I have a friend who lives in Stuyvesant Town - at her grandmother's apartment of course - and the place is really becoming a mini-dictatorship. They're putting the squeeze on the residents big time to get rig of the illegal tenants and/or those paying ridiculously low rent. But it is so evil the way they are going about it.

BTW, I swear I read that you can have a pet legally if you've had it in a non-pet building for more than 3 months without it being noticed or something to that effect.

Alison is right. According to the Administrative Code of the City of New York, Section 27-2009.1, if a landlord fails, within three months of his knowledge of a tenant's open and notorious harboring of a pet, to enforce any applicable "no pet" provision, then any such provision is deemed void. So all those residents of Stuyvesant Town who've had their pets for more than three months (except maybe those who've been hiding them in laundry carts) should fear not.

CTRC Fact Sheets -- reproduced with permission.
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The Community Training Resource Center (CTRC) is a city-wide not-
for-profit organization that champions the rights of modest and
low-income tenants and promotes the preservation, improvement,
and expansion of affordable housing. CTRC provides training and
technical assistance for neighborhood housing groups, community
based organizations, legislative staffs and social service
providers.

CTRC produces fact sheets on tenants' rights, develops and
publishes research reports, and provides a written guide to New
York City government processes. CTRC advocates on budget policies
that affect housing and related services in low-income
neighborhoods. CTRC has led the campaign for the improvement and
expansion of the city's Housing Maintenance Code inspection and
enforcement services.
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CTRC Fact Sheet #007

TENANT'S RIGHT TO PETS

The right to keep a pet in New York City apartments was
strengthened with the enactment of Section 27-2009.1 of the
Housing Maintenance Code in 1983. The tenants to whom this
provision applies are:

o Tenants in privately - owned multiple dwellings (three or
more residential units)

o Mitchell-Lama tenants

o Tenants in city-owned (HPD) buildings

Tenants living in New York City Housing Authority buildings
(NYCHA), however, are not protected, although NYCHA regulations
have eased.

Reasons for the Law

The current law was enacted by the New York City Council
concerned that multiple dwelling leases prohibiting the keeping
of household pets had led to, "widespread abuses by building
owners or their agents, who knowing that a tenant has a pet for
an extended period of time, seek to evict the tenant and/or his
or her pet often for reasons unrelated to the creation of a
nuisance". The Council went on to declare, in the law, that pets
were kept for legitimate reasons of "safety and companionship"
and because of the continuing housing emergency it was "necessary
to protect pet owners from retaliatory eviction" by landlords
desiring possession of apartments. It concluded that enactment of
the provision was necessary "to prevent potential hardship and
dislocation of tenants within this city."

What the Law Says

Section 27-2009.1 states:

Where a tenant in a multiple dwelling openly and notoriously for
a period of three months or more following taking possession of a
unit, harbors or has harbored a household pet or pets, the
harboring of which is not prohibited by the multiple dwelling
law, the housing maintenance or the health codes of the city of
New York or any other applicable law, and the owner or his agent
has knowledge of this fact, and such owner fails within this
three month period to commence a summary proceeding or action to
enforce a lease provision prohibiting the keeping of such
household pets, such lease provision shall be waived.

Sometimes the law is called the "pet waiver law." It requires the
landlord to enforce any existing provision of a current lease
prohibiting pets within three months of the tenant's taking
possession of an apartment, or Obtaining a pet, or forever lose
the right to do so. In this context, "enforce" means the landlord
must start an eviction proceeding in Housing Court based on the
"no pets" clause in the lease. Failure to start such proceeding
would render the restrictive clause unenforceable.

Additionally, once a three-month waiver period is established,
the replacement of a pet who has died with another would not give
the landlord a new opportunity to object.

Exception

The waiver provision does not apply, however, if the household
pet causes damage to the dwelling unit or building, creates a
nuisance or "interferes substantially with the health, safety or
welfare of other tenants or occupants of the same or adjacent
building or structure."

Practical Tips

The law refers to the three month period as beginning with the
tenant taking possession of the unit. However, a tenant who moved
in without a pet would probably trigger the start of the three-
month period if they acquired a pet at a later date.

Since the provision requires keeping the pet "openly and
notoriously", overt acts by the tenant to hide the pet might be
self-defeating. Such acts might help the landlord prove that he
could not possibly have known about the pet and, therefore, did
not act. However, if it can be shown (by testimony of neighbors,
building personnel, etc.) that the tenant has kept the pet
openly, it is not necessary to show that the landlord knew about
the pet.

The "pet law" was intended to shift the burden of proving a
breach of the lease to the landlord and this, it seems, has been
accomplished. There have been very few pet-related evictions in
private housing since its enactment.

Moreover, the rare tenant who might lose a pet case is ultimately
protected from eviction by Section 753(4) of the Real Property
Law, which requires a judge rendering a judgment for possession
to a landlord to give the tenant an automatic ten days to "cure"
(dispose of the pet) and avoid eviction.

Of course, removing a pet would be a painful, if not impossible,
decision for many pet-owners. Fortunately, the law is interpreted
liberally by most judges, as it seems clear that its intent is to
protect tenants from having to face such an inhumane situation.

###

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Community Training Resource Center (212)964-7200
47 Ann Street
New York, NY 10038

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I'm a Stuy Town resident for many years. I have a cat and I've never had a problem. That isn't to say that at times there is a gestapo like feeling coming from MET LIFE, including questionable rent increases. Overall, however, I would be lying to say it's not a great place to live in. Nice grounds, friendly neighbors, mixed family, races, sexual orientations - a nice microcosm of nice people... if you have the opportunity to live here, I would, especially if you're in a rent stabilized apt, which I don't think are any longer available.

Rejoice! You can now legally own dogs and cats in Stuy Town. Please click the following link to view resources on nyc dog walker services in Stuy Town.