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Hi all,

My boyfriend and I have 2 RES that currently live with him in his apartment. He is moving in a few months out of the country and I was planning to take them. My apartment lease agreement states that I can have a pet with written permission from the landlord. I went to the office to try and get permission but they shot me down really quick.

Do other people have experience/advice with having turtles in a 'no pets' apartment? What did you do?

I'm looking for a little guidance on what to do. My apartment building is leased by a big agency, so there's no landlord on site or anyone really that comes around. The only people that would be in the apartment are maintenance people if they needed to do something in here, and they always leave a note saying they will be coming by.

I'm new to renting so I'm most worried that they would find out if I had the turtles here and see that I broke the terms of the lease. We don't have anyone else that could take them, although I have been looking into finding someone to pay to "pet-sit" them long-term until my boyfriend moves back and we can find a turtle-friendly apartment.

Any advice or previous similar experiences anyone can offer?

I'm past examples, it's best to say you just have a fish tank or aquarium, since other people might not understand turtle care. How big is the tank?

I lived at places like that with many reptiles as pets. Normally they don't bother to enforce these rules on aquarium pets that you do not take outside in public though its in a lease or rental agreement. Being a Property Manager myself overseeing 50 homes, I will tell you that it is within my leases to when I rent one out. It has been in the leases before I took over. If you pay your rent on time, no one complains with you taking it out in public and you abide by the other rules, most head management will just look the other way. Just treat the staff and management respectfully and I don't see much of a issue.

The only main thing you need to worry about is if you have pest control and or maintenance coming in, they are required unless of course is a emergency to give you at least a 24 hour notice. Be concerned with chemicals pest control companies use obviously and find a temp home for a few hours when maintenance goes in where they don't see the turtle soooooo shhhhh lol

Do your residents require renter's insurance?

Renter insurance is optional Steve here, they are not required to do so . My company has insurance for each home and it is covered at no additional charge to the residents. I recommend the residents to get it primarily if only say a dog they own becomes aggressive but now we require prior to move in that all dogs must be under 20 pounds and not a breed that gets over 20 pounds and non aggressive at the time of move in. I know dogs can get territorial against humans they do not know however so that is the only time additional insurance is required.

The property manager said they have a strict policy that they only allow cats, which is frustrating since that is not explicitly stated in the lease. The property manager was incredibly rude and eventually refused to continue the conversation, so I worry that keeping them in the apartment would just end badly.

We are currently trying to find someone to house them temporarily for a few months. Any suggestions of where to look?

Unfortunately I have no idea where you could put the turle for a few months. There are non profit centers, rescue centers, nature educational centers and reptile rescues that you can research on if you wish to donate it. Nature educational centers would be my preference out of them all in a donation if you are willing . If you opt any of the others, do heavy research as some rescue places are shady but the good news is that the State Governments usually have a listing on the true legit rescue centers. If they are not on the list, I would be skeptical.

No place I know of would just keep it for you for a few months. If you want that, I would look into a family member or close family friend as your better options. I have no idea why this property manager is doing this especially if it is not in the lease for a aquatic animal. No offence but it sounds like a rookie manager sorry to say.

Friend/family member is where I would suggest too. Its really a bonus since you will set it up for them. When is your lease up?

I agree, sending your turt to a family or friend is probably the best thing to do rn

There is a law that many people I know have used when keeping their pets of all species in student housing (which tends to have a no-pets policy). If you are able to have a doctor verify that you need an "emotional support animal" (not a service animal, which undergoes training), then things like the Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Housing Act allow you to keep a pet in your home. Based on your profile, it looks like you're in Massachusetts; here's a post from the Massachusetts Law Blog that has some details: https://blog.mass.gov/masslawlib/misc/emotional-support-animals-and-service-animals/

I think many of my friends who have gone through this process used things like stress or depression as evidence that they needed a support animal. Obviously I'm not a lawyer or doctor, but it might be worth looking into, if you really want to keep your turtle with you. Good luck!

Samuel T Jackson wrote:There is a law that many people I know have used when keeping their pets of all species in student housing (which tends to have a no-pets policy). If you are able to have a doctor verify that you need an "emotional support animal" (not a service animal, which undergoes training), then things like the Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Housing Act allow you to keep a pet in your home. Based on your profile, it looks like you're in Massachusetts; here's a post from the Massachusetts Law Blog that has some details: https://blog.mass.gov/masslawlib/misc/emotional-support-animals-and-service-animals/

I think many of my friends who have gone through this process used things like stress or depression as evidence that they needed a support animal. Obviously I'm not a lawyer or doctor, but it might be worth looking into, if you really want to keep your turtle with you. Good luck!

Interesting however and I will look at the link to see if it is all the U.S.A. I have not heard about the law you are describing as a "emotional support animal". I have been certified for 3 years and working the last 3 years in Property Management. I would like to hear more about this law indeed that you described. I have people a lot coming to me trying to rent here using the excuse " Our dog is a service animal even though it is over your weight limit". As soon as they claim this, I simply provide them the form required that they need to fill out the States I.D. number for the dog, the Doctor that provided the referral to the State, a attached photo of the dog and weight. Believe it or not, only 1 person out of 32 in the past two years had verifiable evidence of the animals State Issued I.D. and requirements. Now keep in mind, State to State could be different but even though I support all animals here, the dogs weights are very important and those people wanting to utilize a service or medically required line, those people must be able to prove it within the medical form of the application process. If they fail to provide and outside the conditions, they simply get rejected. You do have my curiosity on a " emotional support animal " however I am sure the medical form we utilize would have to be placed into that area as well, but it is a great idea if they can start out getting a medical referral from a Doctor to cover the start of what can take a week by the Doctor and 2 months by the State in clearance (Florida).

I just seen this link that I am posting below after a check on service animals and emotional support animals. Not only after reviewing it a bit more do they identify the needs to have these animals but it is a 2nd. Degree misdemeanor arrest able crime in Florida if a person claims a service animal or emotional support animal and can not prove it with verification. That I find interesting in itself. This law is pretty new within the last 9 months in Florida. Still come on, it is a aquatic animal and it is not like it will escape its cage , turn into a godzilla turtle and eat people. The property manager is just not using common sense really or complete ignorance.

Here is the link I found,

http://thegate.boardingarea.com/service ... ly-1-2015/