Pet Fees & Any different concerns for cats?

Question

Hello

We are in the process of trying to lease out our second SFH rental property.  We have previously had a firm no pet policy.  However, we are seeing a lot of interested individuals asking about allowing pets.  Our main hesitation is simply that we feel that pets will cause additional damage, odors, etc..

If we were to consider this, what are you currently charging for fees, either one-time or additional monthly fee(s)?

Also, do you give any different considerations for cats versus dogs?

Thanks!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I always recommend accepting pets, but you should know how to screen them, monitor them, and have strong policies in place to stop problems early.

You should regularly monitor your market on Zillow, realtor.com, apartments.com, etc. Look at what other landlords are charging for pets and then consider what will work for you.

Consider requiring a higher standard for pet owners. For example, if your credit score requirement is 640, consider only allowing pets if the tenant has a 700+ score. Require them to have a landlord reference with the pet. You can also limit the number, type, and size of animals to reduce risk. Larger dogs are more likely to dig or chew, but some smaller breeds are more likely to relieve themselves indoors.

Do your research and you can get an idea of what pets are best suited for a rental. Example: https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/best-dogs-for-apartment-dwell...

Good renters are good pet owners. They will pay more, stay longer, and take responsibility for any problems. Accepting a risky tenant with a pet is a big mistake.

Troy P. · Answer

I've done a lot of research on this topic.  Like you see now, eliminating pets also eliminates a large chuck of prospective tenants.  I settled on allowing dogs and cats under 25 pounds and no aggressive breeds.  I did have one tenant ask what is an aggressive breed, and I had to google a comprehensive list because I didn't have it readily available.  There are known "aggressive breeds" that constitute a combination of size, temperament, etc. to form this list of aggressive breeds which would theoretically be more of a liability.I also settled on a pet deposit, not a pet fee or pet rent.  A deposit gives them an incentive to take care of the unit and potentially have the deposit returned to them.  Make sure the tenants understand this.  A pet fee or rent may give someone the impression that "they already paid for the damage" so they're unwilling to prevent it.  This is my limited experience, and it's worked out well so far.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Nathan Gesner  Typically true, Only got one animal control call on a single family yapper. Only dog it ever happened with in single family.  Of course it matters the distance from other homes for yappers and how animal control is. For this house as it is relatively close to other homes we try to get no dogs and meet/approve any dogs if the tenants are good candidates most people don't have time for that.

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

@Ross Hayes I know it’s difficult wondering what to do, as I’ve seen my fair share of pet damage, but honestly once you put some screening processes and money attached to it, you will see that majority of pet owners are pretty good.

Actually the number of pet owners in rentals is actually north of 70%+, so they are definitely part of the family. I use a service called pet screening.com . I’m not sure they handle individual owners or just apartment and residential property managers? They take care of all the screening of the pets; vet records, ask questions etc…. then you put in place a pet fee, pet deposit or monthly pet rent or a combination thereof. If you can’t or don’t want to use the screening company, put a pet agreement in place, collect a pix of pet, vet records, the agreement (you can find on online) and collect the appropriate fees.

Please don’t forget about ESA or Service animals. They are each treated a little differently, and you cannot collect any fees. Please read up on this to avoid any legal issues.

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@Ross Hayes If the owner of a cat or cats  regularly (every week) changes the litter box and scoops it daily for waste you should not have odor from cats.

It’s hard to enforce this.

Lynn McGeein · Answer

For us, NO CATS. So much stench that is so hard to remove. I guess we'd have to if someone actually had a real ESA cat with proper paperwork, but so far, it's been the ones trying to force us to allow their cat, and they've been ruled out for other qualification issues. We used to charge an extra refundable pet deposit added to normal deposit for a pet, but once the ESA online thing got so ridiculous, we just raised our security deposit requirement across the board so we're more protected even if someone has an ESA or tries to get an ESA once they move in. Probably lost a few applicants by demanding the higher security deposit, but it works for us.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Ross Hayes on your property yes,  they can always sue you.  However most dog bites are more minor and with liability for the tenant it may not get to your insurance. I do not have experience and am not a lawyer but tenants dog my understanding tenants insurance kicks in first.

Ross Hayes · Answer

Thank you for all of the responses.

To clarify - if a tenant does not have renter's insurance with liability, if their pet hurt someone, the landlord could be held responsible?

Colleen F. · Answer

@Ross Hayes  don't forget to require renters insurance with Liability in the case of pets if you do not already require. I definitely agree with @Nathan Gesner comments especially as regards NUMBER of pets.  Rare is the person with 4 pets going to keep your place in good condition.  On dog size I feel differently because little dogs although maybe they can't do as much damage, in my experience they are yappers so a big noise issue.

Pet Fees & Any different concerns for cats?

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