Residents
Owners
As a landlord, there is plenty of clean up involved with a space you are renting after a tenant moves out. You have to clean up the unit, repair any damages, and potentially repaint and have the carpets cleaned. What would you do if you arrived at the unit to begin clean up and discover an abandoned pet left at the rental property? This situation has been happening more often and landlords need to know what the laws are regarding this.
Determining if the Pet was abandoned
If a tenant left personal belongings in their unit, you'd be required by law to store them temporarily and attempt to contact them. For pets, there are different guidelines. You'll first want to verify that the tenant vacated the premises, by seeing if all the belongings are gone and if the mail and utilities have been changed. Ask neighbors if they've seen a moving truck. If it's proven that the tenant vacated, whether by clues or by written notice, then any belongings or pets still there would be considered abandoned.
Where to Begin
Check the pet to see if they are acting sick, cold, hungry, or stressed. Don't bother the animal as they could hurt you. Offer the pet food and water to start and make sure they are secure and not going to be getting loose and potentially harming others. Just because the dog might normally be friendly doesn't mean it will be now that it is hungry and stressed.
Contact Authorities
Contact animal control about the pet after you've helped it receive basic care to file a report. They should come get the pet, and then both you and animal control will want to try to contact the tenant as they will be faced with charged of neglect. In fact, tenants can be charged with a crime if the pet wasn't treated well. The tenant can then surrender the pet to a shelter if they don't want it.
While discovering an abandoned pet can be stressful for a landlord, make sure to help the pet with its basic needs and contact authorities right away.
