Can my landlord legally evict me for violation of a no pet policy when there are other units that have multiple pets?
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Can my landlord legally evict me for violation of a no pet policy when there are other units that have multiple pets?
I was unaware of the no pet policy when I adopted one. My landlord started threatening me with eviction if I didn’t get rid of it last night. There are 2 units with 2 dogs each that bark and try to attack every time I walk by; 1 unit that has 5-6 cats all of whom roam free, sleep on my vehicle, drop dead rodents on my door, etc.
Asked on November 2, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Oregon
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
First, the landlord may only evict you if the no-pet policy is either directly in your lease or is incorporated into a set of formal house or building rules which your lease states are themselves incorporated into the lease. That is, there must be some basis, either directly or indirectly, in your lease for enforcing this policy. Unless it's either in the lease or at least is in some other document(s) to which the lease makes reference, they should not be able to evict you.
If there is an enforceable no pets policy, then they could evict you even if they do not enforce the policy against other tenants--there is no requirement that a lease provision may only be enforced against one tenant if it is enforced against all.
However, even if there is a no pets policy which can be enforced, they need to first give you notice that you could be evicted for violating it and a chance to get rid of the pet; they can't go straight to eviction.
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