Landlord Gave Up Right to Object to New Dog

LVT Number: 13527

Landlord sued to evict tenant for keeping a dog in violation of her lease. Tenant had four dogs when landlord bought the building. When one of the dogs died, tenant replaced it. Tenant claimed that since she already had four dogs, waiver of the no-pets clause in her lease applied. The court ruled for tenant, but for a different reason. Landlord didn't give up his right to object to tenant's new dog just because tenant already had a certain number of dogs. But the Westchester County law states that landlord must enforce a no-pets clause within three months of discovering the pet.

Landlord sued to evict tenant for keeping a dog in violation of her lease. Tenant had four dogs when landlord bought the building. When one of the dogs died, tenant replaced it. Tenant claimed that since she already had four dogs, waiver of the no-pets clause in her lease applied. The court ruled for tenant, but for a different reason. Landlord didn't give up his right to object to tenant's new dog just because tenant already had a certain number of dogs. But the Westchester County law states that landlord must enforce a no-pets clause within three months of discovering the pet. Landlord didn't object to the new dog within three months. Tenant openly kept the new dog, and landlord's employee was in the building three or four times a day.

DeFeo v. Carmody: 689 N.Y.S.2d 862 (4/8/99) (City Ct. Mt. Vernon; Duffy, J)