How To Find A Pet Friendly Apartment In NYC

By: Jennifer Villalba

It is a sad truth of NYC that more apartments are not pet friendly than those that are. This means that anyone looking to move to the city or move homes within it must make sure the place they are heading to have an allowance and the basics available for their pets. While this information can be found out speaking individually to landlords and owners. To avoid that hassle, it is best if the laws, rules, norms, and other details of pet-friendly apartments are understood before you make a move.

Pet Laws

NYC pet owners will likely find it easier to buy than rent when it comes to pets, but the same is practically not possible. In light of that, most first-time movers will look to rent. This makes knowledge and understanding of the laws related to pets crucial. The laws make many exceptions for dog owners as these people cannot be asked to separate from their pets. The sad reality is that around 3/4^th of the apartments do not allow for pets.

The law in question is applicable to those places where there are three or more apartments together, or coop housing exists. This is true for all five boroughs. Here dog owners live in places where dogs aren’t allowed to stand protected. The provisions of the law are that if the tenant is not sought to be evicted in three months or if the landlord does not cite them, then the dog can be kept. This is dependent on the dog being not hidden, and their presence being declared. Overall, Finding a Pet Friendly Apartment in New York City is not an easy task.

The Rules

There are specific rules that apartment owners lay down with respect to the breeds of pets that can be kept. Most apartments disallow those breeds that are seen to be more “aggressive” as per common belief. Sadly this leaves breeds like Rottweiler and Pitbull being ostracized. This is also the reason most NYC residents who are now buying a pet look for smaller breeds. Even then some small breeds may be banned by apartment owners as they are loud or bite more. This makes choosing a pet or finding an apartment a struggle for owners of these breeds. Another thing to note is that mostly for tenets the permissible limit is one pet while it may be more for owners.

Most exotic pets are not allowed. It is best for pet owners to check against the issued list to check if their irregular pets are allowed or not. The rules are categorical when it comes to venomous pets but can differ from place to place in the case of other pets classified as exotic.

Another important to keep in mind is that pet behavior is critical here. The responsibility of the behavior rests solely on the pet owner. A misbehaving pet most often results in the tenancy coming to an end. It is also well known that being a let owner is much more costly in NYC than in other cities with a similar housing system. The pet owners need to keep this in mind.

A Few Numbers to Mull On

A few statistics that you, as a pet owner or potential owner, may want to look at:

2017 saw approximately 425000 licensed and unlicensed pets in the five boroughs in NYC.
The highest number of dogs was seen in those areas where the median income was higher. A direct correlation could be observed between these two factors.
The licensing of pets increased in terms of percentage since 2017 with property owners demanding the same from their tenants.

Areas

A study into the five boroughs has revealed which are the best regions to be pet owners in the city. One needs to remember here that when it comes to service dogs. No landlord or apartment owner can deny the tenants the pet. The rules do not apply, as stated in that case. For normal pets, the best apartments are:

The Lanes in Long Island City has modern apartments that are pet friendly for the whole space and a great place for pet owners to move to.
The Venture at the Upper East Side has apartments with the best views and an excellent space for pets, and this is a great spot for pet owners.
The Highgate at Upper East Side has apartments that are very pet friendly; so much so that they actively welcome cat and dog owners.

Looking for localities rather than apartments, then these are the places you must check out:

The Financial District is one where most building owners and most landlords are more than happy to welcome you with your pets as the space there is conducive to this.
The Upper West Side has spaces that allow the movement of the pets around the house and other areas around it, thus making it a pet-friendly neighborhood by default.
The Upper East Side has modern apartments built with the best inline features for the owners and is extremely pet friendly for dog and cat owners.

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