Should I get a cat if I want to keep living in San Francisco?
January 24, 2016 9:07 PM   Subscribe

My therapist suggested that I get an emotional support cat. I super want a cat, miss living with cats, my housemates think it's a good idea and are happy about a cat living with us. I live in San Francisco; I'm worried that my landlord will raise the rent by lots when it's time to renew the lease/force us to leave or something. Is this a supported fear?

I understand that living with a cat will not fix or solve my mental problems (depression, anxiety, transitioning, autism-spectrum disorder; currently I have dropped out of school and I'm not working), but that it has a high chance of at making it more pleasant, because cat.

My major concern, though, is the lease/landlord. Our lease prohibits pets; but I understand that with a letter from my therapist documenting me, the fair housing act requires that they accommodate an emotional support animal. (Our immediately-upstairs neighbor has a dog, but it's unclear if it's allowed in their lease, if it's a service or support animal, or if they've snuck it in. I never asked.)

But that doesn't mean they have to be happy about it, and I worry we'd be forced out of the apartment at the end of the initial lease. We don't have rent control, so even if we aren't formally evicted or don't have our lease renewed in July, I'm worried they'll do raise the rent by a large percentage or something, and then we'd effectively have to leave. I really, really don't want to look for another apartment; it took us two months to get one acceptance (this place). I can only assume that it's going to get harder in SF to find somewhere to live.

I'm not really sure how grounded my fears are. I'm confident in my ability to take care of a cat, and believe it wouldn't be an additional stress in my life (at least on a day-to-day scale), so I do want a cat. But if it's going to cause logistical nightmares, I really don't want one.

I've searched old askmes, read lots about the fair housing act and how it applies to support animals, but I'm having a hard time doing more reading about how landlords may/may not react due to lots of people criticizing support animals. I'm most interested in hearing about people in SF now or very recently with support animals in leases that otherwise prohibit pets, but it all helps.
posted by you could feel the sky to Home & Garden (17 answers total)
 
It's really great you are asking here!! Is your therapist looking out for you at all? I'm kinda concerned...

By all accounts it's difficult to find an apartment you like in SF. Keeping it is also sometimes difficult. Then there's the fact that you have no history with this landlord, and now you're being advised to ask for favors they are not inclined to enjoy even having to consider? I'm so sorry, but this is a terrible idea and worse advice.

Throwing away your relationship with your new landlord isn't going to improve your quality of life. If ultimately this caused a rent hike, your roommates would rethink their previous approval. This is a giant bag of trouble you want to keep firmly shut and out on the curb. Hope sanitation comes quickly and takes that bag of trouble to the dump.

You can certainly force your landlord to accept a cat, sure. Do you want to? No, no you don't. You want to minimize the stress in your life, not blow up tons of drama.

Take the money you might spend on a cat and get regular massage, or even acupuncture. Take up a yoga practice. For the sake of mental wellbeing, do not antagonize your living situation.

The good news is you can get that warm fuzzy feeling a million other ways, and without having to risk relationships or ask for special treatment. Seek alternative (and frankly, more reliable) remedies. They're out there!
posted by jbenben at 9:25 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm a newer cat owner who now can't imagine living without feline companions. I could if I needed to, of course, but I'd rather not. They were a lot of work and money at first but things have worked out nicely. Therefore, I totally recommend getting one with one caveat. I'd make sure things are absolutely OK with your landlord because you don't want to find yourself suddenly evicted or paying a large fine or having to find a new home for the pet you've grown to love. I would take the letter and speak to your landlord; hope for a yes but expect a no, and see what happens. I waited a long time before getting a pet; I had them growing up but moved around a lot and then started having the urge to adopt my own about a decade ago. As I said, I couldn't imagine living without one now but I also don't regret having waited so long either. If now isn't the time to have your own cat, you can still petsit, volunteer at an animal shelter and visit a cat café!
posted by smorgasbord at 9:27 PM on January 24, 2016


I agree that it'd make more sense to do the legwork with getting permission from the landlord before attempting to get a cat. It's entirely possible that they'd be understanding of the situation, but as others have noted, forcing this on your landlord is unlikely to do much but increase your overall stress, even if it is technically a legal right with the appropriate doctor's note.
posted by Aleyn at 9:47 PM on January 24, 2016 [5 favorites]


Every landlord is different (unless you're with a massive property management company like Lapham). As a Bay Area landlord, my suggestion would be that you go out of your way to offer documentation in support of this need for accommodation. (There's a limited amount that they're legally allowed to request, so you'll want to meet that standard.) I would guess that if you bring in a cat, and if the cat doesn't cause damage to your apartment during the remaining time on your lease, it isn't likely to be the cause of any trouble you run into renewing the lease. I'd be more concerned about what happens if you have to move, as it can be more challenging finding a place that allows pets. That said, as pets go, having one cat is the easiest situation to find a place (some places will allow cats but no dogs; some places will allow just one pet).
posted by slidell at 9:47 PM on January 24, 2016


Renters with emotional support animals (backed by a doctor's note) have explicit rights when it comes to renting, security/pet deposits, and extra rent. I would talk to your local tenants rights advocates or legal aid and find out exactly what your rights are before approaching your landlord.

Check your MeMail.
posted by Room 641-A at 12:00 AM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


If you do run into issues with your landlord, the Mental Health Advocacy Project may be able to help. I recently volunteered at an event where they were helping someone get legal assistance to keep a therapy parrot, so I imagine they would help with therapy cats as well.
posted by perihare at 12:34 AM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've known plenty of people who had cats whose landlords didn't know they had cats. I would not tell the landlord and if they somehow find out then I would give them your documentation.

I actually have done the I'm-getting-a-pet-even-though-the-landlord-says-pets-are-not-allowed-because-I-know-my-legal-rights thing and it did not add any stress to my life. However, the landlord-tenant laws are different here and there was essentially no way for my landlord to retaliate.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:32 AM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


It seems like a good first step would be to talk with your neighbors about how the landlord reacted to their having a dog. (Keeping in mind that even if the landlord did raise their rent for it, it doesn't necessarily follow that they'd do the same for a cat.)
posted by trig at 2:50 AM on January 25, 2016


Before sending legalese letters and assuming your landlord would have an issue, try writing them the following:

"Dear landlord:

It's been recommended to me that a cat would be a good idea for emotional support. Would you be adverse to me getting a cat? "

And then see what they say.
posted by cacao at 9:27 AM on January 25, 2016


I agree that it's a great idea to talk with the neighbor who has a dog.

It's very normal for a person with anxiety to worry about what might happen, and to feel nervous about asking the landlord for anything, let alone something forbidden in the lease. It might help if you consider your landlord's point of view so you can reassure him/her. Also, having reliable facts about tenant law could stop some of the fears that are swirling in your head. One of your less-anxious roommates could help you with the negotiation.

Your landlord has that no-pets clause in the lease, but you don't know exactly why. It might not be a hard-and-fast rule. Some owners forbid pets because that's the only way to completely guarantee that there won't be any pet-related problems. Or maybe they had one pet problem in the past and it completely turned them off. The agreement is signed up front, when neither party knows anything about the other's attitudes, willingness to take care of the property, and general cleanliness. It doesn't take into account what your landlord knows about you and your roommates now that you've been living there a while. If you've had an untroubled relationship with the owner, you're in a good position to ask for an exception.

Imagine that you own a rental property. Because of maintenance, insurance, and taxes, you're probably not making much (if any) profit from rent, but are hoping to sell at a profit some day. Your biggest fears are loss of property value, high repair and maintenance costs, renting to a "bad tenant," and losing a good tenant. What might persuade you to allow a good tenant to have a pet?

Reasons why a landlord might not want a pet in the apartment: urine stains and odor; odor from litter box and just "cat smell"; scratching and pulling at wall coverings or carpet; complaints from other tenants; general bad feelings about animals in the living space. You can write an email saying that you will do specific things , like keeping the litter box fresh, making sure the cat doesn't get out, allowing landlord to inspect the apartment regularly. You can promise to pay for whatever damage might happen because of the cat. Also, ask the landlord what other things you could do to make the cat more acceptable to them.

You can find out from the Tenants' Union exactly what a landlord is allowed to do regarding rent increases and evictions. I own one rental unit and I know that the laws are very strict about these things. It's hard to evict someone (and can take a very long time) even if they don't pay their rent, or they're using the unit for illegal purposes.
posted by wryly at 9:30 AM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think a lot depends on your landlord; even if you are technically legally entitled to keep an emotional support animal, it's not hard to imagine a shitty landlord responding passive-aggressively (neglecting repairs, trying to ding you on other lease violations, etc.) I think it's definitely a good idea to talk to your neighbor as well as a tenants' rights group before approaching your landlord.

If you already struggle with anxiety, I wouldn't recommend the "easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" route; I took in a stray cat without telling my landlord and although I didn't worry too much about it (the on-site managers knew and were cool with it, and the actual landlord rarely set foot on the property) it was always a low-level worry at the back of my mind. And the "get rid of your cat or we start eviction proceedings" nastygram we got when he *did* find out was no fun at all.

I don't mean to catastrophize, though (pun honestly not intended) - wryly makes some good points; I expect no-pet clauses are standard boilerplate in most apartment leases, and if you've already established yourself as a good tenant then an emotional support cat may be no big deal, especially given that there's at least one other animal in the building.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 9:51 AM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I wouldn't tell the landlord. If they found out, then I would provide documentation.
posted by a strong female character at 11:07 AM on January 25, 2016


If your therapist has recommended a cat to mitigate your mental health issues and is willing to provide you with some simple documentation, you can have a cat as a companion or assistance animal. It is not 'special treatment' to ask for a reasonable accommodation for a health issue, and if your therapist has specifically recommended it, I don't see why you shouldn't get a cat if you want one. You can, and should, of course, also pursue other self-care activities and resources in addition.

Companion or assistance animals do not necessarily need to be specially trained, and under Fair Housing law, companion animals are not pets, and your landlord cannot charge you a pet deposit or pet rent for that animal.
posted by Kpele at 1:15 PM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


As someone who has lived in an apartment that was quite damaged by a previous tenant's spraying male cat, I'd assure the landlord that you're adopting a female cat. My landlord at the damaged apartment spent lots and lots of time and money fixing the damage that cat did. Far more time and money than the deposit covered. I doubt he'll ever allow a male cat in a property again.

Talk to your neighbor and find out whether their dog is legal or not and how the landlord has been regarding their pet. You have legal rights, but with SF's apartment situation, doing lots of research and developing the most thoughtful proposal is well worth the time and effort.
posted by quince at 2:37 PM on January 25, 2016


When I lived in the Bay Area, our lease also said no pets, but when we asked our landlord, he was actually fine with us getting one. Basically I think he was wary of people and pets he didn't know, but because he knew we were responsible/non-annoying tenants, he trusted us with the pet. I believe we paid a nominal additional pet deposit (something like $50). So, the first step, I think, would be just to ask and see what your landlord says! At least this way you can get a read on the situation. It is hard for me to imagine any landlord holding it against you to just ask about the issue.
posted by rainbowbrite at 3:37 PM on January 25, 2016


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone!

My less-anxious partner reread the lease, and it acknowledges legal exceptions to the no-pets clause. I haven't had a chance to talk to the dog-owning neighbors, but I will if I see them. I'll pursue a cat, and rethink it if there's any pushback from the owner.
posted by you could feel the sky at 6:02 PM on January 25, 2016


Response by poster: In case it helps anyone in the future, the neighbors upstairs had an ESA, and my landlord was totally fine with my getting one. We brought home Pico de Gallo yesterday!

But mostly I just wanted to share the pictures.
posted by you could feel the sky at 10:47 AM on February 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


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