My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: MN
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: MN
Hello! I recently signed a 24-month lease for a house I'm renting.
The day I went to look at the house, I asked the landlords I planned to adopt a dog. They said yes, that's fine. I asked if there were any restrictions on dogs, they said no. They seemed very chill about it. I ensured them I would be getting an adult, well-behaved dog with no aggression or bite history.
Later at the lease signing, I noticed the lease said I needed the landlord's written permission and to pay a deposit for any pet I wanted to reside on their property. So I asked again if they were okay with dogs and they said yes. I signed the lease. A couple weeks later, I paid a pet deposit.
At the time, I was looking at a lab mix so the receipt for the deposit says 'lab mix.' However, that dog proved to aggress towards cats so I declined the adoption.
Moving on...After sending them photos of a boxer/pit mix, they said their insurance doesn't cover aggressive breeds. Even though they originally told me there were no dog restrictions, I complied and abandoned the adoption. I asked twice for a complete list of dog breeds restricted by their insurance, but they failed to deliver.
Next, I moved on to a cattle dog mix, but then my landlords said they don't want a 'high energy breed' because they were afraid it would be destructive. (Note that this dog had no aggressive or destructive habits and was a foster dog living in a normal home without incident.)
Additionally, people are telling me that the pet deposit receipt I received earlier for the lab/mix counts as 'written approval' for that lab/mix only, and if I want a different dog, I need a new form. This was not made clear to me when I paid the deposit. I thought they would give me a separate form later.
I am happy to avoid breeds blacklisted by their insurance, but dismissing 'high energy breeds' as well feels a little unfair to me. That is a giant group of dogs that are perfectly qualified house pets, some of whom have even passed their CGC tests. I've had to turn down several dogs who were small, house trained, and friendly, but now I find my options are limited to dogs who are aggressive, prey driven, and more than half my own weight, yet they're all I have to choose from just because of breed. It doesn't make sense to me.
I like my landlords a lot. I do not think they're bad people, and I want to reassure them and take their concerns to heart, but at the same time I am feeling a little frustrated. I feel like they're making new rules every time I try to adopt a dog, and in turn not being wholly clear with me on everything. If I had known things would be this way, I would have never signed the lease in the first place. It is hard not to feel misled. They made it seem like they were very open and had no restrictions, but now I'm basically being limited to getting a handful of breeds.
I am a sublesee in the house, and am considering moving out and finding more open renting. My roommates are telling me just to get whatever dog and that the landlords have no legal right to tell me to get rid of it, because I have no signed anything or agreed to any policy that says I cannot get a certain breed. Whether or not that is true, I am unsure I want to generate that kind of atmosphere between me and my landlords. From my understanding, I have to get written approval. That is that. And right now my landlords don't look like they'll approve any dog that isn't the 'right breed.'
Any advice is welcome. I just don't know what to do.

