Do You Accept Pets?

You may think of your cat as a family member, but to your landlord, it may be nothing but a nuisance. California law gives landlords the right to set a "no pets" policy on apartments or rental homes. Landlords can refuse to rent to someone with a pet, or a particular type of pet, and can evict a tenant who brings one home when the lease says not to.

Tenants can rent on a month-to-month basis or with a long-term lease, the Nolo legal website states. If you rent by the month, a California landlord can change the terms of the agreement--including whether you can have a pet--with 30 days' notice. If you have a lease, she can't change the terms, unless you agree, until the lease comes up for renewal.

Your right to keep a pet in your California rental may depend on what's written into the lease. The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends landlords spell out their pet policy clearly in the lease or rental agreement and recommends terms: Specify which kinds of pets are allowable, which breed, and how many, for instance.

Landlords can adopt additional pet policies, the Nolo legal website states. They can reserve the right to approve each proposed pet individually, and require proper identification, licensing and proof of vaccination. In some states they can charge a "pet fee" in addition to a damage deposit; California damage-deposit law doesn't permit that.

If a tenant brings home a pet in defiance of a no-pet policy, the landlord can use that as grounds to terminate her lease, Nolo states. The landlord can't simply change the locks or throw the tenant out: He must notify her that she's in violation, give her a chance to get rid of the animal--within three days, under California law--and if she does not, he can file for eviction.

Regardless of the terms in the lease, if you have a service animal--a seeing-eye dog or a hearing dog, for example--your landlord can't refuse to let you keep it with you. Nor can your landlord refuse to rent to you, Nolo states: Refusing a tenant because of a disability violates federal anti-discrimination law.