Risks for allowing tenants to have Pets

[Kimberly Fox]

Under what circumstances do you allow tenants to have pets? What is the pet fee? Is it typical to have a monthly fee for the pet? Please list pros and cons for allowing tenants to have pets.

[Jeff Burdick]

One of the biggest pros of allowing pets is that tenants are more likely to remain long term tenants because their options are so limited.  If relatively few places allow pets in your area, they're probably not going to want to leave...even if you gradually increase their rent.

 The downside is that pets can cause damage to the property.