Landlord to Tenants: It's Fido or You Go

Pet-owning tenants of eight buildings in the Bronx are distressed over letters recently sent out by the South Bronx Management Company, who took over the buildings that were once owned by the city. The letters point out that leases prevent the keeping of pets in the building and threaten that if tenants don't get rid of their animals, they will be evicted. This sounds like a case for the pet lawyers!

Indeed, many tenants have contacted attorneys and are invoking New York City's pet law that says that landlords cannot force out pets or their owners if they've known about the animal's existence for more than three months. The city sold the eight buildings to Bella Vista Limited Partnership in 2005, which is when SBMC took over operation of the buildings.

Perhaps the Bronx landlord should look at the experience of Met Life, the former owners of Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village. Before selling the property to Tishman Speyer in the largest real estate deal ever, Met Life was offering $150 gift certificate bounties for maintenance workers to rat on tenants with pets in their apartments. It earned a good deal of negative publicity, especially for a company with a dog as its spokescartoon. With a downturn in the housing market, new owner Tishman Speyer is not only not evicting pet owners, they're allowing people with pets to move into available units.