My landlord tried to evict me over a cat I didn't have

Last month my landlord slapped me with a 10-day eviction notice claiming I had a pet cat in my unit. Thing is, I don't own a cat and never have. Turns out he saw a stray hanging around the back porch and just assumed it was mine. My buddy who does tenant law in Chicago told me to document everything and send a certified letter denying the claim. Has anyone else dealt with a landlord making stuff up to push an eviction?

3 comments

3 Comments

kellygrant2d ago

Haha, guess your landlord's got a purr-fect imagination!

alicer532d ago

You know, I used to be the kind of person who thought landlords were always right when it came to pets. I figured if they said no, there must be a reason. But then I saw a post like this from @kellygrant a while back and it really got me thinking. It made me realize that sometimes landlords are just being unreasonable or stuck in their ways. Now I believe tenants should have more say, especially when the pet is clearly harmless. It's not fair to assume every cat is going to wreck the place. I'm glad people are calling this stuff out more now.

alice9281d ago

My old landlord tried to pull the same thing with my cat, Milo. I sent him a video of Milo sleeping in his bed for 12 hours straight. Then I offered to pay an extra $25 a month as a pet deposit specifically for potential carpet cleaning. He caved after that. Sometimes you just gotta show them how boring your pet really is.