6. My building has long maintained a policy forbidding pets. Recently, I saw a tenant bring a dog into his unit. When I asked him about the dog, he stated that he was dog-sitting for the day. However, a few days later, I saw him walking the dog again. Should I issue a "Three-Day Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit"?

First, you need to confirm that the written rental agreement with this tenant in fact prohibits pets. A "building policy" may not be sufficient, especially if there is no signed writing between the owner and tenant. In order to serve a 3-day notice for breach of a lease covenant, you must actually have a lease covenant to reference. The 2004 PPMA Residential Tenancy Agreement is clear:

"12. PETS: NO pets, dogs, cats, birds, fish or other animals are allowed in or about the Premises, even temporarily or with a visiting guest, without prior written consent of Owner…"

After ensuring that you have definitive lease language to substantiate your demand, review your file to ascertain whether you "waived" this prohibition in the past, meaning allowed this tenant or other co-tenants in that unit to have pets.

If in fact you have a clear lease clause and there are no waiver issues, serve a 3-day notice as soon as possible. An owner may be deemed to have waived a lease covenant if the offensive conduct is ignored even for a short amount of time. Acceptance of rent knowing that there is a lease violation can almost certainly cause you problems down the road.

I also recommend consulting with an attorney before serving the 3-day. These types of notices must be perfectly drafted and filed with the Rent Board. For instance, a tenant should be told what lease covenant has been breached, and what steps are necessary to cure the breach. In addition, I'd like to inform the offending tenants when, how, and where they can communicate to the owner that the breach has been cured. This will prevent the argument in court that the tenant in fact timely cured the breach, but the owner went ahead and filed the eviction paperwork anyway. Also, the notice should be drafted in a way that explicitly informs the tenant of what offensive conduct has occurred, what lease rule was consequently violated, and how to prevent termination of the tenancy within the three-day period. Remember, a jury may be looking at the notice, so you want to appear as reasonable as possible.

DW