Tenant in 1BR wants to move cousin & dog in for a couple months

[Doug Phillips]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I received a request from one of our tenants (1 bed/bath) to have his cousin and dog (still determining the breed of dog) to move in for a couple months.  I am hesitant because I see this more as a long term stay, and I feel like two people and a dog in a 1 unit becomes cramped, and there's more room for wear and tear.  We would of course charge a pet fee, background check/screen the individual and the rest of due diligence if we decided that, but what is your opinion?  Have you ever been in a similar situation?

Thank you

[Thomas S.]

Simple NO. No reason to even consider a free loader moving into one of your units. I would not bother wasting any time screening unless you would have consider renting the unit to two adults with a dog long term from the beginning.

You need to determine standards and business practices from the get go and stick to them. Nothing should ever be considered from the perspective of short term.