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Q.If the building I live in allowed pets, can the landlord now start a no-pet policy?
A.Yes. California law does not really address the issue of pets with respect to rental units. "No Pet" clauses and clauses that limit the number and/or type of pet a tenant may have in a lease or rental agreement are legal (absent a local rent control law to the contrary) and if a tenant violates such a clause it may be grounds for the landlord to evict the tenant.
However, tenants should check if their city has a local rent control ordinance addressing the issue of pets. For example, the West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Ordinance allows a tenant who at any time had a pet with the landlord's permission to replace the pet even if the landlord starts a "no pet policy." Thus if a tenant had two dogs with the landlords permission for one year, and lived pet free for 6 months during which time the landlord instituted a no pet policy, the tenant would still be allowed to get two more dogs of the same size as those that existed at the beginning of the tenant's tenancy. This replacement is allowed even if the landlord invokes an existing no-pet clause in the lease or has changed terms of tenancy, creating a no-pet policy in the meantime. However, a tenant may not replace one type of pet with another (e.g. a cat instead of a dog), or one size with another (e.g. large dog instead of a small dog).
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