Can my Landlord take my security deposit for a made up fee?

Question

Before I signed my lease, the landlord and I discussed what would be included in my rent. I asked her if pets were allowed because I have 2 cats. She said yes. I asked her if there were any additional fees for pets and she said no pets are allowed with no extra cost. 3 weeks later she saw me come home from work so she knocked on my door. My kitten ran out and she says "oh my god you have cat" and covers her face. She the told me that cats are not allowed ( however 4 other residents have cats in there windows most of the day also). She told me that she would have to keep $150 of my security deposit because I have a cat. The guy that lives about me has a dog. I asked her so would I have to pay a fee if I had a dog and she said no. You dont have to pay a fee for dogs, only for cats because only people are allergic to cats. This seems like a made up fee to me because there is nothing about this in the lease. Do I have to pay the $150 if it's not in the lease?

Answer 1

If you lease allows pets...then tell her to jump in a lake.  If your lease states "no pets" or "no cats"  then you have a choice of either getting rid of the cats, paying the fee, moving..thus breaking your lease.

Answer 2

Nope, take her to small claims court if she insists on this.  If it is not in the lease it is not binding.  Good Luck.

Answer 3

Gawd, where did she get that idea?   Plenty of people are allergic to dogs.

She can't keep the money "just because", but she can use it to deflea the apartment and clean the carpeting.

As far as allergies, she can't clean it well enough for that.     If that is her real concern she needs to replace the carpeting, but disallow all animals.    She can only require you to pay for the carpet if your cat pisses on it since she allowed it in there.

Answer 4

If it is not in the lease - it is a made up fee, and you do not have to pay.  If there is a provision in the lease regarding animals you MUST follow IT.

I would not get so involved in this issue.  Either it is or is not in the lease.  If she wants to break the lease, and suffer the consequences so be it.  Remember you ARE THE CUSTOMER.  That used to mean a lot, but people these days seem not to want to rock the boat when they are treated unfairly.  

It would cost the landlord more than 150.00 to file eviction papers, if the statement about cats is not in the lease let her try to take  you to court.  Then recover damages (time, punitive (discriminatory), legal expenses.  She will not win.  Now the next tenant will almost certainly have a revised contract.

Answer 5

California Renters' Rights outlines what landlords can and cannot charge for security deposits. The biggest problem with renters is getting back their security deposits for just such unlisted fees not found in writing in the lease.

http://www.hud.gov/local/ca/renting/tena...

You can call your local housing office and ask for help finding a tenant advocate, a legal person who volunteers to act as mediator in an informal hearing with you and yyour landlord. Take a legal advocate along with a copy of your lease AND a copy of the above link when you talk with your landlord about this issue. If the landlord still insists he/she is able to charge you such a fee without it being listed in any of their paperwork, you have cause to sue in small claims court.

Answer 6

I'm not a lawyer, so this isn't legal advice. However....

The lease is the controlling document. If the lease does not address the issue--if there's nothing in the lease about a $150 fee for a cat--then, no, it's not enforceable.

Real estate matters, to be enforceable, must be reduced to writing. So what she may have told you, or said she told you, or denies that she told you, isn't enforceable. What you and she signed is.

There's also an issue of the purpose of a security deposit. Local regulations vary, but very often a pet fee is separate from a security deposit. It would be unusual, in many jurisdictions, for a fee for a pet (whether a one-time fee, a pet security fee, or additional rent as a result of a pet) to be included in the general security deposit.

Her argument that there should be an extra fee for cats but not for dogs doesn't even pass the test for logic.

Nevertheless, you're going to have to resolve this problem with your landlord. The question is how much you want to escalate it.

Hope that helps.