Landlord Question and Answer Forum

this is TX. I leased 2 weeks ago. the very next day they moved in, i found out they have a dog and additional daughter they didn't put on the application in the beginning. and a few days later her mom called me and she has a 18 year old daughter who lives in a college and she has a dog. she didn't recognize I don't allow a pet on the lease. now she wants to add her daughter and the dog as a residence because she will visit my house often and stay over 14 days during spring break and other breaks. In this situation, if i accept that, what should do I do? she is willing to pay pet deposit. I want to ask pet violation fee. in my lease it's $2400 and $20 every day until it's removed. would you please help me? how much pet deposit is reasonable and is it refundable or non? can I collect the pet violation fee in this case? Thanks.

Do not allow this no matter what and let them know that if they do this they will be breaking the lease and will be evicted. Make this cut and dry and follow through with your warning if need be. They already broke the lease by not being clear of the pets and have violated the pet clause as well as the extra occupant. You cannot discriminate against families however you should have all occupants listed so that they can be help liable for any damages that they will most likely make.

Posted by Patty H, on Tuesday, September 29, 2015