What to Do When a Tenant Has an Unauthorized Animal
You didn’t approve a pet, but now there’s a critter living rent-free in your unit. Whether it’s a barking surprise or a slithery secret, here’s the no-nonsense process I follow to handle unauthorized animals in rentals—with clarity, compliance, and control.
Step 1: Confirm and Document the Animal
First, get proof. If you or your team sees the animal, snap a photo on the spot. If the report comes from a neighbor, a passerby, or a contractor, you need to do an inspection. Give proper notice, enter the unit, and look for obvious signs: smell, fur, food bowls, toys, crates. Anything that screams "something furry lives here." Solid evidence is step one.
Step 2: Serve a Lease Violation Notice
Time to hit them with the lease violation. This includes a written notice and a phone call. Remind them what they signed: most leases clearly state "no animals without written permission." You’ll probably hear all the classics: "I’m just pet-sitting," "I just found it," or "It’s my emotional support animal." That’s fine—you still issue the violation and lay out their options:
Remove the animal within 24 hours
Submit documentation for a reasonable accommodation (which you’ll review and verify)
Register the pet if your policy allows for it and get it added to the lease, with a fee
Step 3: Apply Pressure if Needed
Still got an unauthorized critter after 24 hours? Time to bring the heat. At my company, that’s a $100-a-day fine. This isn’t about collecting extra cash—it’s about enforcing your lease with real consequences. Let the tenant know the fine is active and that you’re not playing games. Keep up the calls, emails, and follow-ups. The pressure matters.
Step 4: Begin the Legal Process
If they still won’t comply, it’s time to go legal. Serve a Notice to Quit or file for eviction. And make sure you’re armed with every piece of documentation: photos, timestamps, notices, emails—the works. You’re not bluffing, and the paper trail proves it.
Step 5: Follow Through to Possession if Necessary
This is the hardest part, but you can’t flinch. If the tenant won’t comply, follow through with the eviction all the way to possession. If you back down, you teach tenants that rules are suggestions. That kind of message is expensive and hard to fix.
Step 6: Follow Up After Compliance
Let’s say they end up complying—awesome. If the animal is approved through an accommodation or registered through your policy, schedule a follow-up inspection 60 to 90 days later. Make sure the animal is living clean, safe, and within the rules. If they said they got rid of it? Go back and confirm. Don’t assume. Verify.
Stick With the System
This process works—but only if you actually stick to it. Landlords mess this up all the time by skipping steps, giving tenants too much slack, or straight-up ignoring their own lease terms. Don’t be that landlord. Be the one who actually holds it down.
I’m PM Jen, the—landlord educator, real estate investor, and your favorite straight-talker in the buy-and-hold game. Hold It With PM Jen exists to help real estate investors protect their assets, grow their cash flow, and stop spinning their wheels.
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