US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
    §  27-2009.1  Rights  and  responsibilities  of  owners and tenants in
  relation to pets.
    a.  Legislative  declaration.  The  council  hereby  finds  that   the
  enforcement  of  covenants  contained  in multiple dwelling leases which
  prohibit the harboring of household pets has led to widespread abuses by
  building owners or their agents, who knowing that a tenant has a pet for
  an extended period of time, seek to evict the tenant and/or his  or  her
  pet  often  for reasons unrelated to the creation of a nuisance. Because
  household pets are kept for reasons  of  safety  and  companionship  and
  under the existence of a continuing housing emergency it is necessary to
  protect  pet  owners  from  retaliatory  eviction  and  to safeguard the
  health, safety  and  welfare  of  tenants  who  harbor  pets  under  the
  circumstances  provided herein, it is hereby found that the enactment of
  the provisions  of  this  section  is  necessary  to  prevent  potential
  hardship and dislocation of tenants within this city.
    b.  Where a tenant in a multiple dwelling openly and notoriously for a
  period of three months or more following taking possession  of  a  unit,
  harbors  or has harbored a household pet or pets, the harboring of which
  is not prohibited by the multiple dwelling law, the housing  maintenance
  or the health codes of the city of New York or any other applicable law,
  and  the  owner or his or her agent has knowledge of this fact, and such
  owner fails within  this  three  month  period  to  commence  a  summary
  proceeding  or  action  to  enforce  a  lease  provision prohibiting the
  keeping of such household pets, such lease  provision  shall  be  deemed
  waived.
    c.  It  shall be unlawful for an owner or his or her agent, by express
  terms or otherwise, to restrict a tenant's rights as  provided  in  this
  section.  Any such restriction shall be unenforceable and deemed void as
  against public policy.
    d. The waiver provision of this section  shall  not  apply  where  the
  harboring  of  a  household  pet  causes  damage to the subject premise,
  creates a nuisance or interferes substantially with the  health,  safety
  or  welfare  of  other  tenants  or  occupants  of  the same or adjacent
  building or structure.
    e. The New York city  housing  authority  shall  be  exempt  from  the
  provisions of this section.