Question: I moved into a small fourplex a year ago with my service dog, a border collie named Harlan. I have a seizure disorder and Harlan alerts me when I am about to have a seizure. The apartment manager gave me no problems about my dog when I moved in, but she charged me an extra $50 a month in “pet rent.” I later found out that she was not supposed to charge pet rent for a service animal because it is not really a pet under the fair housing laws.
When I told my manager what I learned she became really angry, and when I didn’t pay the pet rent the next month she gave me a three-day pay-or-quit notice for the $50 pet rent. I then wrote a letter to her and to the apartment owner, explaining that I couldn’t be charged rent for a service animal. They stopped pushing for the extra $50 after that, but the manager also stopped being friendly with me.
Now that my lease is up, the manager just notified me that the owner doesn’t want to renew my lease. She won’t tell me why she won’t renew. I don’t understand this — I have been a good tenant and always paid my rent on time. I think she is angry because I refused to pay the extra pet rent. Is she allowed to do this?
The LA Times has an article that addresses this question– visit their page: http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-rentwatch-20131208,0,7990954.story#axzz2nD8aUAHA