Montclair Animal Shelter's Appeal Raises Legal Question

If a landlord decides to enact a “no pets” policy, does a current renter have the right to keep his or her animal companion without breaking the lease?

As reported in a previous Patch article, the Montclair Animal Shelter is scrambling to find an emergency home for Cinnamon, a seven-year-old dog currently in foster care. According to the shelter’s Facebook post, Cinnamon’s current foster guardians are not able to keep her due to their new landlord’s recently instituted “No Dogs Allowed” policy.

According to the animal shelter, Cinnamon’s foster guardians originally had until the end of April to find the dog a new home, but their landlord has since moved up the timeline to Saturday, March 28.

Several angry online commenters stated that New Jersey tenant rights should allow the foster guardians to keep Cinnamon.

“I would not give up without a fight,” advised one commenter. “And if it ends up she must be removed, I would go to court and ask for an extension… This isn’t right.”

THE LAW

According to the Pets in Rental Units Bulletin from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the online commenters may be correct.

“Tenants that were allowed to have pets and actually had pets living in their rental units at the beginning of their tenancy and continued to have those pets throughout their tenancies could not have their leases changed (upon renewal) by the new (or existing) landlord to prohibit the tenants from keeping the pets that they currently had.”

In addition, the bulletin states that NJ law adds extra protection for disabled residents and senior citizens:

• A disabled person who has or plans to obtain a service animal shall have full and equal access to all housing accommodations, and shall not be required to pay extra compensation
• Any senior citizen living in housing projects with three or more rental units is allowed to own or care for a pet if they give written notice to their landlord

LANDLORD RIGHTS

The bulletin states that while they can’t order tenants to get rid of their existing pets, landlords can prohibit the housing of any additional animals that renters may acquire in the future.

A landlord can also legally refuse to renew a tenant’s lease if the pet’s behavior violates health or building codes, if the tenant fails to properly care for the pet, if the tenant fails to control the animal or fails to clean up its waste, or if the animal is declared potentially dangerous in a municipal court.

In addition, the bulletin states that a landlord may require a tenant to remove a pet from the rental premises if the pet is a “continuing nuisance” to the welfare or property of the landlord or the other residents.

If the tenant does not remove the pet, the landlord may file for an eviction for violating the lease due to a continuing nuisance created by the pet.

HELPING CINNAMON

Want to help Cinnamon find a new foster home? See related article here

In addition, the owners of Montclair Feed, 204 Bellevue Ave., reached out to Patch and offered to donate a bag of no-grain dog food a month to anyone who adopts Cinnamon.

Send news tips to eric.kiefer@patch.com