Pet Policies, Addendums, Clauses, Experiences?

Question

Tenants want to have a dog and are requesting a list of dogs that I would approve.  I have not approved a pet yet and have not even created a pet policy, agreement, addendum, or clause that I could use. The lease is vague about pets, it simply states that pets are not allowed unless approved in writing and are approved on a case by case basis. I'm willing to allow this tenant to have a dog or a cat, but I only want a tenant to have one pet, and I'd like to mitigate potential problems, such as noisy dogs, aggressive dogs, dogs that are not house broken, dogs that destroy stuff. Fortunately, all but one of my units has tile flooring, but unfortunately the unit this tenant is in has a recently refinished wood flooring in the living room - the rest of the unit is tile. I think a dog of any size might damage the wood flooring int he LV, which would be a headache and expensive to replace. Can you please provide advice on this, and perhaps share your dog/cat/pet policies and addendums or clauses? Thank you

Cathie Kovacs · Answer

Cats. I love them but don’t allow them in my rentals. They express their displeasure in the most unfortunate of ways (don’t use litter box).

I do allow dogs, even the large ones (why the bias here? I don’t understand) but get clear on what breeds your insurance company has issue with (also unfair IMO). Have tenants get renters insurance, with a pet rider, listing you as additional insured, just in case there are issues with the dog biting someone etc. Those little dogs most landlords seem to favor bite more than the big ones & often use pee pads I don’t want on my floors!

John Ravas · Answer

It's tough to predict how much damage a dog will do. I wouldn't necessarily assume that all dogs will pee on the floor and chew up the carpet. A lot of it has to do with the tenant themselves, and how they raise/handle the pet. Are they responsible tenants who take good care of the unit currently? If so, I would suggest that's a pretty good indication that they will be responsible pet owners.

Mitigate your risk by restricting large and traditionally aggressive breeds. Request vet vaccination records. You can even request to meet the pet to verify what they are telling you. Most importantly, charge a monthly pet rent and deposit. Amounts will vary by market, but here $25-50 per month and a $250-500 deposit are common. That should cover you for most potential damage. The upside is, if they are responsible pet owners, you pocket the monthly as extra income!

Jon S. · Answer

@Mike McCarthy
Thank you Mike. If you don’t mind, please post or PM a copy of your pet policy, thank you. Good point on SFR house vs apt, and I wish I could keep it that simple too. I’m stIll finding many apt hunters are looking for pets to be allowed, and if I want to avoid turn over of a unit, then I probably have to allow a pet to an existing tenant who requests one. Some tenants are also using ADA to have a pet so adhering to ADA rules in developing pet policies has become another legal aspect we are now responsible to understand, so I think it's kind of getting more difficult to have an across the board absolute "NO" on pets. That said, I am looking for everyone's experience and appreciate what you are telling me you're doing. Thank you

Pet Policies, Addendums, Clauses, Experiences?

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