I moved into my apartment October 1st of this year, the lessee is my father and I am the tenant although I'm not sure if my name is anywhere...

Question

I moved into my apartment October 1st of this year, the lessee is my father and I am the tenant although I'm not sure if my name is anywhere on the lease (I'm not in possession of it). The landlord was fully aware of this along with the fact that I would possibly be picking up a roommate since it is a 2 bedroom unit. When writing up the lease, he pointed out, he filled in the pet policy as NO PETS because I didn't currently have one but said, and I quote, "If and when you decide to get a roommate just call my office and let us know so we can expect another person on the premises. Also if they have a pet, because I know that can be part of getting a roommate, we can send over a waiver and revise the lease." My boyfriend's cat comes over to visit and the landlord UNEXPECTEDLY WITHOUT NOTICE came to my house one day when I was not home and my bf was here with the cat, he was extremely rude saying that he knows he lives there (even though he doesn't and there is no proof) and that he would need to send a pet waiver to my dad immediately that night (he then proceeded to enter the premises without being given any type of instruction or notification from me and my father to ILLEGALLY turn on my pilot lights in my stove because SDG&E would not until he met the standards for the water heater closet). I talked to my dad after he spoke to my upset landlord on the phone and we agreed that we would just go through with a pet waiver since it was likely my boyfriend was going to move into my unit after his current lease was up anyways. He shows up last night after 5pm UNEXPECTEDLY and tells me that if I'm going to have a cat that I need to move AFTER he said he had sent the necessary legal paperwork to my father to be signed in order to keep a pet on the premises. Can he evict me based on the terms of the lease EVEN THOUGH he verbally agreed to allowing a pet on the premises at the time of the lease and said he was going to legally and formally take action to allow it?

Answer

Dear 92104:

To answer your question I would really need to see the written lease. If the written lease references that this is the whole agreement and any modifications have to be in writing, then it would be very difficult to fight against the landlord enforcing the written lease. But there is an issue called "WAIVER." If the landlord accepts rent and you can prove that the landlord had previously said that pets would be okay with a pet waiver then its possible that you would be able to establish a waiver. Also it may depend on where you are located. Local rules in certain cities have rules about whether you can evict as a result of the tenant having a pet. Also if you have a doctor's note that a pet is necessary for your mental health in coping with certain disabilities and you inform your landlord of this fact..... then possibility that any eviction based upon the pet could be deemed an American with Disabilities Act violation. So there are a lot of variables that play into answering your question. I would highly recommend you speak with a landlord/tenant attorney obtaining a free consultation and reviewing these issues in detail. It is not a simple answer without more facts.

Thanks!

R. Grace Rodriguez, Esq.