Posted on 07/20/2012 6:29:27 PM PDT by Krankor
I need some Freeper advice. I own a home with a garden rental apartment. My tenant is a nice person who pays her rent on time. She has a dog I like and he is allowed free reign to use the yard. I often go out and play with him. The dog loves to play under a lawn sprinkler and he does it for hours at a time. No problem. She often brings her friends' dogs to play in the yard with hers. Again, no problem. Unfortunately, she often leaves his little gifts in the yard for two or three days at a time. There's been many a time I've had to pick up after him just to cut the lawn. I've always tried to make her feel my home is hers, so I've been somewhat reluctant in pressing the issue about cleaning up after her dog. I have tried to be as diplomatic as possible in suggesting she pick up a little quicker after her dog. She does it for a couple of days but then just blows it off. With the recent heat wave, I became a bit more insistent about the problem. She agreed to be more vigilant. Needless to say, she again fell of the wagon. To make a long story short, it eventually came to a head and I insisted she pick up after her dog once a day. She thought I was being unreasonable, but I disagreed. I'd appreciate some Freeper input.
You already know. :{)
raise her rent - tell her it is the cost of yard use...
You are fine. Just remember... she pays the rent.
Tell her that she has to clean up....or she cuts the lawn
Your house, your rules.
Hope it all works out.
Hand her some gloves, a plastic bag and a pooper scooper and tell her that cleaning up after her dog is part of being allowed to have a pet.
You’re being perfectly reasonable. She’s taking advantage of your generous nature. Tell her it’s a deal breaker. You like her and you like her dog, but if she can’t keep the lawn poop free they’ll have to live somewhere else.
After talking to a couple of guys at work who have rented out properties, they would gladly pick up dog poop for someone who is otherwise responsible and PAYS THE RENT.
Are you being unreasonable: NOOOOOOOOOOOOo
If she pays the full amount of rent on time, and doesn’t damage the apartment, then I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
Just my .02
If you want to keep her as a tenant just decide not to get mad any more - you have a new job.
If she had to walk her dog, she would have to pick up right after the deposit so picking up once a day would not be unreasonable.
Ummmm...if she doesn’t clean up dog poop I wonder what the inside of the apartment looks like?
I’ve been in your shoes and hers. She needs to pick up after Rover at least daily and you need to insist on it. It’s not too much to ax.
Never ends well to be too palsie in a business arrangement, doubly so when your home is affected.
Raise the rent...a lot.
Your lawn sprinklers run for hours?
Check your local ordinances. That may take care of it for you. This is ours:
Animal Excrements:
The owner or person in charge of an animal shall promptly remove and dispose of any animal excrement deposited upon a public or private property within the City of [my city].
Call the police. They’ll come shoot the dogs just for kicks...
Leave the poo there, and just mow. You won’t be able to tell it was ever there.
IMO.
I clean up after MY dog daily. Am I being unreasonable to myself?
......of course a lot of it ends up under some of the shrubbery. I have the greenest hedges on the street, hehehe.
No sh!t
hire a neighborhood kid to pick up poop and send her a bill
Add a “fee” to her rent for picking up after her own dog. Either she pays or she’ll pick up after him.
Call the cops. They’ll be happy to shoot your problem.
BRL's comment as a long time poster makes the most sense. You ARE fine. But you also have a good tenant compared to all possibilities. Take the good along with the bad. Continue to give her your expectations and whether she stays or goes becomes her decision. Just remember, you could do a lot worse than this tenant.
Being a father and a landlord, I’ve found that you have to treat tenants as children. You have to be firm. They will try to get away with as much as you will let them get away with.
As doc1019 mentioned, immediately is the usual rule for many public areas. We have to pick up after our dog just as soon as she’s done. Your tenant has been slacking for too long, and you’ve been plenty patient. Tell her that if she can’t pick up every day, then she can’t use the yard for her doggy anymore. Hopefully she will realize how reasonable you are being. Also, consider charging her for each deposit that you have to pick up when she doesn’t. Good luck!
Just mow over it - spreading free fertiliser in the yard, eh?
It seems we think alike...see post 20.
That way you've provided her with the option, and she agrees to a legally binding arrangement. Nothing personal...just business.
At the end of the week, collect all the doggybombs you find, put them in a paper bag, and set it on her front step. Light it on fire ONLY if it is Halloween.
I’ve had tenants and my father had tenants for oh, 50 years or so. If she pays the rent, takes reasonable care of her apartment, watches the house when you’re gone, etc., pick up the poop. While it’s annoying, it’s such a small thing compared to chasing rent.
BS. It is almost impossible to find a good renter allowing to rent to someone with a dog, let alone a cat. Most landlords have a NO PET policy.....understandable.
You have the upper hand here. Tell her to clean up her dogs crap or get the heck out.
If she is not cleaning up after her dog, which a responsible tenant would, then she is taking advantage of you.
Give her a choice ... pick up or pack up. If she still refuses to abide by your wishes, turn up your stereo and live a little. After all, if you must live with her crap, she should learn to live with yours.
Plus it's good fertilizer. Think about what sort of renter you could have when the next one doesn't pay on time, plays low music, throws beer cans in the yard, takes leaks in the yard and trashes out the place. Sorry, this is one battle you should leave be.
I have been on both sides of these types of rentals, as landlord and tenant.
If I were your tenant, I would pay for your maintenance of your yard and you would NEVER see a single turd. Landlords like you are rare.
It is very hard to rent with a pet, I know well firsthand, the landlord must charge accordingly.
I was a landlord and I accepted pets. # 1 rule, always get a big NON-REFUNDABLE deposit PER ANIMAL. #2 min one months deposit no exceptions (you will need it to repair the damage from the animal) #3 there will be damage carpet, urine on walls etc, always deduct from the deposit.
Leave the poo there, and just mow. You won’t be able to tell it was ever there.
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That’s the only way poop disappears in my yard (rain helps too). I never pick up poop. I mow over dog, horse, donkey, cow, and chicken poop. If I had to pick up poop daily, I would never have time for anything else.
However, I live on several acres, so I guess it would be different in a small yard.
Amen. Same here. Most rentals do not allow pets. She should be grateful and respect the home she is renting and clean up after her pooch.
Or, do it NGY’s way if you want to stay mad.
Keep moving the sprinklers around and water the poo in....you'll be happy, the dog will be happy and the lawn will be fine.
Yeah. We just hit the “cynic” button and it all comes out prophetic. Like we somehow “knew.”
A renter who pays on time and is pleasant to have around is gold. You’ll find out if she leaves and someone else moves in with no dog, but who doesn’t pay on time and isn’t pleasant to have around.
Don’t make a big deal. Let the lawn mower do the work of picking up the stuff. Thats why lawnmowers have grass catchers. And if it doesn’t have a grass catcher, there won’t be much there to worry about after you mow anyway.
Buy her a pie from a pie house and apologize for making a big deal out of nothing.
ya get lots of flys that way...
It is not about being mad. It's called RESPECT. As a renter myself I would NEVER leave my pets crap in the yard.
That being said, I now have 2 indoor cats, used to have 3. My landlord was concerned but gave me the benefit of the doubt that I would keep the brand new apt. clean.
I did. Now I'm down to two. Been here 8 years...nada a problem.
Most rentals deny anyone w/ a pet, especially a dog, which is why I have not adopted one. Cats are more easily accepted....however, it's still a thin line.
I would LOVE to have a dog. But as a renter, I will not because most DO NOT accept your application.
I strongly disagree. I see this as a case of passive aggression on her part - dog = her; lawn=you. I am mystified as to why you put up with this for one minute. Are you male? If so, it would seem to me that you have a crush on her. Get over it. I dislike this woman, because people like her make it harder for the rest of us who have pets.
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