Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida
My boyfriend and I just moved into a new apartment complex. When we signed our lease we were very specific about not wanting anyone in the apartment when we are not home. This is for a number of reasons (issues with past landlords abusing their right to enter, theft, etc) but one being that we have a dog that we don't crate. The landlord is completely aware of our dog and our wishes to be contacted prior to entry. Our lease says we need 24 hour notice and they must receive verbal permission from us to enter. So if they call and we are not home, they must come back later when we are. We had a number of Maintence requests, one being an exterminator as there were many ants and bugs when we moved in. We were told they come on Wednesdays (but they also will tell us that Maintence is coming on Monday and we will wait all day and no one comes at all). Even so, we are supposed to be called before anyone enters. We came home Wednesday and found that our dog, who is very well house trained and has never once peed inside, had peed multiple times all over the apartment. This makes no sense as he had been out many times during the day to relieve himself. That night, when we were giving him a bath we found a bloody gash on the back of his neck, and we know for sure it wasn't there that morning. I called the landlord today and found out that the exterminator did in fact come to the apartment, and no one called us. We work close by and could have been home in less than 5 minutes, had we received a phone call. The landlord said they hire a third party company for extermination, and that they don't call they just let themselves in. Had we known this, we would have been home waiting for them. Our landlord said he would look into it, and we told him we would do our research as well. When he found out that we called the third party company, he said that "it's the word of a dog versus the word of a company, you will probably never know what happened". He also accused us of becoming "hostile" (we were sitting down with our hands in our laps. We were upset, but always respectful and never threatening) and said his staff has more important things to do. What are my rights? How can I stop them from just allowing anyone in my apartment to do who knows what to my dog? I am scared if we look into this more that they will find a way to evict us, but my dog is like my child so I can't just let this go.
3 Answers from Attorneys
The harm to your animal is your word against theirs. Note, however, that cruelty to animals is a crime; you may make a police report about the injury to your dog.
Additionally, you my provide a written Notice to the landlord of the injury to the dog and, that consequently no one shall to enter the apartment without prior notice, permission and presence.
You may advise them that further violation of this understanding during the term of this lease could result in the termination of the lease.
Additionally, the hostility of the pest company may be noted in a bad remark on the web, ie., google; yelp etc.
No one with a dog wants their services. Additionally, you may put the pest control company on notice not to enter your property without your presence.
Your lease agreement controls. You really need to have that document reviewed by an landlord/tenant attorney. hard to prove who did what without seeing something videos etc. Perhaps you want to invest in a nanny cam that will record with motion detector.
I am sorry that this happened to you. Please note you are not alone. Mr. Stein has offered a very good solution by placing a Nannycam in your unit. Also please follow through on Mr. Brien's comments. Reporting this people is the best that you can do. As to your lease, be sure it was written that they MUST notify you within 24 hours of someone coming into the apartment. If you miss a day of work due to their neglect in notifying you without a show up, you may be able to sue for your lost income. Be sure to have your lease read by an attorney. You may have to have them sign and agree to an addendum. As to the injury, if you took your dog to a vet, I would send them the bill. The court may look at this as if no one else entered and the dog was fine when you left, and witnesses can state how you are about your animal current and past, you could very well make them pay and pay the costs of the court.
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