Moving Out: Do I Have to Move Out Before One Month Do I Get My Money Back

samedi 7 février 2015

About two months ago i moved into my current place, where i pay $650 a month for a bedroom (i live in the same house w the tenant) at Northridge, CA. The tenant/housemate and i signed a mutual agreemen that either of us could end the rent contract with a one-month advanced notice. If i move out earlier than a month notice, he'd keep the 650 deposit i initially paid him.



That said, I adopted a dog last month from the shelter. Apparently last week one night the dog bit a few of my landlord's guests. It's an 18-lb dog, so there was no wounds or anything (just "very painful", which i doubt, but i'll have to accept that since it's their word against mine). My landlord says to me a few days ago that he spoke to his lawyer and the lawyer told him that the dog is a liability for him since any of his guests could potentially get bit and sue him. That's understandable. So i discussed with him the following options:



1- I could train the dog to be less aggressive, which i have already started to do (He's only 1 year 4 months old, so I'm optimistic) and in the meanwhile, I could keep a nozzle on him whenever my landlord has guests over, until my dog learns to stop being aggressive. Or:



2- I could keep him in my room whenever he has guests over.



3- Since I have already made a commitment to this dog (by adopting him), I am definitely not abandoning him. Give me a month to find another place to move to with my dog.



My hard-headed and not-so-kind landlord/housemate says he is not taking any risks and the dog has to be out of the house in 3 days (by this coming Monday). So basically I can have a month to find a place, but the dog has 3 days to leave. Since I have no one who'd temporarily take care of my dog, I would have to move out tomorrow with my dog, which i'm now preparing for. So i now have two questions:



1) Is my landlord allowed to do this, given that we agreed on a one-month notice? I understand that he's scared of liability issues, but i offered two options, both of which he refused (basically he isn't letting me have my one-month if i keep the dog with a nozzle on, or keep him in my room, both of which are reasonable ways to prevent another bite).

If the answer to this question is yes, then I'm moving out tomorrow. Which is fine, but there would be a second issue, which brings me to:



2) Since i'm left with no choice (given that letting go of this dog is not an option for me) I'd then have to move out tomorrow (probably to my friend's house, till i find a new place). It makes sence to me to ask for the rest of my month's rent's pay (which i paid him in the beginning of this month) and my one month deposit back, right? Cuz he's the reason I'm leaving with less than a month notice. However, given that this guy is an a-hole, I'm predicting that he will not give me back the deposit nor the remainder of this month's rent, if he knows he could legally do it. (personal decency is out of the question for him. If he can legally hold all the money and ask the dog to be out by Monday, he will do it.) This guy won't negotiate. Am i entitled to anything here (either to have my one month, with the dog and my own responsibility to keep him from biting again, till i find a place to move to OR to at least have my deposit and rent money back if i leave tomorrow)?



Any tips would be greatly helpful and appreciated, as I'm stuck in this situation without a lawyer, whereas he has one himself.



PS Sorry for the super lengthy post. I wanted to answer any relevant question that could come up from reading this post, in advance.





Moving Out: Do I Have to Move Out Before One Month Do I Get My Money Back

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