rental lease advice needed- pets/lease dates

[cheferson]

Little (lot) background info. I moved into my apartment on feb 5 2004. The original lease we sighned was with this elderly (senile) women who was the real estate agent who showed me the house. We were to pay her rent and report problems to her.WHen i looked at the house she had said no pets, i had a dog and 2 birds. She said the birds werent a problem but no dog. SHe said the owner didnt allow dogs at the house, so i give my dog to my friend. I move in and there is 3 inches of dog hair on the floor everywhere and a 1/4 ton of dog crap in the back yard and a dog chain(plus a ton of other problems issues, wont get into). I call her and ask her why i cant have my dog here, when i have 2 years supply of dog hair and crap in the yard here when there was "NO DOGS"in the house. She then says i can have my dog there.Then About halfway through the lease she lost our rent, so the owner switched responsibility to his son.
Then around feb we ask about resighning the lease, runs out in feb. He says that it runs out in may, gonna rent it for the summer season and make big $$$$, i figure, whatever, i can deal with that, seeing my roomamte lost our copy of the lease, so no proof, just sighn the lease ending in may of 2006. The big problem is in the new lease he has put a clause about pets that says" Pets- NO ANIMALS, Birds, OR PET OF ANY KIND SHALL BE PERMITTED IN THE PREMISES WITHOUT OUR PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT. The granting of consent to others shall in no way be deemed the granting of consent to you , nor obligate us to grant consent to you". I have no money at all to move elsewhere, dont wanna give my dog up. WHat the $%^& should i do?

[Clammer]

Beas advise I have /is talk to a r/e attorney// .but if your don,t have a copy of the original lease //your against it /// if you choose to fight it /my guess is that your attorney fees will be higher than its worth// sounds like the son wants you out & your probaby SOL ///
ask MIKEP he,s a member on this site & attorney ////

[cheferson]

Thanks clammer.Thered be no point in trying to fight it in court, i already know, the son is a attorney and his father owns a law firm in boston. SHould i just sighn the lease and not tell them about the pets, havent said anything the last 15 months to me? , or tell them the story and roll the dice? All this and the furnace crapped out today too.

[cheferson]

[Nebe]

lots of apartements in providence

[Raven]

it sounds like a bad situation....and its time to find a new place ....
the new guy doesnt sound like he's gonna make a good land lord at all

so look for roomate wanted adds if you cant afford to move until you can later... as a back up plan....

the condition of the place was illegal to be rented in the unsanitary condition it was left in ........... as it was....
..................
i hope you took pictures....

[cheferson]

We took pictures and documented all the crap at the start , but roommate forgot to photocopy it all before sending it to the landlord. If i do get boned, im gonna make sure im here when all the new potential tenents come by to look at the house so i can tell them about the 2 minutes of hot water in the shower, wett basement, broken heat in the basement and all kinds of other good stuff. Everything was goin great the last couple weeks too oh well. Anyone know if leases are self renewing if still currently in residence after the prior lease ran out?

[cheferson]

Originally Posted by Eben

lots of apartements in providence

Not moving more then 5 minutes away from the water, ill pay the dough, some how

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by cheferson

Anyone know if leases are self renewing if still currently in residence after the prior lease ran out?

no.

get a gansett times and a south county independant and start looking now. finding apartments down here is sooooo hard. I feel your pain Chef.

also, since you work on the island, there are tons of apartments over there you know...

[cheferson]

ALready did eben, few spots at about the same that im paying, all close to water one with a dock . The hard part will be my dog. Maybe the landlord will be cool if i break it down to him. Takes at least 6 months to get evicted , right? or maybe 1 month if you own a law firm Its a fortune to live on the island and the fishing sucks, i will never leave s.county

[TheSpecialist]

Just because someone before you had a dog, does not mean that the landlord has to let you have one. IMO there are alot of liability issues with having dogs in a house, you as a tenant carry no liability insurance, but the landlord has to and would probably be sued should someone get bitten. I know it is not what you want to hear but just find a new place.

[Tacklebox7]

Your situation likely depends on your original lease. So, it is difficult to determine legally what your rights are. However, in most states and very much so in MA, the law favors the tenant.

[Roseneath]

Cheferson - Talk to a potential landlord and see if you can pay an additional security deposit for "dog-damage"... (i.e. dead patches of grass or chewed-up molding). This lets the landlord know you have a vested interest in controling your dog. Its worth a shot.

[cheferson]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think im just gonna try and break down what happened to the new land lord and offer an additional $4-600 deposit to cover any extra damges by the dog.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Expensive; yes.. but sucky fishing? "Its a fortune to live on the island and the fishing sucks"

I know a few guys who would disagree...

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Expensive; yes.. but sucky fishing? "Its a fortune to live on the island and the fishing sucks"

I know a few guys who would disagree...

I be one of them.Fishing on Aquidneck Island is tops.

My rent is under $700 including utils. and cable which is not typical of course.

And I have a waterfront view and great fishing right in my backyard.I must be one of the lucky ones!