Smoking and Pets...YES OR NO?

Question

Without being to terrible cynical here, I understand the demographic of what a renter is. Of course there are wonderful renters out there, and there are terrible renters out there too. The middle course or group, I think I have pegged pretty well.

All of my rentals will not have carpet, I will take care of that unless I have no other choice.

I have all of the supplies and means for painting between tenants, so this begs the question.

Do you allow smoking, do you not allow smoking, do you charge for smoking, or do you care?

Where I live you can still smoke in most bars.

I'm curious peoples thoughts.

Also, with pets, same deal. Only as this is a more common charge, do you charge monthly, or in a lump, or both.

Trying to think of ways to increase the monthly cash flow when I near a rent cap.

Brian C. · Answer

I've personally never had an issue with pets and have always let them. Technically, I've made out better with them because I collect a $350 non-refundable pet deposit and I don't believe I've ever had to fix or replace any pet related damage (~7 of 10 tenants I've had). I've also begun to put in more pet/kid friendly flooring (vinyl, tile) to make it even less of a concern. As @Nathan Gesner stated, you're also greatly reducing your candidate pool. My personal experience I've had more applicants with pets than without. I'd take a tenant with a high credit score and a dog over a non-pet owner and an average credit score any day. Not a perfect analysis, but it seems like responsible owners tend to have better behaved pets.

As far as smoking, I've walked into enough smoker's homes and suffered through the smell and the yellowed molding enough to never want that in a property I own,. Especially knowing it can still linger when trying to get a new tenant in there. At the very least I'd put in the lease they can't smoke inside with a good way to enforce it.

As far as smoking, I've walked into enough smoker's homes and suffered through the smell and the yellowed molding enough to never want that in a property I own,.  Especially knowing it can still linger when trying to get a new tenant in there. At the very least I'd put in the lease they can't smoke inside with a good way to enforce it.

Nicholas Paros · Answer

My $0.02, pets can be a good additional source of income. They are not a protected class so you can put breed restrictions in place, size restrictions in place, and require additional deposits and monthly rent. Yes, pets could cause added damage but, overall, this should be able to be covered by the additional deposit and monthly fees. I love pets because they are just as likely to cause damage as children are and I can't charge more for them haha.

As far as smoking, I wouldn't recommend that. Once you get that smell into an apartment it is extremely difficult to get rid of which means you may be limited to only renting to more smokers. In addition, it adds a potential fire hazard as well. Our practice is not to rent to smokers even if they "promise" not to smoke inside.

Dennis M. · Answer

In low income areas I don’t allow pets . Your not going to get any more rent and risk replacing flooring and carpet $$which is way more than one months rent !maybe middle class b areas but  Poor people don’t have the best hygiene themselves much less caring for their pets ! Urine and feces will melt right through the floor . Dogs bark they stink up the apartments they rip stuff up when the owner leaves for work ( think of the other tenants) they get fleas and tics they  snap at strangers and sometimes kids they leave poop everywhere and all these issues compound when other families live in the same building and use the same small yard . Getting a 500$ deposit isn’t going to do much if the carpet needs tossed and sub floor replaced  or thevtensnt below moves because they can’t stand the dog barking . I’m sure many LL had great success renting to pet owners but I personally see no reason to take on more problems with people and repairs in a multi family situation

Ramiro Burr · Answer

A lot of good points here. I will highlight my 2 cents as a 15-year LL veteran

Dennis M from Erie makes a solid point - $500 deposit will not cover the extensive damage that a pet can do and the repair work that may need to take care of.

So YES - you can get a little more money with non refundable deposits, or deposits, or higher rent.

BUT actually keeping that money at the end of the day is hard to do.

One thing no one has mentioned - that is that good prop mgt requires regular consistent checking in on the property - even better when you can drop in on a repair when they are not home or not prepared for your visit. This way you can get a real good view of how well or BAD your property is being taken care of.

Cracked windows, torn blinds, trash cig in the yard are all just the tip of the iceberg as to what is really going on in your $80,000 property and what will be required to get it back to A1 shape.

Bottom line - Smoking - No, never. You could allow smoking outside but again - do you have the time to monitor this?

Pets - in the years that I have charged more - it has been a breakeven situation - I charge more but then there's the cleanup and repair required .

The problem is not the pets - it is the irresponsible pet owners who are lazy, cruel and just ignorant.

More important, make sure your lease is up to date, and has all loopholes closed and gives you the advantage in monitoring and determining (sole sayso) in what constitutes "keeping the property clean and presentable at all times."

A lot depends on the income class - lower income renters are 99% likely to not properly care for their pets or manage them appropriately - IE letting them run loose, inside and out, poop anywhere, jump the fence etc.- so that is a no go.

Middle class or high class rents is a judgment call.

The last bottom line - what kind of rent demand do you have in your? The higher the demand, the higher the rents and the more you can dictate terms or get real strict.

If you have a weak demand, it is hard to do this and you're likely to have to get what what you can.

Best of luck,

Ram

Corby Goade · Answer

Pets sometimes, but smoking absolutely never. Doesn't matter the class of the property, smoking does irreversible damage. You can just as easily rent to a non smoker, so why rent to a smoker? I don't see any benefit.

Patrick M. · Answer

If it is a SFH or duplex I think it is different. For multi's I am a no on smokers and on pets. Pets for the most part based on my having to rip up subfloor from urine. There is no amount of pet deposit/ deposit or additional rent that can cover that. Walking into a multi that allows pets and smoking or either one is like walking into a filthy sty. You will not attract the best tenants.

I turn away a lot of renters who contact me explain how they have the best pet, so I agree, it makes it more difficult. But I am not a property manager just looking to fill a unit- I want my multi-families to increase in value year after year. And keeping them updated, clean and free of animals places me in a higher market and increases the value of my property. It also allows my tenants the comfort of knowing that their building does not have animals in it if they are allergic, don't want to hear barking or feel like they entered a stable when passing through the common area.

Again- makes it tougher, but better in the long run for me.

Katie Stewart · Answer

I have to agree with everyone above. Smoking should be a no simply because of the damage it does to a rental property. It stains the walls and molding and also clogs air vents. I wouldn't recommend allowing smoking because smoke damage makes for a much harder turnover for the next tenant. I also would say yes to pets! At the apartment complex where I worked, we charged a $300 pet fee (non-refundable) and $25/mo. pet rent. It can help you bring in more prospective tenants and increase cash flow.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It's hard to nail down an exact number but I've read that 50 - 70% of all renters have a pet. Even if it's only 50%, you're losing a big chunk of the market by rejecting pets. Instead you should focus on how you can financially benefit from them. Because pet-friendly rentals are hard to find, renters tend to pay more for them and stay longer. Pets do create an increased risk so figure out how to mitigate that risk by charing non-refundable fees or refundable deposits, increased rent, etc.

As for smokers, reject them. Ensure your lease includes protections for violators and stiff penalties for the additional cleaning required if they violate the terms.

Linda S. · Answer

Account Closed,

100% no smoking, ever, it's even in our lease that they forfeit the deposit if it's found in the house.      If you allow smoking,  you'll never get a non-smoker without a full gut/rehab.   Don't allow smokers, just don't!!!

Pets-- majority of the time yes with a pet fee and pet rent, but depends on the floors and house!

Smoking and Pets...YES OR NO?

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