I just found out my semi new tenants have 3 cats even though they signed a no pets lease, can I evict them ?

Answer 1

Yes get that note on door before they spray the walls.
It's hard to get that smell out.

Answer 2

The question is do you really want to? Let's see, they've already broken one agreement with you, what's to say they won't break more in the future? I rented a house to a guy with cats, I knew he had cats but he was supposed to be a neat freak (he worked with my wife before we moved). We came down to pick up some stuff we had left in storage and the place was a stinking mess. I'd give them a chance, drop by on a surprise visit and see what the place looks like. If you don't smell cat and they seem to be keeping everything neat, then maybe let them and the cats stay, but get a huge pet damage deposit. Cats can do some serious damage to a floor either hardwood or carpet and if you let them stay then make sure the deposit will cover the cost of replacement or repair. You do have the right to evict if they've broken the lease, but it can be a HUGE pain in the behind.

Answer 3

No. Not yet, at least.

You need to provide them a properly-drafted KAPA Notice giving them at least ten days (at least in Connecticut) to remedy the situation, or else face eviction. Then if that time passes and they still have the cats, you have to have a Marshall serve them with a Notice to Quit, which gives them another time period to either get out on their own or face eviction. If they resolve the issue after the Notice to Quit, you still have the option of pursuing eviction, though it may be more difficult to make it stick. Then at the end of the Notice to Quit period (in CT, it's after 3 full days, not including the service date, have passed), you have a Marshall serve them with the Summons and Complaint, and THEN you begin the lovely legal battle known as eviction!

Then both parties have to file an Appearance and Answer to the court within 6 days, or else the other party can file for default judgement. Then you get a court date, they can file continuances, initiate discovery, call witnesses, etc etc. Eventually, if you're lucky, you'll get a judgement in your favor and you can have them served with an Execution. Then they have the option of filing a motion for extension, where they can have the court require you to give them an additional 90 days before they have to leave. Then, and ONLY then, will a marshall physically remove them from the premises. You can never lock them out or anything of that nature, EVER, until they've been legally removed in that manner and are 100% vacated.

My advice- talk to them and work something out. Eviction is a fairly arduous and costly process, and 90% of eviction cases that are thrown out are due to matters of procedure. You need to use all the right documents, follow all of the statutory time limits, and dot every i and cross every t, or it will be thrown out of court. It's VERY detailed, and one wrong move on your part ends the case. (in other words, you'll need a lawyer) And with lease violation cases, it's fifty times harder than a cut-and-dry failure to pay eviction; they really place the burden on you to prove that you did all you could to help them remedy the situation, and there are a million ways a good lawyer could get them out of it (ie more than one way to skin a cat).

The courts respect the sanctity of lease agremeents, but they don't take eviction lightly (you're rendering someone homeless, ravishing their credit, and potentially preventing them from ever obtaining future housing), so for all intensive purposes, you can't just start tossing people out every time they violate the letter of your law. You really do need to bend over backwards first to try to bring your tenants into compliance before bringing legal action, or else the court will not look kindly upon you and you'll waste more than a pretty penny in court for nothing.

Answer 4

yes or you have other choices if you don't want to go through the process of renting again. you can charge them a deposit and a monthly fee for each cat. or give them the option of staying but they have find the cats new homes.

you told them up front there were no pets and they signed the agreement stating that so they purposely defied (and lied) the contract thus breaking it. you can keep their deposit and have them removed if you want but i would try and work towards a solution. if they act like jerks about it then i would evict them.

Answer 5

Is the lease fixed term or month to month?

If month to month, just terminate it without cause or reason and get them out.

If it is a fixed term lease, you are going to have to go the cure or quit method.

Look up your state's landlord tenant laws to see if a notice to cure is required and how many days you must allow for them to cure the situation.

If they do not cure the situation (get rid of cats) you are going to have to evict.

Answer 6

You can, but first off you need to give them the opportunity to clear the lease violation. Send them a written 30-day Notice to Cure or Quit. Outline the violation and advise them that you will proceed with eviction proceedings if they don't provide documentary evidence that the violation has been corrected.

Answer 7

Do you have it in the lease No Pets?
Do you have on your lease per cost of each pet?
If those clauses are not on it, No, all you can do is add them on.
If you do, then yes you have the option, of giving them a chance to get rid of them within a time frame, if they don't then yes then you can evict them.
You don't want to be the one being sued.

Answer 8

Why don't you try confronting them on the cats before you start the eviction process? If they don't budge, remind them they have a no pet clause in their lease. If that does not work, you can threaten to evict them. If that does not work, then evict them.

Answer 9

You have to give them a chance to get rid of the cats, after that they are in violation of the lease and can be evicted.

Answer 10

Yes you can and you can also charge them a one-time non-refundable pet fee for each pet and also a monthly pet rent for each pet. In my complex, I charge a $200 pet fee for each pet and $20 monthly rent for each pet. Did they sign an addendum that stated that they had no pets?? If not, double check your lease agreement and see what it says.

Answer 11

Trust me, you will NEVER get the smell of cat urine out of the floor. If they didn't respect the no pet claus in the lease what makes you think they will respect anything else????
I'd kick them to the curb.