Tenant wants a small dog

[Sean Carroll]

Hello BP, my tenants in California would like to get a small hypoallergenic dog. I love dogs and see no issue with this but would like to know how to proceed in terms of the month to month lease they are on and if it needs to be changed, the liability that could fall onto me, any documents I should have sent to me like shots and so on. Thank you!

[Nathan Gesner]

@Sean Carroll I manage over 300 rentals and completely disagree with Jonathan and Blair. If you screen your applicants properly and they are good prospects, they will likely be good pet owners. They will take care of their pet and take care of any issues caused by their pet. In my experience, far more damage is caused by 5-year-old boys than from dogs, particularly small, hypoallergenic dogs.

When you have a risk, find a way to mitigate it and make more money. In this case, I would start by inspecting the unit to ensure the tenant is already taking care of things. If it's nice now, there is a 99% chance it will stay nice even with the addition of the dog. You could limit the tenant to one dog under 15 pounds. Charge a non-refundable fee (if allowed) and then an increase to the monthly rent (I recommend $50). The rent alone is an extra $600 a year which will more than pay for any door scratches you may incur from such a small animal.

Make sure you have this all in writing. You can search Google (or BP) for "Pet Lease Addendum" and find plenty of samples or just get one from a local attorney.