My land lord says get rid of tank!

[GreenUku]

Our land lord came by today to looks at some ceiling leaks due to snow and saw my tank for the first time. She now says that I have to get rid of it, because we didn't tell her about it before we moved in.

My system is a 15 gallon display and a 10 gallon refugium. I'm thinking about asking to pay an additional deposit.

Any ideas what I should do??

Ugh.

 

[Violet]

what is the reason she wants you to get rid of it other than not telling her about it?

 

[GreenUku]

Well I haven't talked to her again about it, but she said I need to get rid of it because "we hadn't talked about it" and she doesn't want to "be held liable if something drips into the tank and kills the fish"...

Right now I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to tell her. As far as she's concerned, it's just a tank with a couple fish. She has now idea about the ridiculous amount of effort and money we put into these things...

 

[Violet]

Not sure about NM law but in MS she wouldn't be responsible or liable for your tank anyway. the contents of your home are not covered unless you have renters insurance but to my knowledge, there are not any insurance companies that will cover your fish, they will however cover the tank and equip. Maybe she would let you sign a release of liablity in case something did happen, even though it wouldn't matter, maybe it would make her feel better.

 

[rdarlington]

You're probably out of luck. Try to work it out with the landlord, get renters insurance to show him/her there is nothing for her to worry about, etc. You are in violation of your lease agreement by the sounds of it. Are you month to month? Ask to sign a new lease. If not, you have no legal leg to stand on if the lease says no pets. You're in violation of a simple contract, eligible for eviction.

Again, try to work it out with the landlord. Let her draft a new contract stating that she and her property can in no way be held liable for the damage done to your aquarium and aquarium contents.

 

[GreenUku]

Actually our lease agreement says nothing about pets. We have a dog for which we paid a deposit. I've never had a land lord problem with an aquarium before (especially since my tanks are small)...

It doesn't seem that having an aquarium violates any of the terms of the lease, ie. it's not dangerous, illegal, etc.

We have renters insurance and we wrote out a letter stating that we wouldn't hold her liable if something happens to the tank.

I guess we'll see what happens. If anyone has any experience along these lines, it would be appreciated.

 

[israelnajar]

My sister-in-law was a landlady for around 10 years and many people asked about fish as pets, and wouldnt you know it...fish were not considered as pets. I dont know if that really helps you out.

Also if it says nothing about pets in general in your lease agreement then that would leave me to believe that you do not have to tear down your system.

Are you bottom floor, in an apartment, house, is the tank on a load bearing wall? Your tank is covered right?

 

[waif]

If there is nothing in your lease that says no aquariums then she cannot do anything. If however it says no aquariums then it's your problem. I lived on a 3rd floor apartment a long time ago and needed to buy aquarium insurance from my insurance provider. I had 3 million liability, after all 180 will flood everyone below me, ground floor you could get away with 200000 or so....I'd look into insurance for the tank to be safe. Mind you I do live in canada and well the laws are not so ...up here, people are less likely to sue just because they can.

 

[rdarlington]

Unless explicitly removed from a standard / boilerplate rental agreement, it will state no pets. I'm under the impression that's the case based on what was already stated about the landlord taking issue with pets. Waif is probably right if the rental agreement makes no statement about pets, however it's extremely unlikely that this is the case. Best of luck! I'll be happy to take the tank off your hands if need be!

 

[israelnajar]

So if he pays a pet deposit for his dog in the 'no pets agreement' then the current deposit should cover his tank, if not then another deposit should be in order.

 

[rdarlington]

Generally, each pet must be listed. Our house lists multiple fish tanks (I guess each body of water counts as a pet?), 2 ferrets and 2 cats. I can't add a pet without having it added to the lease.

Also, a leaky dog can be cleaned up pretty easily. A leaky tank will make wooden floors buckle and cause major damage to a house if not spotted right away.

 

[GreenUku]

I can't find anything in the lease agreement about pets, though most leases I've signed before have explicitely said no pets, unless agreed upon (or something along those lines).

I think I'll probably go the route of just saying "it's not in the lease agreement"...

My aquarium is on the first floor of a house (no basement).

In the very short comments she made about the aquarium, she seemed more concerned that she might damage my tank than my tank damaging the house.

Hopefully I'll get this figured out soon.

Regardless, we'll be moving out in July (hello new, bigger tank!).

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Mrs_Witchdoctor]

Anything from the building itself killing the tank I agree would be your risk; maybe you could offer to sign an addendum stating that she is not liable for anything that may happen to your tank while you live there - Food for thought while you wait out the last couple months on your lease. Also our landlord says as long as we carry renters insurance we're fine. Maybe you could assure her that you have taken care of her risk also in hopes of working things out.

Hope you don't have to tear it down so close to moving out...... J

 

[skyfireblaze]

Just wanted to say good luck!

Your situation made me think about when we first moved to ABQ. We were renting a house, and my wife called and asked the rental agency if we could keep a fish tank even though the contract said no pets. They just told us that as long as we knew we'd be responsible for any damage it was fine with them.

Well, about 6 months later the landlord (or at least the lady in charge of managing the property) came over for a "surprise" visit, you know, just to make sure we were doing okay. We thought her eyes were going to pop when she first saw the 135g tank sitting in our living room. It took her a few moments to regain her composure. Apparently she had thought we were talking about a 10g goldfish setup. Still, she never said anything to us about it ...

Anyways, good luck and I hope you get it worked out ...

 

[GreenUku]

Update

Update

Here's the latest on my tank/landlord situation.

We sent our landlord a letter, basically saying that we were keeping the tank, because it was not prohibited in the lease agreement. We also said that our insurance would cover any floor damage, etc. and that we were releasing her from any liability of damage she might accidentally cause the tank.

We talked to her last weekend and she still wanted us to get rid of it, because she didn't think our insurance would cover damage. I told her I thought it would and she said she'd only by happy with documentation from the company... After that I called our insurance company, gave them the situation, and they said any damage caused by the tank should be covered.

So now we sent her a copy of our coverage policy and hopefully that is that.

I'll let you now if the saga has any more chapters....

 

[Violet]

sounds like you covered your bases well, i hope that is sufficient for her! If she is that uptight about a tank, I hope your dog is totally potty trained! Good luck maybe you can hang in there til July.

 

[zombiedust]

She does not deserve tenants as good as you and I hope the next people build a pig roasting pit in the floor of the living room to prove it ! LOL Good luck GreenUku.........Len

 

[scoutmaniak]

I agree!! Most people would have just ran the tank behind her back. Not many people would care enough to take the time to make sure everything was covered. Im glade to hear you took this the right way!! Good luck, and hope you get to keep it.

Michael