Legal Question in Elder Law in New Jersey

Re: Dogs as companions

Although there are a variety of laws that have been enacted at the federal, state and local levels that address specific needs and problems that face older people, there isn't really a Code of Elder Laws or anything like it that applies everywhere and in every circumstance.

There is good news as to your pet however. There have been several Court rulings in NJ in which a tenant adopted a pet and even though it was against the written rules, the landlord more or less "looked the other way" and didn't demand that the pet be removed. After many months or even years, if a landlord changes his mind or if a new owner of your mobile home park tries to enforce that rule now, he would be "estopped by waiver." This means that although a landlord has a right to enforce a valid rule, if he knowingly allows a violation to continue it's as if he changed the rule and he can't then change back because it would be unfair because by not enforcing a rule it made people believe it was OK.

In one case, the Court made the point that this was especially true of older people who have or get pets even though there's a rule against it because of the emotional attachment that a person develops with a pet in cases in which their children are grown and often live too far to visit very often and if an elderly person is a widow or widower, the companionship of a pet has been scientifically proven to lessen cases of depression, minimize minor ailments and actually lengthen lives. This is believed to be related to the fact that humans are "social animals" if you'll excuse the term. It's not meant to compare people to animals but to identify a deep need that most people have to give and receive attention, affection and perhaps most important of all, a feeling of being needed and having a purpose in life. Pets satisfy all of these needs for many people and although this doesn't mean a landlord can't have a "NO PETS" policy, it DOES mean that if the rule is new, you CANNOT be made to give away any pets you have at that time and can keep them for their whole lives but you may not replace them after the're gone. A landlord also must apply the rule to evrybody or he can't apply it too anybody. Finally, as i said at first, it you bring a pet home and the landlord knows it and does nothing, every day that goes by makes it more likely that you will not be required to give that pet away.

As an animal lover myself, I invite you to contact me to discuss, at no charge, any problems you might be having in this regatd and whether or not I can be of assistance (again, at no charge) in helping you to resolve the problem.