A huge question I get at Apartment School is whether or not the landlord will find out if you try and sneak a cat in on the sly? Will your apartment smell like a cat after a while and will your neighbors report you?
Eventually, your landlord is going to find out you have a cat. Either from it sitting in the window or being visible when they come by for an inspection, due to the ‘Cat Smell’ or because your neighbors reported seeing it in your apartment.
Some people mistakenly think that when the lease has a “No Pets” policy, this somehow doesn’t apply to cats. Why they think this is probably purely psychological and has to do with them thinking cats don’t smell, damage anything, or hurt anyone, it still doesn’t take away the fact that a cat is a pet.
Literally, cats are the most popular pets in the United States. More people have cats than anything else, and yes, a cat is 100% a pet, and precisely what the lease is talking about when they say, “No Pets”.
Why Do Apartment Complexes Have A No Pets Policy?
It’s not that your landlord wants to rip Fluffy from your loving arms and separate you for all time. They have good reason to want to keep any and all pets out of their apartments. Pets CAN be damaging to the property, they can be a nuisance to other tenants, and yes, they can smell. Even cats.
It is a risk to allow pets into the apartment building. This is why the apartment complexes that DO allow pets typically have some sort of deposit for pets or they charge the tenant more per month. You PERSONALLY, might be a great owner and your cat doesn’t do anyone any harm whatsoever and has never EVER peed on the couch.
However, you aren’t the pet parent your landlord is trying to keep out. It’s the bad ones the “No Pet Policy” is for. Unfortunately, your landlord can’t tell if a pet owner is a good owner or bad owner until something goes wrong. So, unfortunately, the solution for most landlords is just to ban all pets across the board. It isn’t anything personal toward you, its just good business practice for them.
Will My Apartment Smell If I Get A Cat?
No matter how clean you keep Fluffy, over time, the Cat Smell is going to build up in your apartment. Obviously, some cats are going to smell worse than others just due to their fur type, and how well you, as the owner, keep it and the litter box clean.
Over time though, your nose becomes used to the smells that you are around all the time. You may think that your apartment doesn’t smell at all, but someone else who is walking into it for the first time is most definitely going to know you have a cat.
We have written about how you become accustomed to the smells you are around all the time and How To Make Your Apartment Smell Great. If you do have a pet, especially if you are trying to keep them on the low-down, you may want to check out our article and odor solutions for your apartment.
What Happens If My Landlord Finds Out I Have A Cat?
If your landlord finds out you have a cat, there is a couple of things that could happen.
- If they are serious about their “No Pets” policy, they could evict you straight away. And some apartment complexes are serious about their pet policy. If your landlord has No Pets in the lease, they can 100% evict you if you violate that policy.
And landlords that ARE serious about the policy are much less likely to go easy on you, or even let you pay a pet deposit for whatever animal you snuck in if you lie to them about it. And they are going to consider “Lying By Omission” still lying.
- Your landlord may let you keep your pet in your apartment if you pay a Pet Deposit or pay extra in rent. Many apartment complexes that do allow pets have a Pet Deposit or simply charge the tenant extra to compensate them for the risk and extra clean up that can happen at the end of the lease.
If you think that your landlord or manager will maybe let Fluffy stay, offer to pay them a deposit for your cat, or even a bit more in rent each month. If they are easy-going, they will see your effort to understand their position on the No Pets Policy and be more willing to work with you.
It is also going to help if you have a pet that is not causing any trouble, isn’t running around the complex or hallways in your building or smelling up your unit. If anyone of these things is taking place, your chances of talking your landlord into letting your cat stay are going to go WAY down.
Remember, everyone else in the complex has signed the same lease you have, the same lease that doesn’t allow pets.
- Your landlord may just let it slide. If you have an easy-going manager or landlord, they may fully understand the deal about the pets and use the policy just to keep dogs the size of small horses from taking up residence.
Many times, I have seen managers or even large apartment complexes with strict corporate policies let people have cats and small dogs as long as they are small and don’t think they are going to cause a problem. They are wanting good renters, and if this means they come as a package with a cat or two, that is fine with them.
Again, it depends on the manager or landlord of the particular apartment complex you are at or thinking about renting at, but the pet policy is something I have definitely seen slide.
Can You Be Evicted For Having Pets?
Ultimately, you should know that if you try to hide a cat inside your apartment, you can be evicted for it.
Nowhere is this truer than if you have nosy neighbors. Some people have nothing better to do than report on the behavior of everyone else around them. Or maybe they are jealous or upset that YOU can have a cat in YOUR apartment, but they were denied the same privilege and didn’t decide to be as brave as you and risk it.
Either way, if you even SUSPECT that you have nosy neighbors, there is virtually no extent you can go to in hiding Garfield. I have even heard stories of tenants hiding their cat in their bag and taking it out to the car with them when inspections come, hiding them in closets or even draws just to keep them away from prying eyes.
Regardless of the fact of how cruel that is to Ol’ Fluffy unless you keep your shades drawn all day and sneak in your apartment like a thief in the night, someone is going to see it.
I mean, what do you think cats do all day when you are at work? They look out the window the whole time!!
In our apartment complex, if my manager or I see a cat in the window of an apartment, we go over and tell them they will need to pay a security deposit, and the rent is $50 a month higher. If they aren’t willing to do this, they are free to find another place to stay. But hiding the cat in the first place was the biggest grievance in our minds.
Also, if you have never cleaned out an apartment that smelled like the cat peed on the carpet for 10 years, you may not understand why the “No Pet” policy is so important to landlords.
The moral of the story is that at SOME POINT, someone is going to find out you have a cat. Whether it is a nosy neighbor, the maintenance guy just doing a yearly inspection, or your landlord themselves, at some point your cat is going to come out of the proverbial bag.
Know what the risks are in keeping your cat at your apartment on the sly, and even though we aren’t condoning the behavior, if you NEED to keep your apartment smelling nice(which is one of the concerns your landlord is going to have), check out our smell and odor solutions for your apartment HERE.
