Considering pets.....

[Dana Gearhart]

We are considering allowing pets in one of our duplex rentals. What are your thoughts/experiences with tenants and pets? How much do you typically charge as non-refundable deposit as well as monthly pet rent? What is a good weight restriction? Are there higher liabilities with allowing pets? Or legalities that we would be responsible for say if a pet were to bite? TIA (thanks in advance)

[Dan C.]

Hi Dana - One of the reasons I came down against allowing dogs in multi-family is that it introduces another area of potential conflict between tenants and also between the dog owning tenant and neighbors to the property.

The pool of non dog owners is big enough that I can rent out apartments just fine and do not have to deal with these types of conflicts.

The other thing I hated about having a tenant with a dog was that it would make vendors to the property skittish about entering the unit. Sometimes it would be me (and I am not very experienced with dogs) and some nervous plumber trying to settle it down and shoo it away.

When you have a unit with a dog or cat you will also lose out on a small number of future prospective tenants with bad allergies who cannot live in the same duplex with a pet.

There are upsides to permitting dogs, one being that landlords often charge more. Another benefit is that it can generate more tenant loyalty - as it can be difficult for tenants with dogs to find landlords willing to take them, so they will be less likely to leave.