Can you be banned from having a pet in a rented house or apartment in Colombia?

One of the most repeated difficulties when looking for apartment oh House for rent for Colombians, it is to find places where forbidden to have pets which cannot be demanded of any tenant thanks to a decision of the Constitutional Court, the landlord can establish rules or agreements so that animals can be in the place.

The pet ban for tenants is something that happens mostly in horizontal properties, however the sentence T-035 of 1997, the horizontal property regime in Colombia decides that under the right to the free development of the personality and to personal and family privacy, it would not be permissible to prohibit the possession of domestic animals, so that in the event that an owner does not allow its tenants to have a pet, it would infringe that person’s right to free development of personality.

In addition to this, the Law 675 of 2001enacts the horizontal regime of property, with which the conditions of peaceful coexistence and social solidarity are established, in which they are established, the horizontal regime of property must tend to establish peaceful relations of cooperation and solidarity social between the co-owners or holders, in addition to the possession of domestic animals within it.

However, even if the owner cannot prohibit the pet owner by the lessee, he can establish rules or agreements so that the animal can stay there; that is to say the responsibilities and duties that this person will have in front of his pet in the residence, the principal of which is generally that the tenant who has a dog or cat assumes the costs of any type of damage it may cause to the property.

These standards are usually established as lease clauses in the contract signed by the owner of the property and the person who rents the place, these must comply with what is established in the coexistence manual in the event that it is in a horizontal property and can specify in the terms which have been agreed upon by both persons as to the welfare of the property.

People who have pets and who are looking for a property to rent are recommended to look for large, well-ventilated spaces, to inquire beforehand with the owner about the rules of coexistence, in the same way to be honest and to specify the number of animals they own, in addition to the species and size of its mascot. This is accompanied by the parameters of coexistence, regulated by the National Police and Coexistence Code and Law 746 of 2002, which establish that animal caretakers and co-owners must:

• Pick up your dog’s feces and dispose of them in the appropriate containers.
• Always take your dog on a leash or leash in the common areas.
• Do not incite your pet to attack people, animals or property.
• Do not allow your pet to dig or scatter garbage in common areas and areas.
• Owners of strong breed dogs are required to ALWAYS wear them on a leash and muzzle, as per Law 746 of 2002.

For their part, the people playing the role of the owners, they are advised to show clear pictures of the property, so that the person determines if they can live there with their pet; clarify the opening clauses In the event that the person has a mascot determine the rules for cleaning and common areas, you can also ask the tenant for a animal insurance in which it is located, will cover the costs of any damage that the animal may cause during the time that its owner lives there as a tenant.