One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
North Hollywood Landord Will Evict You If You DON'T Have A Pet
(Photo by Javier Brosch via Shutterstock)
A kindly old landlord in North Hollywood has put an interesting spin on a common and annoying rental problem: if you don't have a pet, she won't let you rent in her building.
It's the golden rule for living in Judy Guth's building. She requires that tenants must have a pet in their apartment, or they may be forced to look elsewhere for a place to live. Even if a pet dies, Judy accompanies the owner of the shelter to look for a replacement, and if none are found, they'll have to go.
Her reason for the strict pets-only rule is simple: "My experience has told me you get people with a lot of love in their hearts when you get pet owners," Guth told the Daily News.
Former tenants have accused her of discrimination, but Guth is technically not in the wrong: there's nothing in the Federal Fair Housing Act against evicting someone who doesn't own a pet. It could be because Guth's case is one of a kind, but the law is still on her side.
Per the Daily News:
Each tenant is allowed one or two dogs of any size (she’s had Great Danes), but they must be vaccinated, and wear an up-to-date ID tag. Incessant barking or bad behavior is prohibited. They actually “interview” the dog before the person to check for that.
Despite the strange rule, Guth says she's never had issues with vacancies. Some residents have lived there for two decades, and Guth claims that there has always been someone moving in within two days of someone moving out. We're glad to see things are working out for her and her pet-centric community.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
