Nothing turns you into a secret agent quite like trying to hide a pet from your landlord.

You suddenly develop a very particular set of skills—like claiming the barking in the background is just a noisy TV, disguising a litter box with a few well-placed plants, or transforming a terrarium into a “decorative storage box” with one dramatic flick of a tablecloth. Honestly, there’s no limit to what people will do to protect their furry, feathery, or scaly friend.

But even the best undercover ops can fail. These Redditors got caught and didn’t hold back in telling the tale. Scroll down to read their funniest and most chaotic stories.

#1

Had an apartment ina pet free building. Then one of the units caught fire. When the landlord arrived, everyone was outside with their dogs, cats, birds and the fire department was inside still looking for a pet skunk that had escaped. That was a fun morning. Landlord just left. No one got in trouble for their pets. And yes, the skunk was saved!

Image credits: silver_feather2

#2

We were looking at an apartment and realized they didn’t take pets. At all. The owner really liked us; newly married, very polite. She asked if we had a picture of her. It was 1991, but I had a few wedding pictures and a couple of photos of Sammy in my purse.

She said, “She looks very small. Must be a miniature Siamese.”

I was like, “No, just cat sized.”

She said, “I’m CERTAIN she’s a miniature. I COULD ALLOW a miniature.”

So our lease says, Miniature Siamese, and she didn’t ask us to pay any extra.

And that was what it was like in the olden days, kids!

Image credits: BlackLakeBlueFish

#3

My parents hid a cat from their landlord in their first apartment, which had a no-pets policy. The cat insisted on sleeping in a window where everyone could see her. Obviously the landlord found out but he never said anything about it other than “that’s a pretty cat you’ve got there!”.

Image credits: areyoukiddingmern

#4

My cats all look alike, so my landlord only knows about two; there are four. They sit in the windows, never all at once, so I can't deny I have them. I also have some life-size cat statues on my windowsills, so it looks like I have more."

"Management has checked but never saw my real cats, only the fakes, and they commented on how real they look.

Image credits: Blissful_Doll

#5

I said I’ve never seen that cat before… how did it get in to my house? He was a stray and he did just show up in my house one day. No litter box, he had a way in and out. He mostly hung out in the enclosed porch. 

RIP Gus Chiggins .

Image credits: Mountain___Goat

#6

My landlord found my hamster when getting the apartment master keys that i found on the floor from one of them employees. I found it at night and took the keys. Then first thing in the morning i called them. They wanted the keys asap to where they wanted to enter my apartment when I was at work. They saw the hamster and said nothing as I saved them $1000s from having to change locks.

Image credits: Moeman101

#7

We had actually signed a 'pet addendum' that the agent gave us and paid an additional 'pet deposit'. Turns out the landlord had no knowledge of this, didn't give the go ahead for an addendum to be created, and didn't allow pets at all. Fortunately we had copies (and copies of the emails the agent sent us with the document attached). They asked us for proof of all vaccinations & parasitics from the vet (per the fake 'addendum') or threatened to take the whole pet deposit. We provided the documents and they didn't take any of the 'pet deposit'. Guess the agent screwed up royally but it was a good lesson to learn - keep absolutely everything, even if you don't think it's necessary.

Image credits: Jager_Candy

#8

At one apartment we lived at you could have cats but not dogs. I had a very large black cat. One day I was bringing him home from the vet and carried him in my arms. The property manager saw me and when I went back out to my car to get his carrier and my purse the property manager told me I wasn't allowed to have dogs. When I told him I didn't have any dogs he asked about the black dog he just saw me carrying. I laughed and told him that was my cat and he could come see if he wanted. He told me it was alright he believed me. Weeks later the property manager saw me and told him he saw my cat on the balcony one day and it was one of the biggest cats he had ever seen.

Image credits: BiscottiLeading

#9

I lived in a small basement apartment and rescued a sick, elderly cat. He wasn't capable of jumping up into the windowsills so I didn't have to worry about that. I came home one night around 3 am and caught the building supervisor (lived across the hall from me) taking out trash and there was a cat standing in the doorway. We both froze for a moment and then I told him I'd keep quiet about his secret cat if he would let me hide mine during inspections and he agreed.

Now we have a couple of nearly identical cats so they get merged into a single pet on applications. My spouse and I have started collecting letters about our cleanliness as pet owners whenever we move to give to the next landlord and so far it's worked out well.

Image credits: kestrel63

#10

I had an illegal cat when living in a student room. Pets weren't allowed but hell if I was to live without a cat. One of my friends lived in the same house and had cats as well, she told me the landlord hardly ever came round, so took my chances. Had an awesome time with my little cat, she helped me not be lonely (first time on my own). But of course, after about a year, the landlord came by unexpectedly and she greeted him happily. Sigh. He told me she had to go. I was so upset, didn't know what to do. And even though I was already an adult, my father called the landlord and managed to convince the man to let me keep her for the remaining 8 months I'd be living there (there was a fixed moment since I had to go study abroad and would move out). Always loved my dad for it. And of course the landlord was awesome for allowing it. Bought him a big bottle of expensive booze as a thank you.
The cat sadly died last year, she was 16 and had always stayed my little girl. She hated most people but loved my now husband. Loved her and still miss her.

Image credits: Sidnearyan

#11

My landlord in college allowed caged pets but had a "no zoo animals" policy. He tried to evict me over the fact that I own a snake. Ended up getting student legal services involved, they argued that "no zoo animals" is absurdly vague and that because I am not a zoo, my snake is not a zoo animal.

Image credits: daabilge

#12

Not the "Landlord" but the oldest resident of the trailer park was running the property for them. We have a Chihuahua and Pug. When she met them she said, "Don't worry about it. I don't pay it either." Then we met her 6 chihuahua's!

Image credits: Curtofthehorde

#13

I had a friendly stray cat - probably a pet someone dumped - who decided to move into my place when I was renting while in grad school. The landlord was very hands off and very rarely came around, but after I'd had this cat for months, he did stop in because my AC was broken.

I'd planned on making sure the cat was outside when the landlord was going to come by, but then he just popped up unannounced. Because it was hot as hell inside my house, I'd opened my doors for air circulation. Landlord walks in and sees the cat lounging on my living room floor, and he was like "oh I didn't know you had a cat." I looked that man dead in the eye and said "I don't know that cat." Idk if he believed me or not, but he shrugged and nothing more was said about it. The cat and I continued living there for like three more years.

Image credits: SisterShiningRailGun

#14

I had a landlord try that stunt on me! I told him about my cat and even had the cat’s name included on the lease. Landlord met the cat many times and the property manager had a picture of my cat on her office wall. I moved out after 4 years and my landlord said to me during our final walkthrough “Well, we still have to settle the issue with the cat. You never told me you had one so you owe me 4 years of pet rent.” I was stunned!! He pulled out a fake lease that said I had no pets and if I wanted one, it was $50 a month. Luckily, I still had all my paper files with me and pulled out my copy, signed by both of us, with the cat’s name on it.

Image credits: batai2368

#15

My roommate had a fluffy orange cat already, and about two months into living together I adopted a old man tuxedo kitty from the shelter. I don’t know why I never mentioned it to the landlady, she was a wacky hippie type who lived an hour away and almost never came to the apartment. But eventually, my roommate broke the lease and moved out of state, and I stayed til the end of the lease. When the landlady came by for the final check when I was moving out, she looked at my black and white cat and said “Huh, I could’ve sworn your cat was orange! Guess I gotta slow down on the pot.” I did not correct her lol.

#16

They never found out.

Also, they had the audacity to have people donate to local shelter to win a free month rent, when none of their apartments allow pets, and they own almost all of the apartments in the entire town, meaning no-one with pets can rent in my town, and no-one renting can actually adopt from the shelter.

F**k them.

Image credits: GrandMoffTarkles

#17

Oooh, I had a good one happen. It was my first apartment, and my gf’s friend dumped a kitten on me as a birthday present because she’d heard me talking about getting a cat and found a box of them on the side of the road. (I loved that cat, but don’t do this kids.)

It took six months before the property manager managed to catch sight of the cat in the window while walking the property. I got an email asking about it, I lied and said I just got the cat and hadn’t had a chance to notify them yet, they said cool the pet deposit is $200. So I cut them a check and dropped it off at the office, expecting that to be that.

Two weeks later, I get a knock at the door. It’s the property manager with a pet gift basket, telling me that my cat was the reason they caught an employee embezzling tens of thousands of dollars - the off-cycle check knocked over the precarious tower of cards one of the receptionists had been maintaining, and it all came tumbling down. Kitty got lots of treats that night lol.

#18

Evicted.

Image credits: too_many_shoes14

#19

When my building’s super found out we had cats, she started coming into my apartment without notice to bring them gifts! I came home one day, and my cat had a little bandanna collar on. He never wears a collar. I don’t buy him toys with bells because he’ll never let me sleep again, so where did this jingle ball come from? It was the super.

In my city, the law was that if anyone from management knew we had pets and they did nothing for like ninety days they couldn’t enforce the no pets clause anymore, so I said nothing and let her do her thing.

#20

Kinda the opposite, but a fun story:

I was touring an apartment and on the screening call they asked if I had any pets. I was honest and said that I was a teacher and I have a guinea pig class pet. The school turns off the heat at night, so he comes home with me each day. No problem with that.

I get there for the tour and everyone in the leasing office is looking at me weirdly, including the person I was meeting with, who was a parent in the classroom next door. She asks me about pets and seems apprehensive, and I tell her it’s just Jigsaw the guinea pig that her son is obsessed with. She gets this moment of realization, cracks up, and excuses herself.

I then hear her in the back room of the office saying “guys! It’s not a pot bellied pig, it’s a GUINEA PIG!” Yeah, whoever did the phone screening only wrote “pig” on the form and they thought I was bringing an animal right off the farm. The leases didn’t specify no farm animals, so they would have accepted me with a farm pig, but alas, I just had my dumb-as-rocks piglet.

When she returned, she tore up the pet paperwork, waived all fees, thanked me for giving the leasing office some excitement, and made me promise to let her know if I ever decided to upgrade to a larger pig variety.

Edit: yes, I know guinea pigs should be in pairs. Jigsaw had a brother at my parents house and my mom and I taught at the same school, so they were together daily. Different ages and couldn’t be in the same cage, but spent most time cage-to-cage. We always had solo pigs growing up, but learned our lesson when I moved out and never had solo pigs after that.

#21

My landlord found out when a repair guy saw my dog’s bed during a routine check. I tried playing it off as if I was just pet-sitting, but the landlord didn’t buy it. They ended up charging me a pet deposit retroactively, which was better than getting kicked out.

Image credits: ChicSirena

#22

I had a hamster in military barracks. I stole his wheel because it squeaked when we had room inspections and hid the cage under my sink (only during inspections, outside of that he has a wheel and sun!) I was overseas so he was already old when I adopted him (families can basically drop off unwanted pets at the vet there for other families coming in to adopt as they come in) but he died before I was caught. We had a funeral for him and I painted a tea box black and we snuck out behind the laundry room and buried him under the cover of night and a friend sang a little song. RIP Sybil!!

I got a ferret next but I left and gave him away before I was caught. Word got around I was getting away with it and this d*****s got a cat and did get caught. Standard military paperwork for being in trouble and had to get rid of the cat.

Image credits: MyCoolUsername12345

#23

We originally wanted to get a dog, but our landlord declined due to dogs being “noisy.” So we got our cat but didn’t let him know.

Later on, there was a mouse problem in the apartment building. An exterminator came in with our landlord to look around and ask if we’ve seen any mice. We hadn’t and the exterminator didn’t find any proof that the mice had entered our apt. The exterminator saw our cat tree, pointed to it and went “this is why they’re the only ones with no mice!” My landlord looked at us, at the cat tree, then went “I guess that worked out, huh?”

We got lucky that our cat potentially saved him money lol. His wife met our cat recently and our cat made sure to get in her good graces too.
(Edit: sp).

Image credits: mirabandida

#24

My first apartment alone was a lonely period and I wanted a cat. I turned in the monthly rent check and asked the manager about the policy. She told me technically there was a "no pets" policy, but also then told me where several local shelters were and that she wouldn't tell if I didn't. That cat was my best friend and the only reason I made it through that period of my life.

#25

This is how I got my chihuahua. The lady a few apartments down had this puppy that she wasn’t able to keep because she hadn’t paid the pet deposit and couldn’t afford to. I don’t remember what exactly the landlord said they’d do if she didn’t get rid of the dog or pay the pet rent, but I’m sure it was harsh. Anyway one day my girlfriend at the time and I were going back to my place, we’d just parked and were walking towards the building and here comes this tiny little chihuahua puppy running towards us. My girlfriend leans down to greet her and she jumps into her hands, so she scoops her up and we start heading towards my neighbor who was chasing her dog down. A few nights later the same thing happens to me and as I’m handing the puppy back to my neighbor she tells me what’s going on and how her toddler is too rough with her anyway and asks if I’d want to buy her since she clearly likes us so much. So I paid her and took the dog home the next night, and put her on the lease asap. We still have her, she’s been the best little dog I’ve ever had, and my girlfriend is my wife now. The puppy is now a spoiled little 12 year old and is in very good health for her age, we hope to keep her around as long as we can.

#26

In Ontario Canada landlords can refuse to rent to a new tenant with pets. But as soon as a tenant has moved in there is nothing a landlord can do to stop the tenant from getting pets.

#27

My parents hid my cat from the landlord in 3rd grade and then I had to get rid of her which sucked because I started kindergarten with that cat.

Image credits: slightlyinsanitied

#28

As a landlord I’ve had it happen to me twice. 

First time, they hid a dog from me. Came over to fix something and saw the pup. They said it was a friends dog that they were pet sitting. 6 months later came over for something, same dog. 
I told them I didn’t care as long as it’s had its shots and they give a $300 pet deposit. 

Second time they told me they had a cat when they moved in. Found a second cat locked in the basement. Told them it was a $300 flat deposit, not per pet. 

The most recent tenant had a dog that they told me about. It destroyed a door when it accidentally locked itself in a room. :/. Then I got the carpets cleaned and the cleaning guy said he found a lot of dog pee in one room - but I suspect that was the dog from the first paragraph. 

I really don’t care as long as people don’t lie to me about it and I find out about it. That just breaks my trust and makes me wonder what else they’re hiding. .

#29

Not my story, but my fiancé's friend: He and his now ex gf had 5 cats, 2 ferrets and over 10 guinea pigs in their apartment. They started off with a couple cats, snuck them in. Collection of animals grew over time. They lived there for a good few years.. eventually, people began to complain of the smells and noises they heard. Whenever there was an inspection. they'd know ahead of time so they would go bring the animals to a family members house or whatever. One day, landlord got enough complaints so he went to check out the apartment unplanned. Did not call them. Found the animals, gave them a hefty fine and kicked them out rightfully so. That apartment just reeked. it was horrible.

#30

I never hid pets myself, but I worked in a nebulous leasing / maintenance role during college and had a couple run ins with unfriendly dogs that were not supposed to be in an apartment. Nothing like having a large dog appear out of nowhere to bark at you when you're just there to update the fire extinguisher.

We also had people abandon pets we didn't know were there a number of times and that was always horrible to varying degrees. There were a couple times we found really starved animals and didn't know if they were neglected before or if the people bailed and didn't tell us.

#31

Not mine but my two of roommates had a dog each when I was in college. We had been having sink/garbage disposal issues and had submitted a work order for it, and the maintenance guy ended up coming over when everyone was out. Both of the dogs were in their cages, but only one barked when they heard him come in. This scared the other dog? Or something because he ended up painting the wall behind his cage in brown. Maintenance guy heard this, goes to check it out, and finds the poor dog as well as the wall covered in poop. That was a crazy situation to go back home to now that I think about it.

#32

Rented a no-pets apartment but hid my cat for about six months. One day, my landlord randomly showed up for an inspection, and my cat walked right up to him. I thought I was screwed, but he just said, “I hope she doesn’t cause any trouble” and let it slide. Got lucky though—some people do get hit with eviction or fees. It's definitely a gamble.

#33

College apartment complex. My d*****s roommate found a cat on the side of the street and decided to adopt it (even though I was allergic to it). It scratched up the 2 couches and walls in the main shared space.

The way the apartment found out is she cut a square in the window blinds for the cat to look out - on the first floor. An apartment employee walked by and saw the cat sitting in the window. Ended up costing her ~$4k in fines and replacement couches.

#34

I got evicted. I had a 6 month old cat I wasn’t supposed to, and she got in the windowsill one day when I was at work. They said their policy was due to their maintenance man having severe allergies, but they had another building I could move into that did allow pets. Additional bedroom, sun porch, dishwasher, and central air for only $100 more in rent, which I was fine with. Moved to the new place, no problem. But? SAME maintenance man with the supposed several allergies 🤔.

#35

My downstairs neighbours had a cat. They didn't tell the rental company that manages the apartments. But they got found out because the cat would often sit in the window and was spotted by a staff member of the agency who was there to check on the state of the bins out the back (specifically those belonging to that apartment as they had repeatedly failed to keep up with bin collection dates for weeks at a time and several of us - residents, the shop downstairs and neighbouring properties- had complained).

The cat was the last straw. They were messy and had trashed the communal area at the back of the property. He literally dismantled his and his friends cars in the parking area and left everything lying around (tools, car parts etc) for months on end. He'd rev his engine at 5am for 20 minutes before roaring off to work. The cat was an indoor cat, which is fine...if you're cleaning up the litter tray regularly. He and his girlfriend were not. So the cat would p**s and s**t all over the apartment. You could smell the ammonia in the corridor.

I know that they paid a refundable deposit on the apartment equivalent to one month's rent (£500 at the time of moving in). They did not see a penny of that returned to them because the apartment had to be fumigated, repainted and re-carpeted due to the cat s**t, p**s and oil from him dicking about with his car. I don't think they vacuumed more than twice in the year and a half they were there. They nearly set their kitchen on fire twice. And they were forever leaving the communal entrance door unlocked which led to randoms walking into the building on several occasions. I wouldn't have had any problem with them having a pet if they actually bothered to look after it (and the property).

Nice quiet Hungarian father and son living there now. Never hear anything from their apartment.

#36

My landlord came in to the apartment one day to talk about something (can't remember what). The cat I'd gotten about 3 months prior jumped in through the window and started winding in between the landlord's legs, purring like a tractor.

The landlord looked down and then looked at me. I looked at him, dead in the eyes. Then we both just maintained a weird amount of eye contact while we finished the conversation and he left, and we never spoke of it again. When I moved out the landlord returned more than my original deposit (assuming accidentally). I think he just liked having an easy, generally trouble-free tenant and chose to let it slide.

#37

Got dobbed in by the people living behind us because my cat would sit in the window and watch them walk by every day. I told the property manager I was pet sitting for my parents and then kept the blinds down for a couple of months. Then emailed the PM again and told them my parents were permanently moving overseas and I needed to take in their cat because she had nowhere else to go.

I’m sure they would’ve seen straight through the lie but luckily the laws around renting with pets in my state were due to change in a few months anyway so we got approved.

#38

Found a cat while renting a pet free apartment, kept him.

Landlord came over for some weird reason but he saw the cat. I just said i was cat sitting. That was it

Years later my now wife and i moved into a pet friendly place together and let the landlord know we had a small parrot (green quaker), she was fine with it and we didn't need to pay anything additional for the bird. About 6mo later she called and asked if we had a bird, told her, "ya, you met her". She then went on a on about how she never met this bird, didn't know we had a bird, and that their were notice complaints (this bird is weirdly silent...always has been). We just rolled our eyes and rehomed our bird my mother-in-laws house for a year till we could move.

#39

My parents had a "no pet" clause for the tenat that lived in the downstairs apartment of our house. His daughter left her toy poodle for him to watch for a few days and my dad saw him. According to my mother and the tenant (who was an amazing person) my father got down on the ground with the dog saying "oh whose a good boy, it's you!"

The dog was allowed to visit anytime.

#40

Yup. Yo the point that when that a*****e (the cat) knocked a statue in the toilet I paid to have it replaced (it was lodged in the U bend).

Years later I was at my landlords house and noticed their kitties so I asked if pets were allowed.

What kind? They ask.

Kitties I say

Sure no problem. They respond.

Cool how much is the pet deposit (fully knowing he's already damaged carpet from a roommate locking him in the closet)

Kitties? No deposit they say.

Now I've 4 and they're known by the landlord who doesn't care.

#41

Nothing happened at all because he found out by sneaking into my flat when I wasn’t home, so he then couldn’t reveal he knew I had a pet without also admitting he was trespassing. Moved out a few months later with no consequences of any kind.

#42

I declared 2 cats when I moved in and paid an extra coupla hundred deposit that was noted as non refundable to get the carpets cleaned when we left. A year or so later, I got a third cat and successfully hid it through two years of inspections/maintenance call outs.

When the time came to move out, I didn't bother hiding the third during the viewings (not that I think they noticed). I got my full deposit back, including the extra pet fee in the end too!

It was still pretty stressful and I wouldn't recommend it, even though they knew about two thirds of the clowder 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈.

#43

15ish years ago - I had a dog and 2 cats. I couldn’t hide the dog so I paid the pet fee for him but omitted my cats since it was a per pet fee. My landlord was good about telling us when he was coming over so I would hide my cats and their litter box in my closet on the rare occasion he did stop over.
One day I was at work and got a call from my landlord that a cat “fell from the ceiling into the downstairs apartment shower” while the tenant was in it!
I went home to retrieve the cat and found that she went into my roommates closet that was on the back side of our shower and also had the access panel to the plumbing. It was moved slightly so my cat went on an adventure under our tub and fell through the drop ceiling causing quite the panic to my downstairs neighbor!
Needless to say he was not happy but I made up a story that a friend of mine had to move and couldn’t take the cat so I offered to take it 😬.

#44

When i moved in, i had one cat and gave the office paperwork for him. i ended up getting a couple more without telling them and it was fine for a year until a maintenance man snitched and the office sent me a letter saying i had an unauthorized pet. i went up there and said i had paperwork but they said they lost it. because i was moving within the next two months, they just told me to not worry about it and now i have 6 cats and my landlord loves them and has offered to give me more.

#45

Landlord here.

We had a tenant that paid the pet charge for *one* dog. We had it in the lease that *one* dog was allowed. It's a small house, small yard. It's reasonable.

They got another dog who looked almost exactly like the first one. They walked the dogs in the neighborhood, so the neighbors knew there were two dogs. Our other tenant asked if the leases were updated to allow more than one dog because tenant 1 had two dogs now.

We asked tenant 1 if they had more than one dog. They denied it. We scheduled a home inspection and gave them the legally required notice (48 hours in our location). They hid the second dog evidence and they had the second dog off the property.

A few weeks later, we happened to be in the neighborhood and they were walking the dogs. We stopped to talk. I wasn't pleased about the deception, but my husband was lenient and upped the rent and additional pet charge (they were smaller dogs).

The issue with tenants hiding pets is a few things:

1. If they are hiding pets, are they hiding other things/people.

2. The landlord needs to know the occupancy and about pets because if there is an accident or the pet causes damage to the property or bites someone, there are liability issues that the landlord can be brought into a legal situation.

3. Statistically, the more pets, the more chances of property damage/degradation and the need to replace/repair things.

My family has dogs/pets. We love pets, but we also know from decades of experience with renters that not all people think about how pets can affect property values.

#46

Landlord here: I said, “keep this text. I’m not charging you a pet deposit for your sweet girlfriend’s wonderful dog and I’m not activating the $100/day unpermitted pet fee. The dog is great.” It was a great dog and a great tenant. He had no idea there was a “pets admitted on a case by case basis” in the lease he signed.

#47

As someone with non-conventional pets (currently rats, but I also like rabbits, pigeons, and ball pythons), it absolutely is worth it to me. Just know if you get caught, there’s no one to blame but yourself. It also helps that I do have a back-up plan and am very a**l about hiding absolutely everything when repairman comes around. If I do get caught, my pets are not going to end up in a shelter somewhere. Yes, it’s a hassle at the same time. 

Back when I got my rats and was looking for places, I did start out disclosing them. Quickly learned to shut up - one place quoted me the same $500 pet fee as dogs/cats - and that’s if they even allow non-dogs/cats in the first place. 

“3 pEt LiMiT and nOthIng over 50 pounds” - please, even for 6 rats living in a single cage? 

Part of the fire is also the stigma and ignorance. Yes you can have a phobia of rats and snakes and tarantulas, but what are the chances they are going to hop out the tank and attack you? It doesn’t make sense to me to allow dogs and cats to walk all over the carpet and shed everywhere and bark at 6am and spray in corners and chew on walls, and then turn around and say that a hamster or gecko is going to cause just as much damage. 

I understand both sides. It takes just one bad pet owner to let their pet go wild, and ruin it for everyone else. But it’s been such a headache to find apartments with what I’ve got that this is the choice I’ve made. I can’t afford a house man. .

#48

Got caught when I got a 2nd cat. Manager said I could keep him as long as nobody complained. I moved about 6 months later.

#49

First, don't do this. It isn't worth the hassle and when your landlord does find out you'll be in a real bind. Unless you intend to be homeless, you'll have to move overnight or give up your pet. You'll also be on the hook for big $ cleaning fees in addition to losing your deposit.

I haven't specifically defied my lease and owned an "under the table" pet. I did used to bring my dog to my girlfriend's apartment quite often. Dogs were allowed, she had her own dog, we kept things very discreet and never bothered other tenants whatsoever.

The landlord still caught wind and basically said "never again or get evicted." We never considered that the maintenance guy had to come through eventually and it's unfortunately his job to deal with the mess if an unaccounted pet destroys the place, so it's gonna be reported. You'd also be surprised how much your neighbors will snoop and report anything they don't like. People love rules and hate to see others pulling a fast one to earn an advantage they don't get.

#50

I typically own two cats at a time, only one is ever on the lease. Without fail, I always find a duo where one is a window sitter and one is very much not. Now I have one kitty and I tried hiding her because she's never been a window sitter. Apparently she likes window sitting now that her brother is gone. She was also extremely unfriendly before he died but loves guests now. The landlord met her on accident. Between "she's 16 and never peed outside the litter box" and "idk what's going on, she normally loathes guests" while shes rubbing all over him, he had no issue with her.

#51

Put our cat in the bathroom while the landlord came over and she somehow got out and was sitting on the top of the couch directly in front of the door, thankfully landlord found it funny and said she didn't care bc it wasn't her rules.

#52

Landlord (of half a duplex) here. Tenant adopted a dog without letting me know. He was 6 weeks behind on rent, so I told him that it was unacceptable to adopt a dog if he was behind. I used this as a catalyst to take him to court for eviction. He died before the court date and it turned out he stole the dog from his ex. She broke into his side of the house to steal the dog after he died. His son subsequently looted the house of anything of value and refused to pay any back rent or subsequent rents of the lease he was supposed to be the successor of. I cleaned the apartment of dead man furniture and dog s**t for about 16 hours straight the following weekend, and rerented it in time for the next month. Horrible.

On another note, my current tenant had a surprise lizard and ferret, but he pays on time and is generally respectful so its all good.

#53

My mum adopted 3 cats when I was graduating high school. We lived in a basement unit of a duplex at the time. And the landlord's parents who lived on the other side of us would just randomly walk in whenever they felt like it. Luckily we complained enough they started to knock first. And it was the knocking that we trained the cats to listen for and to run for my parents room to hide. We'd shut them in and wouldn't let anyone inside the bedroom.

We managed to keep them hidden up until a month they renovicted us. They didn't do anything about the cats.

#54

Was just told "tell your housemate with the dog that they should at least hide the beds and bowls next time there's an inspection so I can pretend I didn't see any pet evidence".

#55

We signed the lease and it said "including pets deposit" (plural) we told them we had a dog at signing and paid a deposit. Later on, we acquired a pet cat and since the lease said "pets" we figured we would be good. Months later, we get a notice saying they saw the cat and we need to talk to the office and sign a new deposit. Took a copy of our lease to the apartment office and pointed out it said "pets". They said, no we mean just your dog. No, lease says "pets", we paid a deposit for "pets". Lady called over her manager, there was some back and forth, and the manager said they obviously messed up on the initial lease and legally there was nothing they could do without us agreeing to re-sign so we kept the cat. And the turtle they didn't see (now deceased). And the two guinea pigs (also now deceased). I didn't want to push it any further than that but in theory we could have become a zoo. We very carefully checked the lease every year we renewed and they never tried to sneak in an amendment to the pets part.

We had some neighbors we got friendly with who had multiple animals and asked if we could check their lease as they signed about a year after we did. Their lease very clearly stated how many animals and a deposit was paid for each one. Guess they got a bit better at writing them!

#56

I was briefly a landlord and my tenant had a dog even though it was against the rules. I knew it was there and let it slide and the doggo ended up completely ruining the new carpeting I had installed.

I didn’t go after the tenant or withhold her deposit or anything, but that experience (among many others) definitely helped convince me to sell the house and get rid of it.

Being a landlord just wasn’t for me.

#57

I had two cats that we didn't want to pay a deposit or the additional monthly pet fee since money was tight so we didn't. After living there for 7 years the apartment complex started giving everyone annual inspections. The first one went by fine. The next year I got a letter telling me I had illegal cats and had to get rid of them.

So I went to the leasing office and told them I had paid the deposit when I moved in. I knew that nobody working there was working when I moved in. They couldn't find any of my original paperwork, only my most recent lease renewals so they just started charging the monthly fee from that point on.

#58

Not me personally, but I was maintenance supervisor at an upscale apartment complex and they didn’t allow cats. One day the manager and I were walking the property, and we looked over to a ground floor apartment, and there was a cat playing in the window. Sadly, this starts evictions proceedings. I never reported pets when I encountered them in apartments, and the manager was very sympathetic in these situations.

#59

My mother-in-law was evicted from her apartment. She had to move in with a friend and give away her dogs. Me and my gf have one of them.

#60

We had a tenant move in with no pets and explained if they wanted to get one, speak with us and we would come to an agreement. Several months later the tenant posted pictures on Facebook with their “new member of the family!”

We were like uhhh, hello, what did we talk about?

They didn’t want to pay the pet deposit and got rid of the pup lol.