Can you sue an apartment complex for having you get rid of your dog even though it’s a pet friendly apartment complex?
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Can you sue an apartment complex for having you get rid of your dog even though it’s a pet friendly apartment complex?
They told me when I signed the lease that if I decided to get a pet later on I just needed to sign a pet lease. Now they are saying that thy placed me in a non pet apartment with placed roommates and I can either find someone to take over my lease and find another place or keep my dog somewhere else.
Asked on August 5, 2012 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, if you signed a lease that forbids pets, you have no recourse. People are presumed by the law to read, understand, and agree to the contracts (and that's what a lease is: a contract) they sign. In signing a lease which doesn't allow pets, you gave up a right to have one.
On the other hand, if the lease you signed does not specifically forbid pets, you may have one and they can't make you give it up or move. As noted, a lease is a contract; neither party to the lease may change its terms or add new terms. So if the lease does not bar dogs, your lanndlord cannot make you not have one.
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