NYC Keep your pets with you in a loving humane environment legally even when your landlord says no!
It seems that there has been an increase in pets released to New York Animal Care Centers because their landlord won't allow the pet to remain on the premises. As a result, many pet owners broken-heartedly feeling they have no other recourse have taken their furry family member to the local Animal Care Center because they have an open door policy and many no-kill shelters are full!
What's tragic here is the shelter they release them to are kill shelters and what's even more tragic is there's a law to stop this from happening. I have seen many owners released pets with landlord issues wind up on the at-risk list to be killed and many are in fact killed. I'm sure this is not what owners in these circumstances expected to happen to their beloved animals. (This law is also referred to as Grandfathered in.)
Sadly at this time, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). is exempt from this
law! https://www.thespruce.com/nyc-law-exception-no-pets-rules-156297
I am here to inform you that you may have a legal way to keep your pets and not be evicted if you do.
Keep reading to find out your rights:
N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 27-2009.1 – Rights and responsibilities of owners and tenants in relation to pets.
https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/new-york/ny-laws/ny_new_york_city_administrative_code_27-2009-1
a. Legislative declaration. The council hereby finds that the enforcement of covenants contained in multiple dwelling leases which prohibit the harboring of household pets has led to widespread abuses by building owners or their agents, who know 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. Because household pets are kept for reasons of safety and companionship and under the existence of a continuing housing emergency it is necessary to protect pet owners from retaliatory eviction and to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of tenants who harbor pets under the circumstances provided herein, it is hereby found that the enactment of the provisions of this section is necessary to prevent potential hardship and dislocation of tenants within this city.
Terms Used In N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 27-2009.1
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- owner: shall be deemed to include, in addition to those mentioned hereinabove, all the officers, directors and persons having an interest in more than ten per cent of the issued and outstanding stock of the owner as herein defined, as holder or beneficial owner thereof, if such owner be a corporation other than a banking organization as defined in section two of the banking law, a national banking association, a federal savings and loan association, the mortgage facilities corporation, savings banks life insurance fund, the savings banks retirement system, an authorized insurer as defined in section one hundred seven of the insurance law, or a trust company or other corporation organized under the laws of this state all the capital stock of which is owned by at least twenty savings banks or by at least twenty savings and loan associations or a subsidiary corporation all of the capital stock of which is owned by such trust company or other corporation. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 27-2004
b. 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 or her 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 deemed waived.
c. It shall be unlawful for an owner or his or her agent, by express terms or otherwise, to restrict a tenant’s rights as provided in this section. Any such restriction shall be unenforceable and deemed void as against public policy.
d. The waiver provision of this section shall not apply where the harboring of a household pet causes damage to the subject premise, 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.
e. The New York city housing authority shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
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