We love pets!! Most of us at Boardwalk Realty & Development have them. Sadly, we have found that a few dog owners do not properly tend to these animals. We have experienced past problems with flea infestation, soiled carpets (as well as other dog-related damages), odors that cannot be removed, and owners that allow their dogs to use the common areas as litter boxes but do not clean up after their pets. Before implementing our no dog policy we allowed people to keep 1 dog no larger than 25 pounds when fully grown. We found residents that were keeping several dogs and some that even brought vicious breeds to the properties. We also experienced irresponsible pet owners who leave their dogs unattended for several weeks at a time or owners that permit dogs to bark through the night thereby disturbing their neighbors. We have even had residents that expect us to find dogs that have Kennel Cough and have infected other dogs. Managing these issues became overwhelming and detracted from our efforts to provide our residents with great places to live. We opted to provide great places for our residents to live instead of managing dog problems caused by a handful of irresponsible dog owners. We work very hard to provide our residents with clean, quiet, comfortable and well-maintained residences as well-kept common areas but have found that dogs, ferrets, lizards, and rodents of any kind are not compatible with our properties and our goal of providing great places and great communities for our residents. We are unable to keep the properties in the kind of condition that we can be proud of when large dogs, lizards, rodents, or ferrets are present. We have now limited pets to one cat . Cats are permitted at all of the properties except Breezin, Poseidon, and Thalassa. The non-refundable pet deposit for a cat is $300 and monthly pet rent is $30.. Fish and birds are happily accepted and there is no deposit for them.
If you have any questions please contact Boardwalk Realty at brdwlkrlty@aol.com
Emotional Support Animals
Are permitted by law but there must be an ESA letter from a Primary Care Physician or Mental Health Professional (professional licensed number must be included). These persons must be licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The animal must be certified as an ESA.
Your ESA cannot be overly loud or a significant inconvenience. Additionally, the animal must be well behaved and must not financially burden the landlord. If your ESA causes any damage to a rental property, landlords are legally allowed to charge for damage costs and evict.
It’s essential to recognize that the only way to get an ESA legally is to get an ESA letter signed by a medical professional. If you claim that your animal is an ESA without the proper documentation, you can face severe legal and financial trouble. Additionally, it’s illegal to claim you need an ESA if you do not.
If the animal is extremely disruptive or the tenant doesn’t take extra measures to respect other tenants, landlords may deny the accommodation or file for eviction if necessary.
Faking an ESA letter can result in serious legal or financial setbacks. In most states, it’s a crime to misrepresent your pet as a service animal or claim you have a disability if you do not. Pretending to have a disability and taking advantage of the rights that come with owning ESAs can result in penalties ranging from hefty fines, jail time, or community service hours.
