The laws in New York City and in Westchester County state that if a tenant keeps a pet or pets openly for three months or more with the knowledge of the owner or owner’s agent (such as a super, doorman, security guard) and within this three month period the owner does not commence a legal proceeding to enforce a no-pet lease provision, the lease provision is waived for that particular pet. However, if the tenant gets another pet, the owner has another three month opportunity to enforce the no-pet lease clause against the keeping of the new pet. There is legislation pending in the NYC Council that states that tenants whose pets have been waived in can get new pets of the same species when the waived in pet dies or is no longer in the multiple dwelling apartment. There is also a bill pending in the NYC Council allowing senior citizens to have pets whether or not they have kept the pet for three months. Thus far, none of these bills have passed. In addition to the rights contained in NYC’s and Westchester County’s pet laws, people with disabilities (physical and emotional) have rights under fair housing laws.

If you have a physical or emotional disability for which you have been treated, and provide the board with a letter from your doctor which states your disability and that the animal is needed to treat the symptoms of the disability, the board might consent to the keeping of the animal. For a sample letter and other helpful information, go to www.drcnh.org/serviceanimals.htm. Under the Fair Housing Act, landlords must make reasonable accommodations for people with a disability. If you do have a disability but the board still refuses to allow you to have an animal, you can bring an action before Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and your state human rights commission for a reasonable accommodation. Some information on this is provided at www.hud.gov/offices/fheo where you can click on Fair Housing Complaint and file the complaint online. However, you may wish to have an attorney help you with the federal and state forms. Additionally, you may wish to hire an attorney who can review how the no-pet rule came into being since sometimes the rules can be challenged if the co-op did not follow proper procedures when passing the no-pet rule.