Pet rent in New Jersey

[Andy S.]

I understand in NJ, landlord is not collect to charge pet security deposit. Moreover tenant security deposit cannot be more than 1.5 times the rent.

1. How do fellow landlords handle this situation? Charge $35/month per pet? Is $35 too little or a lot to ask for?

2. Show the $35/month as rent and not pet rent? ie just increase rent? (I understand upon learning the per is an ESA or Service Animal, one cannot charge pet rent....but these are still animals and can cause damage to the property. How does landlord protect his interest in such a scenario?

3.If a tenant with pet moves in and wishes to convert the pet to ESA or SA, is landlord allowed to deny the request? If I must increase the rent by say $35/month, do I increase the same? What reason I can give without getting in trouble with the law?

Any words of wisdom from fellow investors would be highly appreciated.

[Christopher Berra]

@Ayelet Wiedermann is a great resource. 

[Andy S.]

@Christopher Berra

Thanks for the recommendation. Are you saying I reach out to Ayelet for an advice?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Andy S.:

I don't charge deposits for animals because deposits are fully refundable. I charge fees that create additional income. You can do a "placement" fee when the individual first adds the animal, followed by a monthly fee. I screen animals and then assign a score to determine how much to charge. It can be up to $500 for placement and then $25 - $100 for the monthly fee, per animal.

[Ayelet Wiedermann]

Thank you @Christopher Berra!

@Andy S., great questions and there a couple of ways to handle this in New Jersey, depending on the situation.

1. You can charge a smaller security deposit, and then add the pet deposit.

2. You can charge an annual pet fee rather than refundable deposit.

3. For pet fees, I've seen monthly fees anywhere from $25-$100 per month, per pet, depending on the location, landlord, tenant, etc.

4. As far as ESA animals, you cannot charge a fee, however, tenants still need to abide by rules as far as caring for their animals and the property. You should have a clause in your lease agreement or an addendum detailing their responsibilities along with penalties for violations.

At Keyrenter North Jersey Property Management, there are a couple things we always go back to when making these decisions:

- How can we provide the best value/service to clients and tenants? Examples here are why are we charging these fees? What service or value are we providing that it covers?

- Compliance - always making sure we are following NJ State Law. Make sure you are handling the security deposits correctly. We put together the following blog post which outlines tenant responsibilities as it pertains to security deposits - https://www.keyrenternorthjersey.com/blog/4f0f9d23-698f-49fe...

Let me know if you have any additional questions!

[Christopher Berra]

Quote from @Andy S.:

@Christopher Berra

Thanks for the recommendation. Are you saying I reach out to Ayelet for an advice?

 Yea. She's a great resource.