No snakes allowed in new lease

I'm new to this forum.... I just need to vent a little and get some advice.

Friday, I looked at a new house for rent, and today we signed the lease. On Friday, I spoke to the landlord in what I thought was a very thorough conversation about what the lease would say and whatnot. He specifically told me no dogs/cats. I made sure to ask all questions you generally would when meeting a new landlord. I've never EVER had a problem with a landlord not allowing a pet snake. When we arrived for our meeting, we signed everything, and then the landlord states "no dogs/cats or other animals" just as we finished signing everything. Sure enough, I look at the lease I just signed and that's what it says. I feel so dumb that I did not read it thoroughly enough before signing, but I thought we had a very good and thorough overview before signing. I know this situation is totally my fault for not being more attentive to the lease agreement.

I have a pet snake named Charlie, and he is my world. I do not ever want to get rid of him, but now I may have to. I am very tempted to keep him and hide him - which I don't think would be hard - but I don't want to risk getting my roommates evicted if the landlord somehow finds out about it.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I feel so sad right now.

Should have READ the lease.
Not your house and not your property but it is your choice where to live.
The smart person would break the contract and keep looking.
It was probably some moron before you that tried hiding reptiles that got "other animals" put in there AND made the rest of us look bad too.
So think about while you have an option.

What pets you were planning to keep there should have been something you brought up.

Personally I'd call up or go talk to your new landlord and say you were too in shock by how forgetful you had been and ask for an exception. Maybe take a few pictures of the current setup to show how little space/clean it would be. If they are adamant for no snakes then find somewhere else to live, and find out if there is a termination fee.

Hiding something is never a good idea.

Please don't try and "hide" your snake at all. If you want to keep your snake badly enough, then look for a new place to live that will ALLOW you to have the snake. This hobby already has so much going against it, please don't bring more trouble to it and make the rest of us look bad. Snakes are already highly misunderstood creatures as so as it is.

I actually was in a similar situation when I was in undergrad.

My 2nd year I moved into an apartment that basically allowed everything that wasn't either a large dog [which you had to pay extra for] or a ferret [which the landlord completely disallowed, no exceptions]. I bought a baby argentinian tegu that year. The next year all 7 of my housemates that I was very close friends with decided to move to a different spot. I moved with them, since I loved living with them, but the new place had a very vague rule of "pets are allowed, just don't let it become a zoo".

...well, the tegu grew up and became a 4ft, chick and rat eating beast who had a love for escaping from his cage, sleeping under my bed, and pooping on the floor. I did a diligent job of cleaning up after him [I don't think the landlord ever realized the poop problem] but a 4ft lizard apparently crossed the vague "not a zoo" threshold and I had to get rid of him. It was probably just about the worst day of my life, since I grew extremely attached to the lizard. He was a fat lazy puppy and I still miss him.


Granted, a tegu is *impossible* to conceal from anyone. My landlord never realized that I had rubber boas, but that's because they lived in a small enclosure with no electrical equipment. I had to face the music with the lizard though, and I agree with the above posters, trying to hide an animal may backfire horrendously.

Be glad you caught it now. You can likely break the lease without penalty at this point unless the person you were going to lease from isn't nice. And if they hear they will lose you over it they may be willing to make an exception. If they do however, make sure to get everything in writing so they can't change their mind later. I do agree with the others though, trying to hide it is the worst option, because even if you manage to hide it indefinitely, you'll always have that worry. Not to mention it could easily be grounds for eviction if they wanted.

Obviously you did not have a very good and thorough overview before you signed the lease. It sounds like you never mentioned your snake to the landlord when he made the "no dogs or cats" statement; you simply assumed your snake would be ok, and now you're stuck.

At this point you have three options:
- Ask the LL to amend the lease to allow the snake and offer to pay an additional pet or cleaning deposit. Most landlords don't want animals due to additional wear and tear on the unit, and even fish tanks can be a problem because if they break then you can have significant water damage, depending on how big the tank was.
- Rehome your snake locally for the duration of the lease with someone who will let you come over to visit, help with any needed work, etc. Also you need to cover the cost of his food and care.
- Break the lease, but bear in mind you'll legally be on the hook for the monthly nut until the landlord finds another tenant for the unit.

BTW this is why you need to read and comprehend every scrap of paper you sign as part of a contract, whether it's a lease, a job offer letter, an auto loan, or a mortgage. Those little details buried in the fine print can be very, very costly if you don't understand what you're signing.

You want a good place to live. And your land lord wants good tenants in their property. If you approach them right away in a professional and business-like manner and say, "When you said 'no dogs or cats' allowed, I assumed my small pet would be ok, and it wasn't until after we signed that we found out there were no exclusions for any animals. Would it be ok if we kept ONE small animal in a secure enclosure? It doesn't make any noise and won't cause any damage. We'll be willing to pay a pet deposit if necessary."

Keep the details vague. With any luck, the LL will assume you're talking about a hamster or something and not ask more questions. If they do ask, then be forthcoming. "It's a SMALL snake... If we can't keep it, we may need to back out of the lease and look for a different home."

Chances are, the LL doesn't want to go through that hassle any more than you do, and will make an exception for you.

All the good advice has been posted, please update with the outcome :cool:

In the many apartments I looked at including my current one prohibited all reptiles and exotic pets. I told them I have a small ball python that won't grow bigger then three feet and showed the land lord pictures and 3 out of 4 places said they would make an exception. Does not hurt to ask! :P

I hope you will update us on what happened; I DO have a small zoo (3 cats, 1 dog, six snakes, four crested geckos, one leopard gecko, two nano fishtanks and one 75g tropical community) and we just have to be straight up within the first few conversations with a potential landlord. Our current landlord doesn't care as long as pet deposits are in; I've had to save a small fortune for those but I also always get them back. Offering sizeable pet deposits for each animal, even if it's expensive, seems to help as does photos of the secure enclosures. If your landlord is amenable some of them change their minds when they meet the animal in question.

I have to look three times as hard as a typical renter...not only do I have a lot of pets, most of them are exotic, my fishtanks are seen by some as a disaster waiting to happen, and my dog is a hefty 72 pounds. It's a pain and we get turned down a lot. But I figure it's just the price of keeping these animals, everything in life is a tradeoff.

I'm hiding my BP which I know is a terrible idea. My lease is up in February so I may move simply because I bought her. I wasn't planning on moving as I just started grad school (online) but... there's no way I'd give her up, so I'd be more comfortable in an apt that allows her.

I'm impulsive and was impatient. I know I made a bad decision. But I love her. I know a friend of mine could keep her temporarily if I got caught with her until my lease was up. But I just hope that doesn't happen.

I'm almost positive the lease says no reptiles. But I haven't looked at it in awhile.

I wish snakes didn't have such a bad rep. I know if they get out it's a big problem but if you can prove you're RESPONSIBLE and have a secure enclosure, you shouldn't be penalized. :tears:

Vent over.

I am a property manager for an apartment community. Our lease states "no animals", but I personally only enforce dogs/cats. Now my boss, the owner, has a different view...NO pets at all. The city the community resides in also has a ban on exotic pets. When I tried appealing to the owner about allowing snakes, his response was NO on the basis of it escaping.

If I come into your dwelling and see an animal that is not allowed, I assess the situation. I look at how the animal is being taken care of, does it make noise, possibility of escape, and possibility of damages resulting from the animal. With dogs and cats, I am very strict about not allowing them, I fine the resident $25/day until pet is gone and will evict if they do not get rid of the pet. If someone has a cat or dog, I find out really quick about it because of their neighbors calling in to complain. So if someone were to have a bird, I'd hear about it really quickly also. A snake, who's going to know? While I am tolerant of prohibited animals, if you were to ask me if they are allowed, my answer would be a very quick no. But we are a business entity, not someone just renting out an extra house we have. I have rules that are handed down to me to enforce, could very easily cost me my job from veering from them.

So my advice is that you talk to your LL (landlord) before purchasing a snake, or before moving in with one you already own. They can give you a written exclusion to allow you to have them. LL's love money, offering up a pet deposit or other monetary compensation will help in your plea. Let them know the animal is very secure, friendly, and so on. The "hiding" game will not work forever. I personally inspect units at least twice a year under the cover of "changing your furnace filter". Also when work orders are requested, I enter the units. I always announce myself at least 24 hours prior to just coming into the units for whatnot...except under an emergency situation. In the past year I have had at least 10 or so emergency situations where the resident was not home and I just entered. This is where you will get caught easily. Your best bet in finding a landlord that will bend the rules will be in the private sector where someone is renting out a house. But there is also the possibility of an apartment community not caring and allowing it, just be up front. You are more likely to get evicted from an apartment than a house. In apartments, we are used to having vacant units, going to court, evicting, and strictly enforcing rules. If you are asking an apartment community to make an exception, do not ask maintenance or leasing, ask the property manager.

Before we bought a house, we also ran into the same problems in ways. We own 2 large German Shepherds (banned dog in apartments), a cat, a ball python, and an aquarium of mice to feed the snake with. Renting a house, we never had a landlord that cared. Renting an apartment was a whole different story but got permission of the property manager. For our banned German Shepherds, they property manager listed them as service animals. For the snake, just kept it out of sight and they didn't care.

A service animal can be anything up to a small horse...yes a horse. If you have the documentation, they can not stop you from having it. A letter from a clergy, doctor, psychiatrist, counselor, or other people of the like can write the letter for you. It can be as simple as you have depression or PTSD and the animal is a comfort animal. This is a federal law, EVERY landlord will follow it rather than being sued and fined.

Sorry for the rant, hope it helps though.

A lot of landlords, especially individuals who rent out one unit or one house, use boilerplate leases that you can download online or that come on the companion CD's to books with titles like "Landlording for dummies". They don't sit down and write out every little part themselves. The boilerplate version says no pets, and probably various other restrictions. But that doesn't mean the landlord is personally committed to every restriction in there, and they may be perfectly happy to amend it if you ask.

Our landlady uses a lease like that, which says no pets by default. But when we moved in here over ten years ago, the landlady was perfectly happy to change it to say that my snake was allowed. Likewise, the standard version of the lease originally said we couldn't have a grill, and she was perfectly happy to change it to say that we could. She's not a property management company, she's just an individual who bought a two-family house and rents out one of the units in order to help with the mortgage. So it's not like it's any kind of massive corporate policy exception to let us have a small, harmless, stink-less, noise-less animal.

No pet fish?

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Originally Posted by sneakysnake611

No pet fish?

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Nope.... Water damage possible. LoL

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Originally Posted by sneakysnake611

No pet fish?

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On top of possible water damage, you should see the damage when people clean or empty their tanks...into the toilet along with rocks/gravel that was sucked up. Yes, no fish either. I personally would rather snakes than fish...as odd as it sounds. Many rules are put into effect because of the not so bright people that do stupid things. I am a property manager, but my main expertise is from a maintenance standpoint of view...i've seen it all. You'd be surprised that many people actually think you can put garbage down a garbage disposal.

Yea, talk and see if he'll make an exception and like others said, reinforce that he said no dogs/cats, nothing about any other animals that live inside an aquarium.

Also what state do you live in?

The reason I ask is I don't really take peoples words on that matter when signing some long term agreement. Due to this, it helped me out drastically a few years back before I bought my house. I had a Yellow Anaconda, and when I was looking into moving in to an apartment, I asked about pets. Now I live in Louisiana which is a one party consent state, which means at least one party in the conversation has to be okay with me recording and as long as I'm involved in the conversation I obviously have my own consent. I don't have to legally tell the other person they're being recorded and even if I did, they have no say so. So when I was talking to the person when signing my lease I read where it said: No Dogs/Cats. So I started recording on my cell phone, set it down and I asked to speak to the property manager about one of the rules. So anyways, I'll fast forward about how the conversation went, ofc not word for word as I don't recall exactly but yea.

Me: Hey, I see this says no dogs/cats allowed.
Him: Correct, some pets are an exception.
Me: I'm possibly going to get a pet in the near future and if I do it'll be something that will live in a secured enclosure. It won't cause any damage and it won't make any noise.
Him: What were you thinking about getting?
Me: I'm not 100% sure yet.
Him: Well as long as it won't cause any damage or disturb the neighbors it's allowed.
Me: Okay, thank you.

Now I already had my snake, but I let a friend take care of him for a few days while I was in the process of moving. Now the following month the guy does inspections, and he sees my snake which clearly he was terrified of. He stated that I had to get rid of it that I never said anything about keeping a snake and if I had he would of told me NO. I replied that he stated as long as it won't cause any damage or disturb the neighbors then it's allowed. He said that wasn't the case and I had to get rid of it. I said I wasn't getting rid of it and I would find another place if needed be as long as he would void the lease. He was clearly in a pissy mood because he said I would be responsible for the remainder of time on the lease. The following month I still had my snake and this is where things went down hill. We got into another argument and he asked me to come in the office to discuss the matter. So I did and during the meeting I played the recording of our exact conversation and said either I'm keeping the snake and I'm staying there or I'll move and he can void the lease. He stated that he never gave me permission to record our conversation and I politely replied that I didn't care how he felt, that it was legal what I did. A week later I got a call saying that I could stay. I guess he consulted his lawyer or whatever and he learned really quick that I wasn't messing around.

While I can't argue with the legality of what you did, Neal, it sure seems like you were operating in bad faith. I would have been pretty pissed as a landlord if you'd pulled something like that on me, even if it was all legal.

OP, I hope you'll go about this with more transparency and honesty if you do decide to ask your landlord for an exception.

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Originally Posted by Neal

So I did and during the meeting I played the recording of our exact conversation and said either I'm keeping the snake and I'm staying there or I'll move and he can void the lease. He stated that he never gave me permission to record our conversation and I politely replied that I didn't care how he felt, that it was legal what I did. A week later I got a call saying that I could stay. I guess he consulted his lawyer or whatever and he learned really quick that I wasn't messing around.

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You might want to seek legal advice considering many states will hold this against YOU for illegally recording this conversation. ;)
You would be homeless here in Texas

Neal stated Louisianna is a single-consent state. So is New York. Recording the conversation was not illegal, and not in bad faith. It was a good idea, obviously. As far as leases go, I strongly recommend, when asking for an exception, that one also ask for the exception to be recorded on both copies of the lease. CYA.

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Originally Posted by Nellasaur

While I can't argue with the legality of what you did, Neal, it sure seems like you were operating in bad faith. I would have been pretty pissed as a landlord if you'd pulled something like that on me, even if it was all legal.

OP, I hope you'll go about this with more transparency and honesty if you do decide to ask your landlord for an exception.

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Sure, I wouldn't be happy about it either but I also work in a jail so I know from experience, when it's word vs word, that can go either way. If it's not documented then recording works just as fine. People lie, especially in larger corporations and businesses.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

You might want to seek legal advice considering many states will hold this against YOU for illegally recording this conversation. ;)
You would be homeless here in Texas

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Actually mate that's not true, and my cousin is a lawyer. :)

Louisiana Law:
Louisiana. Summary of statute(s): Louisiana's Electronic Surveillance Act bars the recording, interception, use or disclosure of any oral or telephonic communication by means of any mechanical or electronic device without the consent of at least one party to the conversation.

Texas Law:
Texas Wiretapping Law

Texas's wiretapping law is a "one-party consent" law. Texas makes it a crime to intercept or record any "wire, oral, or electronic communication" unless one party to the conversation consents. Texas Penal Code § 16.02. Therefore, if you operate in Texas, you may record a conversation or phone call if you are a party to the conversation or you get permission from one party to the conversation in advance. That said, if you intend to record conversations involving people located in more than one state, you should play it safe and get the consent of all parties.

Furthermore:
Eleven states require the consent of every party to a phone call or conversation in order to make the recording lawful. These "two-party consent" laws have been adopted in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.

So as long as you don't live in those states, as long as you're involved you can record without letting the other person know. You can't just walk up and record two people talking, you have to actually be involved in the conversation.

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Originally Posted by DLena

Neal stated Louisianna is a single-consent state. So is New York. Recording the conversation was not illegal, and not in bad faith. It was a good idea, obviously. As far as leases go, I strongly recommend, when asking for an exception, that one also ask for the exception to be recorded on both copies of the lease. CYA.

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Exactly, I did it to protect myself because I would rather have proof versus the word of a person when regarding anything financial situations or life situations.

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Originally Posted by DLena

Recording the conversation was not illegal, and not in bad faith.

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It's not the fact that he recorded the conversation that was in bad faith, it was the fact that he lied to his prospective landlord. Deliberately omitting the fact that the pet in question was a snake (not to mention that he already owned it) was misrepresenting the situation to get the affirmative he wanted, and that ain't cool, at least IMO.

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Originally Posted by Neal

People lie, especially in larger corporations and businesses.

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Yep, they sure do, don't they? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Neal

People lie, especially in larger corporations and businesses.

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Its nice to know your standing..... I personally hold myself AND my word to a higher level. SMH

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Originally Posted by Nellasaur

It's not the fact that he recorded the conversation that was in bad faith, it was the fact that he lied to his prospective landlord. Deliberately omitting the fact that the pet in question was a snake (not to mention that he already owned it) was misrepresenting the situation to get the affirmative he wanted, and that ain't cool, at least IMO.

I owned it but as I stated it was staying with a friend, so technically it was not actually in my possession IF you want to get technical. People have an absurd fear of snakes, so no I'm not going to come out and show my cards, I was vague until I got clarification that it was okay. He should of said no animals that can cause damage or disturb neighbors and no snakes if it was an issue. We can all look at this differently, just depends your take on it. As I said in a previous post, I don't leave my fate or my financial fate in anybody's hands but my own.

Yep, they sure do, don't they? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Its nice to know your standing..... I personally hold myself AND my word to a higher level. SMH

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When dealing with people the rental company that is in charge of many places that rent out, I know for a fact that place lies as I have friends who use them as well, so I'm not going to be forthcoming. It's not that I don't hold myself and my word on a higher level, I just like to level the playing field.

I live in New york, and even though we are a single consent state, i believe you still must inform the other party you are recording them. This gives them the right to not speak with you or allow the recording. I get a lot of phone calls where people tell me they will be recording the call for better customer service, and then when i tell them i am also recording this call for my own information and records, they will just hang up on me. I really don't care if its someone i really want to talk to, i don't bother, but its a great way to get rid of telemarketers, and they never call back. As far as keeping the snakes, I own my home, and still never tell anyone what animals are in my home, paranoid neighbors can be a pain, whether you rent or own.

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Originally Posted by blue roses

I live in New york, and even though we are a single consent state, i believe you still must inform the other party you are recording them. This gives them the right to not speak with you or allow the recording.

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This is incorrect. In a single-consent state, as long as YOU are a PART of the conversation (as Neal stated), you don't have to tell them anything. You are totally allowed to inform them that you are recording the call, but you have no obligation to pass along that info. California is a two consent state... so in CA, for example, if Neal had done the same thing, he would have been evicted... and when it "went to court", the judge would have told him that the recording was inadmissible because he didn't have the property manager's consent to record the conversation.

The reason that telemarketers and customer service people give that long spiel over the phone is because of states with a two party consent laws. When a manager is training someone in a call center, they tell them, "read this script to the person before you say ANYTHING to them....." and that is because they have no idea where they are calling 1/2 the time. Most call centers don't even "dial a number".... they are on headset speaking to someone, and after they end the call, a computer dials the next number automatically. They don't know if that number is Louisiana or California (a two party state).

OP
Don't try to hide the snake. It's much more of a hassle than you think, and not worth being evicted over later because you were afraid to ask (and get it in writing) before you moved in.

You do NOT want to be evicted. That is a legal action that will haunt you for years. Many LL's do background as well as credit checks. At the least, you will be asked about the eviction; at the worst, they won't even bother to ask...they will just pass you by.

What I like to do is ask if "other pets" are allowed (I don't ask about dogs/cats because I have a 81lb GSD so that's the first thing I look for anyway). Then, if they ask what pets, I just say something like "Aquarium and terrarium pets like fish, reptiles, rodents, and birds." I don't just say "small animal" but I try to specifically list REPTILE because "small animal" can be subjective. And if you get something like "small animal" allowed in your lease, but you have like an 8ft carpet python or a wide but short-length 4ft ball python that might not be considered small (especially against other smaller animals like a lovebird, green tree frog, hamster, betta fish, etc. even a ball python is still larger). At least that way "reptile" is mentioned in the middle and might be overlooked more as opposed to birds which are at the end (and can tend to be noisy and messy) or rodents (people just don't like the word rodent I think lol). :P If they ask for specifics, then I"ll say something like "a small snake in a secure enclosure with locks." If that doesn't work, I ask if they'd be willing to negotiate or work something out and try to inform them about how quite, calm, non-smelly, etc. ball pythons are.

I haven't though to offer a pet deposit for it, though, but I'll definitely remember that in the future! But yes, you definitely want it in the lease that you're allowed to have your snake. It's tough (I know, I've been looking for an apartment for three years), but it's not worth the stress or potential issues that could arrive in the future.

Also, quick side note that I saw someone post earlier. Slightly off topic, but a service dog is NOT the same thing as an ESA (emotional support animal). Service dogs don't require any documentation and are allowed in public areas (and apartments). They must have trained tasks. ESAs require documentation by a psychiatrist (or therapist, but I think it's psychiatrist... not 100% sure on that) are NOT allowed in public places, but they are allowed in apartments. ESAs do not have have any training.

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Service dogs don't require any documentation and are allowed in public areas (and apartments). They must have trained tasks. ESAs require documentation by a psychiatrist (or therapist, but I think it's psychiatrist... not 100% sure on that) are NOT allowed in public places, but they are allowed in apartments. ESAs do not have have any training.

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Service dogs actually do need documentation for housing (but not for public access to general places of business) Permanent housing laws fall under the fair housing act and has slightly different rules then the American disabilities act, one of which is tenant requiring documentation that their animal helps them mitigate a disbility. Usually a doctor's note will suffice.

Ah, I see, thank you for clarifying. I didn't know the FHA preceeded the ADA. I often here people saying SDs require documentation, typically in reference to public access such as restaurants, so I automatically assume that's usually what people refer to when they say SDs require documents.

i see a lot of good information here that will help me out a lot on my next move (which may be as soon as next march)

Thought I'd chirp in with a little tidbit.

For those in Ontario, Canada, the Residential Tenancies Act specifically states that any provision in a residential lease which prohibits pets is void.

Of course, you still have to look at the applicable bylaws (of your municipality, and even your condo). Most Ontario municipalities only prohibit venomous snakes and non-venomous snakes over 3 metres (10 feet) at adulthood.

Can you have a pet goldfish?

I would keep him amd just be hush about it. The lease is in regards to pets that will cause property damage. I.e. poop and pee on carpets etc...

Dont ask dont tell

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Originally Posted by sneakysnake611

Dont ask dont tell

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Don't cry when evicted..... :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Many landlords opt to simply put a "no pets/animals" clause into their lease, because they've been burned or know someone who was.

Pets/Animals can cause a LOT of very expensive damage. One cat can cause you having to remove most of the flooring, trim, even part of a wall. If that cat "sprays" there are no cleaners in this world who will truly eradicate the stink. You have to remove everything that has come into contact, down to the bare concrete or studs. Which have to be painted with a barrier, before replacing the wall/trim/carpet.

Dog pee isn't much lovelier and when they start chewing trim/doors/walls..well, you get the pictures. Fish tanks can cause enormous water damage. To that apartment and possibly some underneath of it.

Rodents stink and chew.

Etc etc etc.

Its just easier for a landlord to simply not allow pets then to go through that headache.

Now, all that said, there IS something you can try. Prepare your case. Print out a short but thorough information sheet on Ball Pythons as pets. One which goes over how small and harmless they stay. That there is no "mess". That they do not cause damage. How docile and shy they are.

Then add information about the steps YOU take to house is correctly, meaning NO ESCAPES POSSIBLE !!! Make a big point of that and then follow them as well. A landlord has to think of the other tenants as well. Can you imagine a snake being "lost" and other tenants throwing a fit and moving to hotels, etc ? Expecting the landlord to foot the bill? Those are the things the landlords worry about.

Add information about the feeding and cleaning. Present your case and paperwork.

Show how responsible you are.

End it with how much you are actually attached to this animal and that you are a very responsible owner/keeper.

Offer to show your setup and snake and how "its run".

Ask for an exception and mention that if none can be had, you will have to find another place. Make sure you let the landlord know that you do not want to put them on the spot, but you love your animal and want to do right by it.

Good luck!

I straight-up asked my landlord (before getting my snake) if it would be okay if I got a ball python. She actually has ball pythons herself and told me that as long as it's a non-venomous snake a deposit isn't required.

Being honest is so much less stressful than having to worry about being caught.

One thing a ball python CAN do damage wise if it gets out: get stuck somewhere, die, and start to stink. If you're in an apartment complex it might not even stay in your apartment. Depending on how the infrastructure is connected, your snake could get over into a neighbor's place and cause a panic. Not good!

I moved into my apartment a couple of years ago, and got my first snake right after that. The lease provided for cats and dogs, with extra fees of course. My apartment manager met one of my boys when I was out letting him play in the summer grass about 8 months after I moved in. She was not pleased. :rolleyes: I took the time to look up my local laws, so I can now quote the ordinances in my city: Chapter 15-1, Subsection 15-1.1 and 15-1.2e, which state that I am clearly allowed to own my animal within city limits because he is non-venomous. That quieted her down right away. Plus the maintenance guys and the apartment supervisor (one of the big boys from corporate) were just over here and they each wanted to hold my snakes.
I suggest knowing the ordinances in your city, and if the lease is vague, it's trouble. Almost all of my neighbors in my 24 unit building know about my boys, and they visit me when I bring them outside for grass time.

I moved into my apartment a couple of years ago, and got my first snake right after that. The lease provided for cats and dogs, with extra fees of course. My apartment manager met one of my boys when I was out letting him play in the summer grass about 8 months after I moved in. She was not pleased. :rolleyes: I took the time to look up my local laws, so I can now quote the ordinances in my city: Chapter 15-1, Subsection 15-1.1 and 15-1.2e, which state that I am clearly allowed to own my animal within city limits because he is non-venomous. That quieted her down right away. Plus the maintenance guys and the apartment supervisor (one of the big boys from corporate) were just over here and they each wanted to hold my snakes.
I suggest knowing the ordinances in your city, and if the lease is vague, it's trouble. Almost all of my neighbors in my 24 unit building know about my boys, and they visit me when I bring them outside for grass time.
How to prevent trouble:
#1 install plastic sweeps under the front door and bathroom door. Keep your bathroom door closed.
#2 find any heating or water holes and stuff them with generous amounts of steel wool.
Done. Now they can't get out through the wall or drains.

I know I'm triple posting, sorry I'm not great at navigating this website yet...
I saw a posting above my mailbox about a found snake in another apartment and my boys were both happily at home. Shortly after my door was knocked on two times by concerned neighbors and I showed them my happy boys.
I called Matt, the guy with the found snake to see if I could help! I asked how he found the snake and he said, "I woke up to go make my coffee, and there was a 3 foot snake in the middle of my kitchen!" I asked if he knew what type, and he said "Ball python, I think". I described markings, and he confirmed. I started laughing, and so did he. I asked if he lives with a female and he said no. Probably good in this situation. I offered to come over to check the snake and feed him, but he had friends that were coming to get him later that same day.
I thanked him for not just throwing it out like a pest, since it was Minnesota February, and he would have died right away. He said, "Of course, it scared me, but he seems to be a nice little animal, and my friends are excited!"
I did ask him not to tell the apt manager, just to keep me out of trouble. He said "no problem".

My case was very funny, I asked the LL if he would be ok if I kept a snake?

[emoji15]His eyes went the size of my fist and his lips turned white, and slowly said "I have a profound panic for snakes" hahaha!!! [emoji23]

I told him it was ok, I could wait to get her a couple of months when the architect delivered my own house. And he said no no, please, I have a dog and I know I told you this was a pet friendly house, so if that's your pet then you are ought to have it, it's just that I am terrified by them. But just please don't show it to me.

LOL! He is such a nice person, I can't believe he overcame his fears to keep his word about "pet friendly house"


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