Apartment Inspection. Help!

Ok so this is going to be a little long so bare with me.
About 2 days ago I got a phone call from Rachel(my fiancee) sayin that we got a letter on our door mat that stated our building is having an inspection 2/4/10. Rachel found a friend of ours in the building and he said they do this once a year and check our faucets and windows and stuff. Just to let you know my complex has 65 building 12 apartments per building 3 floors. I went crazy, the lease says no reptiles and I have 5 snakes and a leopard gecko. Before we moved in I asked the property manager about reptiles and she told me "if I see them I will bring them to your attention but I have bigger fish to fry " those are her exact words. So basically I got dont let the other tenants know. I got a guy across the hall with a 55gallon fish tank that she saw. I mean property wise you should be more worried about a tank leaking than my snakes getting out.

So after the past couple days of freaking I figured out exactly what I am going to do. I have a 4 shelf Ball python rack with only 3 filled. I am going to double up a tub with 2 BP's that were housed together before they should be fine. I will put my hypo and my dum in separate tubs. I will put the whole rack into my walk-in closet in the corner. I found on reptile basics a 40 hour heat pack, I will buy a few of them and use them for the day. Im going to put some shirt in the front of the tubs so IF they decide to snoop around my stuff it will just look like a ghetto dresser. As for the tanks I have i will bring some boxes home from work and stick them in the closet and put some stuff on top of them. OK so that is my plan.... as for my gecko Im not too worried about him ill bring him to my parents house in the morning. So because of all of this, if you read my post yesterday I now changed from buying the boaphile 421D for each boa I am going with a reptile basics rack I hope to use the rack for atleast 2 years both boas are small less than 24inches each.

Ok so I apologize for the long post again but Im not trying to get evicted and I sure am not looking to lose my snakes. So I figured this would be the best way and alot less stressful on the snakes than moving them to someones house for a couple days.

So please I am open to any suggestions/ comments/ anyone telling me I have a bulletproof plan lol

Well, if it is against your lease you probably shouldn't have gotten them in the first place or you should have found a reptile friendly apartment. If they do find the animals they have every right to evict you, and I am sure that having snakes is not worth getting evicted over.

Honestly though, if they are just inspecting windows and doors, they aren't going to be looking for the animals. I would say you could put a sheet over the rack and a vase with flowers on top and they would never know the difference. If they aren't looking for it, they won't find it.

My apartment doesn't have any clause about reptiles, but I'm sure they'd freak at the number of snakes I have. I don't take my animals outside, and none of my neighbors know I keep reptiles.

I had an inspection with less than 24 hours notice - and had to call out of work (I also have a dog that I will not lock in a room all day). I tossed a blanket over my rack, and a towel over a few tubs and left everything where they are. The baby rack I didn't even bother to cover.

Two maintenance guys came in with their clip boards, tested the fire alarm, the faucets, hung a CO2 detecter that I didn't have, and one even set his clipboard on top of the tubs with the towel over them to write his notes.

In and out - no fuss, no muss.

I wouldn't worry too much. Your plan sounds good but you could also disguise the rack as something else, like a side table or something. I am probably the worst tenant to walk the earth, haha. I successfully lived in a 2 bedroom townhouse for over a year with my snakes, small rat colony, mice, gerbils, a bird, sugar gliders, a dog, and at one point we had 7 cats. The only animals allowed and that were on the lease were two cats. And the management never knew. Of course, they were not the best townhouses and they rarely did any repairs or inspections. Actually one day I was freaking out because the maintenence man was coming over and my ball python racks were downstairs in the living room. He walked in and asked what were in the tubs. I showed him Juji, my pinstripe, and he immediately struck up conversation about how he has a ball python at home. So I really would not worry too much. But if if they do see them and do decide to go against you, it doesn't matter if she said "Sure you can have them, no problem" because you didn't get it in writing and it would be her words against yours. She would win. If you want to keep them legally there, you'd have to get it in writing.

The building I live in has a no pets policy on the lease and they come in twice a year to check the heating/ac/plumbing. I've lived here for 4 years now and never had any problems (5 BPs, gtp, beardies, cats). My first year I was worried enough I took the day off work and was told that because the herps werent free roaming, they didnt really care.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I tossed a blanket over my rack, and a towel over a few tubs and left everything where they are. The baby rack I didn't even bother to cover.

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Yep... that's what I did when animal control came over (to rescue a stray parrot in our backyard), since I wasn't sure about the python thing here. Of course, it didn't help that Nerissa found the ONE uncovered spot on her tub, and used it to stare at the officers as they passed by. :rolleyes::cool: Luckily they either didn't care or didn't notice, LOL. But anyway, that's the nice thing about keeping reptiles - they don't take up much space, and are easy to "hide" when necessary!

First of all, if they go so far as to open your "ghetto dresser" and look inside, I am pretty sure they are violating your rights. I don't know exactly how it is worded, and it probably varies from state to state, but renters have a right to privacy. Yes, the landlord has a right to come in and inspect the property and do repairs, but they don't have the right to to snooping in your dresser or other belongings.

If they see the animals, or hear noises, or smell odors, then it will become different, sort of like when a police officer has "probable cause" to conduct a search.

So just make sure the animals' enclosures are clean (to avoid odors), and cover them up as has been suggested. A rack could even potentially be turned around so the open side is facing the wall. I would recommend this for any renter, even if there is no clause in their lease, just because of how people can freak out about snakes.

That is how I got my daughter's ball python. Someone from the apartments saw it, and the manager told her she had to get rid of it.

Make sure you have a plan if they say they're going in to exterminate.

Most of the time the maint. guys are moving so fast they won't see anything. Smoke detectors, filter for A/C and they are out. As far as exterminating, most accounts only pay like $2-3 per apt. so they are in each apt. a max of literally 2 minutes, and the service only consists of kitchen and main bathroom only. I wouldn't worry about it as long as they are contained properly and don't draw attention to themselves for that day.

I had a big fiasco getting my apartment to allow mine, but they did...

Course they only know about my two ball pythons, and told me no more...

wonder how im going to explain my 8.5ft African Rock Python and 3ft Savannah monitor lizard when they come to do their yearly checkup/filter change, lol.

Well, I can't condone doing anything against your lease. You might want to try and talk to them about it and legitimize your reptiles. Do they allow other pets? My apartment that I live in now was suspect when I first told them, but once I explained they were in cages and weren't harmless they didn't really care (I also made sure to tell every apartment I looked at up front about my reptiles to make sure I had one that was OK with it).

That being said, in my experience the maintenance people don't care. They're there to fix and maintain things, not be an apartment policy enforcer. I'd just cover them up and try and be there when they come.

The best thing to do would be to start looking for a different apartment and get your animals explicitly written into the lease as being allowed. That way you have no worries come inspection time, and other residents freaking out cannot cause problems for you.

my apartment says "tank pets" so my ball python is fine under that titlement...but the complex was bought out by my university which has a no pets clause...so im trying to find a "tank pet" friendly complex...so far no luck

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Well, if it is against your lease you probably shouldn't have gotten them in the first place or you should have found a reptile friendly apartment. If they do find the animals they have every right to evict you, and I am sure that having snakes is not worth getting evicted over.

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i beg to differ, i would FULLY rather be evicted than get rid of my snakes, 100%

mind you, i live in BC, ''the heart of 2010'' (yeah, right). and rent here is absolutely RIDICULOUS and it is next to impossible to find a place that will even let you have something as simple as a hamster. most places won't even consider a pet deposit.

but, my animals are securely caged, harmless, and nobody in the apartment (or my landlord) know about them. because if they did, the whole unnecessary snake fear thing would run rampant. so i just keep it quiet and noone's the wiser.

if my landlord DID want to come over though, the ASF's would definitely need to be hid somewhere, preferably at my mom's house :P

our rack system covers up nicely, we just have 2 pirate flags pinned up like curtains. the only other thing i can't hide are my leo's and my 2 55gallon display tanks for my first pair of corns.

meh, you gotta do what you gotta do for your pets!

Like some others have said, It's pretty stupid to move into a place that doesn't allow reptiles. But hey, I'm not you and I don't know the whole situation and I can fully understand you'r want to keep your scaley ones.

Try your best to disguise everything, put a whole bunch of crap all over the covered racks, like a lamp or bla bla. If you have feeders, though you don't have to hide them it might help you out to.

That's why I keep all of my snakes in some nice closets that has been converted into a rack. I can just close the door and people think they contain simple clothes.

so what happened with the inspection??

i have no problems where i am cuz the owners/manager have their own snakes and loves mine. i went and asked before i got her so im good. i go down to pay the rent with her in my hand or on my neck and all the girls there always ask to hold her.

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Originally Posted by katia

i beg to differ, i would FULLY rather be evicted than get rid of my snakes, 100%

mind you, i live in BC, ''the heart of 2010'' (yeah, right). and rent here is absolutely RIDICULOUS and it is next to impossible to find a place that will even let you have something as simple as a hamster. most places won't even consider a pet deposit.

but, my animals are securely caged, harmless, and nobody in the apartment (or my landlord) know about them. because if they did, the whole unnecessary snake fear thing would run rampant. so i just keep it quiet and noone's the wiser.

if my landlord DID want to come over though, the ASF's would definitely need to be hid somewhere, preferably at my mom's house :P

our rack system covers up nicely, we just have 2 pirate flags pinned up like curtains. the only other thing i can't hide are my leo's and my 2 55gallon display tanks for my first pair of corns.

meh, you gotta do what you gotta do for your pets!

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You know being evicted takes a huge bat to your credit score and smashes it into pieces.

I would rather be financially stable and in an apartment that accepts reptiles than sneaking around until I get caught and suffering the consequences for my whole life.

This is why my husband and I are having such a problem finding a house to rent because of how many animals we have. Now, we are not those people that let their animals run around the house and destroy things and poop and pee everywhere. We are very neat and clean, but as soon as someone hears we have ferrets its an immediate no. Its funny, they don't care about snakes and lizards, but ferrets are a problem, haha.

It would be nice if we could just buy a house, but we don't have the money for that just yet. *sigh*

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You know being evicted takes a huge bat to your credit score and smashes it into pieces.

I would rather be financially stable and in an apartment that accepts reptiles than sneaking around until I get caught and suffering the consequences for my whole life.

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it works a little differently up here in canada :)

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

This is why my husband and I are having such a problem finding a house to rent because of how many animals we have. Now, we are not those people that let their animals run around the house and destroy things and poop and pee everywhere. We are very neat and clean, but as soon as someone hears we have ferrets its an immediate no. Its funny, they don't care about snakes and lizards, but ferrets are a problem, haha.

It would be nice if we could just buy a house, but we don't have the money for that just yet. *sigh*

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and YES i am DEFINITELY with you on that one! in order for me to be able to afford to buy a house, i would literally have to move out of my hometown. the shadiest of places are going for $800,000! 2 bedroom apartments? see for yourself: Squamish Pointe.

and let me tell you, that is a horrible, horrible location. it's right across from one of the scuzziest bars in town. a lotta mischief happens in that area.

Wow! Its actually pretty good around here. I'm just dirt poor. :P A house that I grew up in still belongs to my grandmother. I told her she should sell it to me (its valued at around $180k) but she wants to move into it. My husband had surgery and put it on credit cards (we didn't have insurance) and we didn't start paying on them, they grew and grew. And I also put us further in debt by maxing out my credit card with snakes. So we have a lot of debt to pay off first. One day....one day I will have a house with an entire room (or two!) dedicated to my reptiles. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by katia

it works a little differently up here in canada :)

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Well the OP is not from Canada....

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You know being evicted takes a huge bat to your credit score and smashes it into pieces.

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we have been renting places out for roughly 20 years and we have never seen any eviction records on a credit report.
ahh i see it would have to be court ordered

Any result yet? How did the inspection go over?

i hope him not responding is any sign that they got the boot! that would be bad for everything involved. my maintenance guy just came through to fix the bath tub and i was layin on the couch and had my girl just chillin in my chest.

This is why I own my own home.. I would freak out if someone tried to tell me I couldnt have my pets. When I was renting I guess I always got lucky to be somewhere where I could get away with having pets.

It should be fairly easy to hide the snakes. They dont make noise and as long as your place is clean no one will notice. Just let us know it goes.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I wouldn't worry too much. Your plan sounds good but you could also disguise the rack as something else, like a side table or something. I am probably the worst tenant to walk the earth, haha. I successfully lived in a 2 bedroom townhouse for over a year with my snakes, small rat colony, mice, gerbils, a bird, sugar gliders, a dog, and at one point we had 7 cats. The only animals allowed and that were on the lease were two cats. And the management never knew. Of course, they were not the best townhouses and they rarely did any repairs or inspections. Actually one day I was freaking out because the maintenence man was coming over and my ball python racks were downstairs in the living room. He walked in and asked what were in the tubs. I showed him Juji, my pinstripe, and he immediately struck up conversation about how he has a ball python at home. So I really would not worry too much. But if if they do see them and do decide to go against you, it doesn't matter if she said "Sure you can have them, no problem" because you didn't get it in writing and it would be her words against yours. She would win. If you want to keep them legally there, you'd have to get it in writing.

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Had to LOL when I read this.

Do they hide when you jingle the keys in the door lock? :rofl:

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Originally Posted by bokuza

Like some others have said, It's pretty stupid to move into a place that doesn't allow reptiles. But hey, I'm not you and I don't know the whole situation and I can fully understand you'r want to keep your scaley ones.

Try your best to disguise everything, put a whole bunch of crap all over the covered racks, like a lamp or bla bla. If you have feeders, though you don't have to hide them it might help you out to.

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Just to let you know I live in Philadelphia Pa, grew up my whole life in the "ghetto " section, i could have gotten an apartment there that wouldnt have cared if I owned a 4ft gator in my bathroom. Instead I moved myself out of there and I wanted something nice. I only moved in with 3 Ball pythons in a rack. Listen they do one inspection a year. If they see anything they wont evict me they will give me 48 hours to get rid of them. So I am taking my chances. I made this post looking for advice on hiding not life advice (i don't mean to be ignorant)

I just moved into my house but a few months ago we lived in an APT. that didnt allow any pets other than cats and dogs under 13lbs. But when they showed up at my place to look around i just left the snakes out in the open in there setups and not a word was ever said. And when moving into this place you are put on a 3-6 month waiting list. so with that being said i dont think you have alot to worry about

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Well the OP is not from Canada....

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lol, i know, but you quoted me and i am from Canada. one of the few, that's for sure.

i hope the inspection went okay!

I know it's a little late for a response but this just might help / save someone in the future. My family rents out a couple of houses and we do inspections every 6 months, saying we are changing air filters and such... And what is really behind the inspections is to see if there are unwanted animals and the over all care of the house. With that being said we can not open any draws or doors, we can only inspect what's in plain sight as we walk the property. So my advice is to try and stick that rack system / tank / whatever you have into a closet and you should be fine!