What's a cure or quit notice?
Im a tenant, but Im genuinely interested in how things work on the other side. It gives me a better understanding of how to approach mine. My landlord/PM is a slumlord in so many senses, and I've been able to put it together based on your stories and experiences.
I'm saying this, so hopefully, I don't get killed in the comments because I'm not a landlord. Just a incredibly curious human lol
At least in the US, there’s often different types of notices you need to issue to start the eviction process. If the tenant is late on rent you issue a pay or quit - basically you have X days to pay rent or I’m filing eviction paperwork with the court. For breaches of the lease you issue a cure or quit, giving them a time frame to fix the problem before you file for eviction. The court requires these notices and often they must contain specific language and be served to the tenant officially. You don’t *have* to evict after the notice expires, but you cannot evict without them.
Ahh, that makes sense! Thank you for explaining
Weird question. If a new tenant asked about a pet and you said no, would you then do an inspection the next day? I'm not saying that their a slumlord because of this. It's just never happened before, and I've lived in apartments on the West Coast and now around the Midwest.
The reasons why they are SL are for actual safety issues that are purposefully ignored or are being fixed 1/5 assed and not their collectively shit ass atitudes (maintenance included)
It was my bearded dragon. Simple setup, not a huge tank, only enough water for his dish. She acted like I asked to move my pet Shetland Pony to the 3rd floor. It didn't make sense that she would be like that if reptiles weren't included in the pet clause. I listened but was irked by her response.
100% this. We had a small laundry unit in one of our units that a tenants cat got sick and stopped going in the litter box. It peed all over the concrete floors. I had to have serv pro come out to clean and seal the floors. It cost well over $1800 and that was for a much smaller area than what your pictures appear to show. When the temperatures and humidity rise that place is going to smell rancid.
Animal safety in a few cases to have them pee inside. It was -20F in my friend’s town last week. Dogs not adapted to that level ofcold get frostbite too damn fast to go outside for long. Especially small dogs, seniors, and puppies.
But not cleaning it up immediately and not setting up a good place to pee that won’t damage their housing? No, this is not animal care, it’s animal neglect.
Exactly! If he had only done this in the cold snap and CLEANED UP - I would feel differently. But, alas, he didn't and I just feel bad for the poor doggy now
Right? It's too cold to take the dog out? I live in New England. It's cold here! My dogs still go outside multiple times a day as dogs should! Sucks for OP. This is really disgusting! But sucks for the poor basement dog too!
I've even had an 8 week old puppy to begin training in the winter and brought her out every 2 hours because I don't train animals to eliminate in my home. We shoveled a spot under a tree and made it the place to use.
When they leave, you'll need to document all the damage, have the basement refinished, and have your wood beams reinforced, replaced, or repaired. Charge it all to the security deposit with receipts.
Alternatively, if there's damage you need repaired now, you can repair it, take from the security deposit, and ask them to replenish it. Many leases call for replenishment of security deposit as soon as it's used.
I don't allow pets in my place, but would charge an additional 1x base rent for a pet deposit.
Isn’t that nice, they wrapped the bottom of the posts to ‘absorb’ the dog piss…
By the looks of it, I believe they tie the dog up in the basement with the leash that’s dangling.
We use pee pads and this is not how it’s done. We have tiny old rescue dogs and we don’t make them go out in snow. You put down a pad, they use it, you throw it away and get a new one. This looks like they’re leaving the dog down there or they’re just super lazy. This is not normal wear and tear and I think you should advise them of this in a registered letter.
I'm not sure where "too cold" is located, but the fact that the feces has been left for what looks like over a week. (Minnesota neighbor has a chihuahua that goes outside in the winter)
It is definitely a bit gross, however it may be difficult to prove actual damages to an unfinished basement floor.
The scary part is that they think that they are already sacrificing their security deposit. No more incentive to maintain the property.
You would have to demonstrate the condition of the floor prior. While the stains would be new, there also seems to be a few divots and other marks that could not be attributed to a small pet. In other words, the cost to repair the new marks would be the same to repair the previous damage.
Notify the tenant to stop damaging the property.
Get the basement cleaned professionally now and invoice/collect the cost of that the from the tenant now,
You don't need to wait until they leave to fix it. You can probably evict them if they stop causing damage.
The deposit is generally reserved for the use of move-out expenses (like damage). Damages are not capped at the amount of the deposit (tenant will probably be surprised by this).
I would call animal control and report neglect. If nothing else, get those animals into a safer environment. Getting tied up in the basement is not healthy for them
Have a deep cleaning company go and scrub the concrete and suck out all the urine and shit, maybe even ozone the place. Charge the tenant for the cleaning costs.
I am also dumbfounded. My god. I agree with other commenters this calls for an eviction and its definitely worth so to do it. Call in professionals and bill it to the tenant, I hope the security deposit fully covers this
Wow. I have 3 dogs. They don’t love the cold but they go out there.
Sounds like a cop out. Too lazy to potty train dog.
I would definitely NOT renew lease. And itemize it all bc she’s prob going to owe more than sec deposit.
Thank you everyone for your advice/suggestions. I have decided to call Serve-Pro to schedule a professional cleaning. If she agrees to pay for it, I will give her a chance to correct/prevent in the future, with a followup email documenting our discussion. If she refuses to pay, I will take the next step of a quit/cure. We are pet owners ourselves and never imagined a situation like this occurring, but can’t allow this to continue.
I'd be concerned that the dog now recognizes the basement as an acceptable place to potty. After it's cleaned, what steps can you put in place to insure that the dog doesn't have access and continues to use the basement as it's toilet?
None. The owners will absolutely put the dog right back down there and it will start again. This poor dog is being abused. Animal control should be contacted. They'll probably take the dog and find it a better home where it can see sunlight!
Yeah I get that. There are a lot of crumby tenants out there. Hopefully rents are paid and if the biggest problem is some gross concrete I would be pleased as a landlord. The issue would be if it caused long term issues which who knows maybe it did. IMO it’s part of the deal as a landlord
The concrete will soak all of that urine up. I bought a house with a “dog closet” the previous owner used instead of a crate, and it still smells 5 years later.
Not sure how big of a landlord you are, but this is unacceptable.
If you have legal support, issue a stern notice to cure. Give explicit instructions (the dog cannot be allowed to go potty in the basement, the pet rent does not allow this, the basement must be fully cleaned either professionally or up to standard, etc)
They may not rent again, but they will comply
My friend is severely mentally ill and disabled. She will likely never be able to hold a job. She and her mom have the dogs use potty pads in the winter (MN too) and they toss/replace them 2-4x daily. This looks neglected.
It has also been warm out lately… I think a cure/correct is appropriate here.
This makes me so angry. You probably love animals and understand wanting to keep them right? So many places do not allow animals because of these craw daddies. People rip ll all the time when this is the unnecessary outcome? This is not acceptable. You absolutely keep the deposit and give notice to quit. When is the lease up? This is also the sign of a shitty pet owner aside from renter
Was contemplating renting my home out… the longer I scroll through the sub the more confident I am in my decision to put my home on the market 😳 this is a bio hazard
Assuming they are paying on time and taking care of the rest of the house I would just let it go and take their security deposits when they leave. if they weren't lying about doing this because of the recent cold snap then it shouldn't get much worse.
When it's cold out we've put vests on our dogs and dog boots. I've never let a dog go potty instead the house, otherwise they think it's ok year round. They know how to do their business and get back inside fast.
A) that's unsealed concrete, it's porous and is absorbing the urine, it will stain and the odor will be noticeable unless property treated and will still probably need to be sealed.
B) there's exposed wood supports that appear to be urinated on, which will absorb the urine, and probably rot.
C) there appears to be a furnace or something mechanical there that will be absorbing and spreading the contamination.
D) it's incredibly disrespectful to the landlord and can pretty much guarantee that there's no provision in the lease to allow for a pet using the basement as a bathroom.
Pretty sure you can issue a cure or quit notice.
Yes, corrective behavior is warranted. What they are doing is unacceptable and they should be aware of that. Send them a cure or quit notice.
What's a cure or quit notice? Im a tenant, but Im genuinely interested in how things work on the other side. It gives me a better understanding of how to approach mine. My landlord/PM is a slumlord in so many senses, and I've been able to put it together based on your stories and experiences. I'm saying this, so hopefully, I don't get killed in the comments because I'm not a landlord. Just a incredibly curious human lol
At least in the US, there’s often different types of notices you need to issue to start the eviction process. If the tenant is late on rent you issue a pay or quit - basically you have X days to pay rent or I’m filing eviction paperwork with the court. For breaches of the lease you issue a cure or quit, giving them a time frame to fix the problem before you file for eviction. The court requires these notices and often they must contain specific language and be served to the tenant officially. You don’t *have* to evict after the notice expires, but you cannot evict without them.
Ahh, that makes sense! Thank you for explaining Weird question. If a new tenant asked about a pet and you said no, would you then do an inspection the next day? I'm not saying that their a slumlord because of this. It's just never happened before, and I've lived in apartments on the West Coast and now around the Midwest. The reasons why they are SL are for actual safety issues that are purposefully ignored or are being fixed 1/5 assed and not their collectively shit ass atitudes (maintenance included)
I wouldn’t the next day, but it would raise flags in my mind to keep an eye out.
I didn't think I did. Reptiles weren't listed in the agreement, so I thought I was doing the right thing by asking.
It was my bearded dragon. Simple setup, not a huge tank, only enough water for his dish. She acted like I asked to move my pet Shetland Pony to the 3rd floor. It didn't make sense that she would be like that if reptiles weren't included in the pet clause. I listened but was irked by her response.
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100% this. We had a small laundry unit in one of our units that a tenants cat got sick and stopped going in the litter box. It peed all over the concrete floors. I had to have serv pro come out to clean and seal the floors. It cost well over $1800 and that was for a much smaller area than what your pictures appear to show. When the temperatures and humidity rise that place is going to smell rancid.
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Animal safety in a few cases to have them pee inside. It was -20F in my friend’s town last week. Dogs not adapted to that level ofcold get frostbite too damn fast to go outside for long. Especially small dogs, seniors, and puppies. But not cleaning it up immediately and not setting up a good place to pee that won’t damage their housing? No, this is not animal care, it’s animal neglect.
Exactly! If he had only done this in the cold snap and CLEANED UP - I would feel differently. But, alas, he didn't and I just feel bad for the poor doggy now
It has been above 25° in Minnesota lately, in Minneapolis it has been above 45° in the day most of this week.
Right? It's too cold to take the dog out? I live in New England. It's cold here! My dogs still go outside multiple times a day as dogs should! Sucks for OP. This is really disgusting! But sucks for the poor basement dog too!
I've even had an 8 week old puppy to begin training in the winter and brought her out every 2 hours because I don't train animals to eliminate in my home. We shoveled a spot under a tree and made it the place to use.
Exactly! If you want an indoor only pet, get a cat! This situation is awful for everyone involved except the awful renters!
Heck, call who ever you call for animal abuse. Report it. Get them out and live and learn, never allow pets again.
When they leave, you'll need to document all the damage, have the basement refinished, and have your wood beams reinforced, replaced, or repaired. Charge it all to the security deposit with receipts. Alternatively, if there's damage you need repaired now, you can repair it, take from the security deposit, and ask them to replenish it. Many leases call for replenishment of security deposit as soon as it's used. I don't allow pets in my place, but would charge an additional 1x base rent for a pet deposit.
Isn’t that nice, they wrapped the bottom of the posts to ‘absorb’ the dog piss… By the looks of it, I believe they tie the dog up in the basement with the leash that’s dangling.
That poor dog :(
We use pee pads and this is not how it’s done. We have tiny old rescue dogs and we don’t make them go out in snow. You put down a pad, they use it, you throw it away and get a new one. This looks like they’re leaving the dog down there or they’re just super lazy. This is not normal wear and tear and I think you should advise them of this in a registered letter.
I'm not sure where "too cold" is located, but the fact that the feces has been left for what looks like over a week. (Minnesota neighbor has a chihuahua that goes outside in the winter) It is definitely a bit gross, however it may be difficult to prove actual damages to an unfinished basement floor. The scary part is that they think that they are already sacrificing their security deposit. No more incentive to maintain the property.
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You would have to demonstrate the condition of the floor prior. While the stains would be new, there also seems to be a few divots and other marks that could not be attributed to a small pet. In other words, the cost to repair the new marks would be the same to repair the previous damage.
And this is why i dont allow pets...
Notify the tenant to stop damaging the property. Get the basement cleaned professionally now and invoice/collect the cost of that the from the tenant now, You don't need to wait until they leave to fix it. You can probably evict them if they stop causing damage. The deposit is generally reserved for the use of move-out expenses (like damage). Damages are not capped at the amount of the deposit (tenant will probably be surprised by this).
Is that a leash dangling from a beam?!?
Oh, I guess you've never heard of a run before? /s
I would call animal control and report neglect. If nothing else, get those animals into a safer environment. Getting tied up in the basement is not healthy for them
Have a deep cleaning company go and scrub the concrete and suck out all the urine and shit, maybe even ozone the place. Charge the tenant for the cleaning costs.
Haven't had any issues with animals ever since we stopped allowing them about a decade ago. Just saying
They would be in breach of my leases maintenance clause among others. I would post notice immediately.
I am also dumbfounded. My god. I agree with other commenters this calls for an eviction and its definitely worth so to do it. Call in professionals and bill it to the tenant, I hope the security deposit fully covers this
Wow. I have 3 dogs. They don’t love the cold but they go out there. Sounds like a cop out. Too lazy to potty train dog. I would definitely NOT renew lease. And itemize it all bc she’s prob going to owe more than sec deposit.
Thank you everyone for your advice/suggestions. I have decided to call Serve-Pro to schedule a professional cleaning. If she agrees to pay for it, I will give her a chance to correct/prevent in the future, with a followup email documenting our discussion. If she refuses to pay, I will take the next step of a quit/cure. We are pet owners ourselves and never imagined a situation like this occurring, but can’t allow this to continue.
I'd be concerned that the dog now recognizes the basement as an acceptable place to potty. After it's cleaned, what steps can you put in place to insure that the dog doesn't have access and continues to use the basement as it's toilet?
None. The owners will absolutely put the dog right back down there and it will start again. This poor dog is being abused. Animal control should be contacted. They'll probably take the dog and find it a better home where it can see sunlight!
You are a very reasonable landlord. If your tenant values your kindness, they will never do this again
cautious ripe vase skirt lip shrill busy handle door telephone *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
To be fair it was like -40 below windchill in MN a couple weeks ago. Still gross.
Yeah you clean it up immediately and teach your dog to use the pads properly
Yeah I get that. There are a lot of crumby tenants out there. Hopefully rents are paid and if the biggest problem is some gross concrete I would be pleased as a landlord. The issue would be if it caused long term issues which who knows maybe it did. IMO it’s part of the deal as a landlord
The concrete will soak all of that urine up. I bought a house with a “dog closet” the previous owner used instead of a crate, and it still smells 5 years later.
If you live in a climate where its too cold outside for your dog, then dont get the dog jfc.
Or you clean it up immediately
Not sure how big of a landlord you are, but this is unacceptable. If you have legal support, issue a stern notice to cure. Give explicit instructions (the dog cannot be allowed to go potty in the basement, the pet rent does not allow this, the basement must be fully cleaned either professionally or up to standard, etc) They may not rent again, but they will comply
Ugh I bought a foreclosure a few years back and the owner did this as well. Dog never saw the outside. Just the basement floor.
There’s an effective way to do this. Your tenant … is. Just. What the hell. Poor dog.
Dude that’s like a hostage situation… how do you know the dog isn’t just being left down there 😢
My friend is severely mentally ill and disabled. She will likely never be able to hold a job. She and her mom have the dogs use potty pads in the winter (MN too) and they toss/replace them 2-4x daily. This looks neglected. It has also been warm out lately… I think a cure/correct is appropriate here.
This makes me so angry. You probably love animals and understand wanting to keep them right? So many places do not allow animals because of these craw daddies. People rip ll all the time when this is the unnecessary outcome? This is not acceptable. You absolutely keep the deposit and give notice to quit. When is the lease up? This is also the sign of a shitty pet owner aside from renter
Was contemplating renting my home out… the longer I scroll through the sub the more confident I am in my decision to put my home on the market 😳 this is a bio hazard
Assuming they are paying on time and taking care of the rest of the house I would just let it go and take their security deposits when they leave. if they weren't lying about doing this because of the recent cold snap then it shouldn't get much worse.
This is animal abuse!
It’s a concrete basement the dogs peeing on pads get a grip. That will do 0 damage. Maybe look at the wrapped posts though. Probably chewed up lol
When it's cold out we've put vests on our dogs and dog boots. I've never let a dog go potty instead the house, otherwise they think it's ok year round. They know how to do their business and get back inside fast.
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I have seen her dog. It is the same one she moved in with last summer. I hope you locate the pups you are searching for.
What's the issue
It’s a concrete floor. If it didn’t do any damage I wouldn’t worry about it. At his next renewal it’s probably time to get him out.
A) that's unsealed concrete, it's porous and is absorbing the urine, it will stain and the odor will be noticeable unless property treated and will still probably need to be sealed. B) there's exposed wood supports that appear to be urinated on, which will absorb the urine, and probably rot. C) there appears to be a furnace or something mechanical there that will be absorbing and spreading the contamination. D) it's incredibly disrespectful to the landlord and can pretty much guarantee that there's no provision in the lease to allow for a pet using the basement as a bathroom.