Pets and The City

Few issues are as personal to New York residents as are pets. We've all heard about "pet friendly" buildings, which, obviously are coops, condos and rental buildings which welcome pets ( or at least, tolerate them ).

As an attorney representing a variety of coops, both large and small, I've consulted with some buildings which have decided to tighten or eliminate their "pet-friendly" policies and I've consulted with others pursuing a liberalization of their pet, or no pet policies.

I believe that a coop or condo is well advised to be "pet-friendly". It's simply a numbers issue. If a building rejects pets, the numbers of potential purchasers interested in that building is reduced. If there are less potential purchasers, the values of the units in the building are arguably reduced. The more buyers in the "pool", the more value in the unit.

Some would argue that pets present issues of damage to the building or liability for personal injuries (dog bites). I believe this can be adequately addressed by requiring pet owners to have liability insurance. As a matter of fact, I believe coops and condos are well advised to require all owners to have coop or condo owners insurance policies.

Since pets are the issue of the moment, this would be a good time to mention a little-known NY City law, known as the "pet law", actually found in the Administrative Code which provides that in a multiple dwelling (3 or more residential units), even if a lease, proprietary or conventional rental, prohibits pets, if a pet is kept "openly and notoriously" for 90 days, the no-pet provision is waived and unenforceable! A gray area exists as to what then happens when that particular pet dies. Has the no-pet clause been waived for good? Or only for that particular pet? Different courts have issued different opinions.

Another controversy exists regarding people with disabilities whose pets are
covered by Federal Laws as well as local laws. Obviously, guide dogs, hearing dogs or service dogs are protected. The issue becomes more interesting when one considers other animals considered "medically necessary". Perhaps someone suffering from depression could successfully argue that a companion animal is medically necessary. The answer here probably depends on the individual circumstances and the particular court or judge.

One final pet-related note:

Few people can claim to love animals more than Lisa Toscano.
Lisa has created Pup Hollywood, which goes so far beyond pet grooming. Lisa has actually created a pet dating service (match.com?) which is getting lots of attention. Visit her at www.puphollywood.com