Just came across a late night call with one of my tenants. His family has been living there over a year and I would consider them good tenants. They warned me before that the front tenants dogs (pitbulls) are sometimes unleashed and unintended. I already warned the front tenant about this issue but today it blew up. The duplex is situated front and back. One of the young kids in front left the backyard gate open and the dogs were running around inside the rear tenants garage when they had the door open. They do have a young daughter so that is the rear tenants fear. Basically he had enough and called me and said if the dogs are not gone by tomorrow he will stop paying rent. This felt very unreasonable at the moment withe able to remedy a solution. After some back and forth we came up with a solution where I place a lock on the gate and make the gate inaccessible. The front tenant asked for one more chance so they are on board of not using that gate anymore and instead use the other side gate that faces the street for any pet duties. The rear tenant seem content and everything seem worked out. It didn't sit well with me afterwards. I understand his issue and he has brought it up before but threatening me with rent seem not right. Can he actually win in court with his reasons? He told me he didn't mind going to court in front of judge so alot of things were said tonight. I did discover from front tenant he had a medical emergency 2 days ago and was in hospital for irregular heartbeat where he collapsed at home and ambulance came. His first day back and this situation happened so I can understand the stress.

Okay, he can't withold rent for the reason stated. It's unreasonable to expect this to be resolved in 24 hours. Don't sweat the small stuff. You do have a duty to protect those kids though and you've been notified of the danger. Do sweat the big stuff. Pitbulls have been known to kill people. Your insurance may or may not cover pitbulls. It depends on the policy. People rarely follow through with threats of lawsuits. Those that do want to follow through rarely find an attorney willing to take the case unless it is a "solid" case. In court, he would have to prove damages. It doesn't sound like there are any damages at this point. What would he sur about and what are his damages? He is not understanding what a lawsuit is.If both tenants can safely leave the property in the event of a fire with the gate locked, then there shouldn't be any problem locking the gate.I would just lock the gate. I'd also issue a written warning that the dogs are sometimes left unattended and that is not acceptable and is in violation of the rental agreement and keep a copy.

@David P. They cannot with hold paying rent but you have been notified of a serious threat to their safety and that should be taken seriously. If it were move I would move to evict the other tenant immediately and never ever would I allow a pit bull in any of my rentals. I love dogs and I know most pit bulls are not harmful animals, but this is an instance where you get sued any umbrella insurance policy will not cover you and you would have zero protection if it’s in a LLC and you would be sued personally as owner and property manager

Get these people out! The eviction moratorium did not have anything to do with violating a lease as far as I know. Hire an attorney tomorrow and get started.

I'm with @Chris Seveney. I would absolutely terminate the lease of the front tenant as early as allowed (minimally, send a notice to cure immediately). It sounds like you've addressed the dogs with them before, and their lifestyle and lack of responsibility is writing checks that you may have to cash. This is reason #38 why I only offer MTM leases. I like the idea of mitigating your business risk by locking the gate, but this is not a long-term practical solution. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. These dogs are not being policed by their owners, and that is creating a liability for you. Simultaneously with the notice to cure, I would also memorialize in writing your conversations and concerns about the dog to your tenant and send them a certified letter. You need to start mitigating your liability ASAP. I would also encourage your complaining tenant to call animal control as soon as there is an issue to start creating documentation on that end as well. However, at the end of the day, if there is an incident, your tenant's attorney will always go after the deeper pockets, which will be you. Even if you put these temporary firewalls above in place, it still takes time, money and emotional energy to fight a lawsuit you may eventually win. This also why I am with Chris and do not allow any aggressive breeds in our rentals. I get the conversation about "it's the owner, not the dog." That could be true, but I'm not interested in using that philosophy in my business operations. I'll let some other landlord take that (in my opinion, unnecessary) risk. Good luck!

HOLY F*(^ING COW! David, I hope you are OK! That looks really painful. How long do they expect your recovery to take? The dogs need to be put down, not just removed. PLEASE call animal control, the police, anybody who can help!

Remind me to never be a landlord in LA...sheesh. If this is correct, there is no eviction for unauthorized pets or occupants. He is stuck with these lease breakers until Jan 2023, at the least. Prohibitions on Evictions and Increases: • No “no-fault” evictions except if an owner wants to move into a single-family home, duplex or triplex, but ONLY IF the purchased the property prior to June 2021. A no-fault eviction is where a tenant has not violated their lease but the owner still wants to recover the unit for remodel, to live in it themselves, or a myriad of other reasons.There are no evictions allowed if a tenant is a nuisance and may be disturbing the quality of life of other residents or for refusing allow an owner to enter a unit, which is often necessary to make repairs or when a tenant is a hoarder.Also, there are no evictions allowed for bringing in extra occupants or pets in violation of a lease.Finally, starting April 1st, owners cannot evict for non-payment of rent. Tenants merely have to “self-certify” that they are impacted by COVID and cannot pay rent – no proof of any kind is required.On top of all this, no rent increases are permitted for properties subject to the County’s rent stabilization ordinance.Tenants merely need to “self-certify” they are impacted by COVID and qualify for these protections, and • There are no evictions allowed if a tenant is a nuisance and may be disturbing the quality of life of other residents or for refusing allow an owner to enter a unit, which is often necessary to make repairs or when a tenant is a hoarder. • Also, there are no evictions allowed for bringing in extra occupants or pets in violation of a lease. • Finally, starting April 1st, owners cannot evict for non-payment of rent. Tenants merely have to “self-certify” that they are impacted by COVID and cannot pay rent – no proof of any kind is required. • On top of all this, no rent increases are permitted for properties subject to the County’s rent stabilization ordinance. • Tenants merely need to “self-certify” they are impacted by COVID and qualify for these protections, and • There are no evictions allowed if a tenant is a nuisance and may be disturbing the quality of life of other residents or for refusing allow an owner to enter a unit, which is often necessary to make repairs or when a tenant is a hoarder. • Also, there are no evictions allowed for bringing in extra occupants or pets in violation of a lease. • Finally, starting April 1st, owners cannot evict for non-payment of rent. Tenants merely have to “self-certify” that they are impacted by COVID and cannot pay rent – no proof of any kind is required. • On top of all this, no rent increases are permitted for properties subject to the County’s rent stabilization ordinance. • Tenants merely need to “self-certify” they are impacted by COVID and qualify for these protections, and https://www.jamico.com/los-ang...

@Chris Seveney and @Wesley W. have good points. I think your concerns are misplaced though..... If I were you, I wouldn't be concerned about the tenant not paying rent, I would be more concerned about your liability You have had an incident and you now know about the situation....if anything bad happened, you would be in serious jeopardy. I'd focus on getting rid of the front tenant....what does your lease say about all this? Is the Pit legal? If so, why?

Unless you are a property owner, in which case you are not allowed any latitude before being eviscerated by your government. Pretty disgusting what your state is doing to hard-working small business owners and tax payers there. Our governess here in NY idolizes your state "leader", so we're a close second here in the Constitutional trampling department. Hope you get well soon.

Your issue is the tenant with dogs. Not the tenant threatening withholding of rent who is reasonably upset. Missing the forest for the trees. 1. Take whatever precautions necessary to protect other tenants and public. 2. Check to make sure you have proper insurance coverage for liability in case of harm or death by the dogs. 2. Require your tenants with the dogs to get similar coverage. 3. Terminate the lease or evict as soon as the moratorium is over. You can't trust them as they brought in dogs without your consent. They could do it again even though the dogs are gone now. Your leg bite, though unfortunate, is not the worst case scenario. The mauling and death of the front tenant's daughter would have been and could still be. You got lucky. Wishing you a speedy recovery! 🙏

Tenant threatens to withhold rent?

Alexander Szikla

Real Estate Agent · New York City · Member since 2020 · 819 posts · 641 votes

4y

I am glad you resolved the issue - but tenant has no right to withhold rent.

Certainly call you insurance company to understand your scope of coverage.

Tenant threatens to withhold rent?

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