google to find it), even if you're not renting. It may be that by not enforcing the rule for 4.5 years, the condo created a common law that supersedes the rule. The advocacy group will be able to help you understand the legal options you have, and they usually do it for free (though donations are appreciated).

You're going to have to move. We had the same issue arise years and years ago. We had had 2 cats for 3 years only to find out upon lease renewal that it was a 1 pet rule, however they'd been ignoring it. They were going to begin enforcing it and it was up to the renters to comply. We talked to an attorney and tried every route we could, but they were in the right. We had to move.

I bribed the apartment manager.

how terrible! good luck, i'd be so sad! finding an apartment in Los Angeles that allows pets has been a nightmare as well.

I don't know what city you live in, but the cities in my area have a 2 dog/2 cat rule. If you have 3 dogs you might not be able to sweet talk your way into bending the rules because you may be breaking the law with one dog too many.

California has very different laws then I am used to. I manage condos in Ohio, as long as you are under lease and the lease you have states you have a pet and that it is ok there really shouldn't be anything they can do.

My company recently bought a new building and we were not going to have it be a pet friendly building but the tenants who were under lease were legally allowed to keep their pets. I would look at you lease and see if there is anything in there about pet fees or pet deposits that you paid. A

As long as you are under lease they cant change any of the lease terms.

Offer to buy pet insurance.

Actually, I dealt with this at my closing of my co-op. Now I don't know where you are from...but legally, they can't just wake up one day and decide to enforce the no-pet (or in this case no-dog) policy. I would call at attorney in your state to ensure that this is the case there too....but if they knew you had an animal when you moved in--your animal(s) should be grandfathered in. They can enforce whatever they want from this point forward, with whomever moves in/purchases now, but they can not make you get rid of your pets (at least not in NY). Again, I would call an attorney and get them to write a letter to the Board. I know that my co-op now is starting to enforce the no-pet rule...but even now, they can't do anything to me (and my 2 dogs and 3 cats) because we're already in. They do have the right to stop you from getting any other pets...but that's a whole different situation.

Hope this helps!

You know the answer to this one...Move! If you love them as you say you do, that's really your only option!

I kept my chihuahua in my non-pet-friendly apartment for like 5 mos before anyone noticed. Then we started making her sleep in a cage which she HATED and so she barked a lot and a neighbor told on us Luckily my mom lived pretty close and my sister watched after Princess for the rest of the lease.I think as long as your pet is well-behaved no one will notice. Unless it's a big dog? If they start bothering you about it, I would take my doggy and my money elsewhere.

I have been in this exact situation. I begged my landlord to let me keep my cat at the apartment, and he ultimately let me with the condition that I didn't tell anyone. I'm a lawyer and so was my landlord. There isn't a law that says they can't start enforcing rules that were always in place. Now if they just added this rule, it might be a different situation. I would have moved if my landlord hadn't let me keep my cat.

I got a cat in May and never told anyone at the apartment place. They wanted like a $500 pet fee, which I just don't have, so I figured I just wouldn't tell them. It's worked out so far, and we are just going to make sure we really deep clean the place when we move. If they do have to come to my house for some reason, I tell them they have to call first, and I usually just take Felix for a car ride, since he loves them! And I hide all the cat stuff but they have only had to come in once or twice, and that was because I requested them to fix something. Good Luck!