What to do about a pet clause in a lease that is applied to some but not all tenants?
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What to do about a pet clause in a lease that is applied to some but not all tenants?
I am currently living in a building that was split up into 3 apartments. There is one above me and one behind me. Everyone in this building has the same lease and landlords. In the lease it says that we cannot have pets but the people that live behind me have 4 dogs. They have had these dogs for about 5 to 6 months now. Recently I asked the landlords if there was anyway that could get me a dog and they told me no.
Asked on August 15, 2011 Kentucky
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unless you feel you are being discriminated against on some protected basis--i.e. because of your race, sex, disability, etc.--the law does NOT require that all tenants be treated the same. Your leases, for example, may have different clauses, it would be legal for some leases to have a no pets clause and others to not. Or the landlord may grant permission to some tenants to do something that their leases would otherwise prohibit, but not grant that permission to other tenants. Unfortunately, except as per those few, specially protected categories, the law does not require equal or identical treatment for all tenants, and landlords may, broadly speaking, act more favorably to some than to others.
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