Can I evict for pets?

[td91]

A tenant of mine is keeping a pitbull and 2 cats on the property. Agreement states no pets, she won't get rid of them and is clear about this, house stinks of dog and outside is full of dog crap. Told her she needs them gone in 14 days her response "get f'd" I clean my house and pay my rent.
So where do I stand here, she's on a fixed term till Feb 2015 too

[Keys]

Difficult. First, put her rent up by 20% Ensure that the date of the rise is an applicable date. Do inspections every 4 weeks. Find something wrong and issue a 14 day letter. Follow up with an inspection to check on the 14 day letter. All is legal (if you have a rent increase clause).

A couple of weeks into the rent rise notice being sent, put your application in to terminate due to the dog being there.

[Perry]

Keys - you must have an unspoken strategy. If the TA
says no pets, then why not issue a 14 day letter, now?

[Keys]

14 day letter? Yes, of course.

Then what? I know. Issue a notice that you are coming to inspect to ensure that the letter has been complied with. The new notice must be no more than 14 days away and no less than 48 hours away. Plenty of time to have the dog gone for the day.

It is nearly impossible to get a tenant, of the nature as stated above, gone for having dogs. The onus of proof is upon you, the landlord. I've tried videos in court. They can't play them so won't accept them. I've tried photos, it was just there for the day and doesn't live there. You really need independent witnesses who are prepared to come to court with you. Go there on three or four different occasions and see the dog.

[Perry]

Right. So pictures of the plethora of dog turds wont do?
What about an end-of-tenancy notice? Based on what's
been seen and experienced, so far?

Videos can be played on tablets and laptops, BTW.

Sound recordings? For the "her response:
'get f'd." I clean my house and pay my rent.' "

We agreed that sound recording of a conversation that
between a twosome does not need to be pre-advised,
didn't we?



Offer to install a security system, free of charge and
with no rent increase. Ensure it has a video cam live
wireless feed option. That should get the beasts cap-
tured on screen often enough.

[Keys]

Videos can be played on tablets and laptops, BTW.

Been there, done that. Do you want to leave your laptop at court as evidence? I left a CD.

However, the Adjudicator told me to refrain from doing that again.

Note to self. Ask next time I'm in court.

[skid]

Doesnt no pets (on the TA)mean no pets AT ANY TIME?

[Keys]

No. It means no pets owned by the tenant. Babysitting pets or holidaying pets are allowed.

Been there, done that.

[Perry]

Been there, done that. Do you want to leave your laptop at court as evidence?

Jees, they don't get much thicker, do they? The laptop
is a device used to deliver evidence, not the evidence
itself. Post it on YouTube! Morons of the world, unite.

[Keys]

Mmmmm. Youtube. Now that's a thought.

[Glenn]

Yes unfortunately I have found the same as Keys. It is years since I did a dog application to tribunal.
In that great case the judgement was an order saying the tenant must remove the dog! I ask you. The comment was the landlord can bring a new case back to the court if the dog is not removed and at that time a termination would be considered. In that case it was periodic so I just issued a 90 day notice.
Interesting because this very day I was in court over a similar case. Tenant put really bad dog on property. Council issued notice re requirement for fencing. Owner called and was not happy. I issued 90 day notice and tenant replied she was not paying any more rent.
I issued 14 day notice and four weeks later I got my hearing. Total rent owed $1700. Lucky for me the tenant gave counter notice and left on Monday this week. Also lucky for me she sort of cleaned up with very little damage. Tenant says in court she was going to make a counter claim re no reason given for the 90 day notice. Lucky for me the adjudicator informs tenant she is dreaming. That is the landlords right to issue the notice. Also same day had another case (out of three in one day) re an assault re dogs. Tenant had three dogs (inside) as apposed to permitted one dog outside. Tenant assaulted my staff when told she was to not have three dogs.
Oh the fun of it all. The adjudicator and I exchanged readings of the RTA which I insisted on reading out loud. She says what do you want the court to do. I say the RTA only provides one option for me and that is to ask for termination. However the RTA provides for the Adjudicator an alternative to compensate the landlord for costs. She was pretty well stumped because every time she tried to push the ball back to me I bounced back to her. In the end the tenant could not restrain herself any more and stomped out of the court in anger. That sealed her fate.
Dogs. Bugger me. What is it that makes tenants want to be stinked out of their own home and place their children and neighbours at risk of being bitten.

[eri]

dangerous dogs

make the powerless

feel powerful

make them feel staunch

if others won't respect them

they will at least fear them

...

imho some breeds are more dangerous than swimming pools

so they should be fenced in at home, muzzled and on leads in public

even at home

[Glenn]

make them feel stanch

if others won't respect them

they will at least fear them

Was that a typo?
Do you mean stench and not stanch?

I though that the idea was to use the dogs as a Eau de Cologne.
Surely the stench of dogs is preferable to the stench of some humans.

[eri]

thanks

"staunch"

now corrected

[Perry]

Nouveau parfum!

Stench de Collarono

Every K9 needs it.