Why you SHOULD allow animals

[Nathan Gesner]

This is probably the best study I've found on the benefits of renting to pet owners. Too many Landlords believe pets cause too many problems and result in a loss of revenue. This study found the opposite to be true. Based on my personal experience with approximately 10,000 leases, I can verify animals are a money-making machine, not a detriment to your business.

Pet-Friendly Housing Study

I hope you actually take 10 minutes to read the article because it has some great information. For those that can't find the time, here are some key findings:

• Approximately 50% of housing studied was pet-friendly to some degree. Only 9% allowed animals without restriction, half allowed cats, and 11% allowed large dogs.
• 82% of renters reported problems finding housing that would accept their pet.
• Pet-friendly rentals earned about 20% more in rent.
• Annual net benefit to the Landlord was $2,949.
• Tenants with animals stayed 3x longer.
• Vacancy was shorter and marketing costs were lower for pet-friendly rentals.
• The average damage reported by each Landlord was $430
• Pet owners did not cause more damage than Tenants without pets, whereas Tenants with children averaged $150 more in damages
• 20% of the tenants surveyed admitted to keeping an animal illegally
• Proper screening significantly reduced the risk. Only 3.7% of the Landlords required pet references, only 7.4% required a pet resume, 11% required health records, and only 18.5% required Tenants sign a pet agreement.

The bottom line: renters with animals are no more dangerous to your property (on average) than renters without animals. The increase in damages is negligible and the financial benefits are absolutely staggering. 

The best thing you can do as a Landlord is:

• educate yourself on how to screen animals properly
• develop rules and be prepared to enforce them
• charge reasonable fee for the benefit of allowing animals.

You'll rent places quicker and easier, you'll make more money, and your tenants will stay longer.

Landlords, join the conversation:

• Does your personal experience match the findings?
• How do you screen animals?
• Do you charge for animals? Deposit, fees, or rent? Or all three?
• Do pet owners leave more damage or cause more problems than people without pets?
• Do pet owners stay longer?
• What's the biggest difficulty you have with animals?

[Andrew Syrios]

Agreed completely. You should definitely charge pet rent/pet deposit, but it's absolutely worth it. Otherwise you lose a huge number of potential tenants. Americans love their pets and you should accommodate them.

[Scott Raley]

I also have friends that own one story properties with concrete slab foundations. They paint the slab and let the  tenants  buy area rugs. Saves on having to replace rugs when a tenant moves out and reduces pets smell. Again no female cats as their urine is borderline toxic and a very hard smell to get rid of. 

[Rachel C.]

Originally posted by @Matt C.:

I just read the entire thread and the article.

For me personally, I am in a fairly high demand area so don't get much from the benefits of opening up to pets.

I do have some observations though, but first a brief primer on Ontario, Canada pet related rules. Of course the standard caveat - not legal advice, do your own research, etc.

OK, the rules:

Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act does not permit landlords to include “no pet” clauses in rental agreements. The only exception is if the property is a condominium and the condominium corporation’s declaration prohibits pets.

Interestingly, a landlord can refuse to rent to a person who has a pet (no discrimination clause), but a landlord cannot evict a tenant simply because they were unaware of a pet, or because the pet was adopted after the tenant moved in. A tenant can only be evicted if a pet is making too much noise, damaging the unit, causing an allergic reaction to others, or is considered to be inherently dangerous. Even then, in order for a landlord to take action, the landlord first must bring the issue to the attention of the tenant and the tenant has the ability to mitigate the issue. If there is damage done to the property, the tenant can opt to repair the damage. If the animal is disturbing neighbours, the tenant might prevent the animal from being outside and limit its exposure to neighbours, if the animal is upsetting a fellow tenant's allergies due to fur contaminating the communal laundry machine, the pet owner can do their laundry elsewhere. Only after all that is exhausted the landlord must apply to the LTB for an order terminating the tenancy before kicking people and pets out.

Also, a landlord is not allowed to charge a pet deposit. 
A landlord is allowed to ask for a last month’s rent deposit, as well as a key or pass card deposit, BUT the rent deposit must be applied to a tenant’s last month’s rent, and the key deposit must be given back to the tenant upon the return of keys. It is illegal for the landlord to use these deposits for anything else, such as to pay for damage caused to the unit by people or pets.

Further, most municipalities in Ontario have their own restrictions on the number of pets that can live in any individual home. In Toronto for example, no dwelling can house more than three dogs, or more than six cats.

SUMMARY - In Ontario, landlords cant do much about pets after the place is rented. Even if you asked and they lied on their application that they dont have any pets, you cant evict them for a fraudulent application. 

This means the news is not good for Ontario landlords:

1. While allowing pets on the lease just makes life easier as, hopefully, they are truthful and upfront and not hide and bring them in later since I cant do much at that point, I cant force them to pay more. I might reason with them the additional risk I am taking and quote them a higher monthly fee, but its iffy.

2. I cannot force them for any animal/pet deposits or advances, similar to NYS it seems like. Similar to above, I can however ask them for an animal fee, and might reason with them for one but cant force them to pay one

3. I CAN and DO ask for tenants insurance, but am yet to find any policy that has pet related damages to my property covered in that.

4. I can't restrict the animal type, unless the city by-law allows me to. I am yet to find a by-law that prevents any cat breeds - and they are the worst.

So, basically, all that I can do is regular inspections to check for damage.. SIGH.

Oh and you cant do "too many" inspections either -- apparently even doing more than once a quarter may jeopardize the tenant's "right to quiet enjoyment of the rental premises".

And Lets not even go into how difficult it is to evict someone even if there is damage, and even more difficult is to get them to pay for damages.

If people have ideas, I am all for it!

 Hi Matt, this is  a really good example of why I think blanket statements such as 'you SHOULD allow pets' needs to be understood as more of a click-bait title than sound advice. For me, I will probably consider allowing pets with some serious protections in place but for you, it's pretty clear that you aren't in a position to maintain your investment if pets start causing damage to your property. Maybe you could consult with an attorney that in your area that only represents landlords to see if there is a way you can navigate this.

[Jacob Stewart]

@Nathan Gesner great post! totally changed my perspective on allowing pets! Thank you!

[Lisa Tiedgen]

How do you protect from liability to the landlord in the event the pet bites a neighbor or neighbors dog etc...? Wouldn't the landlord take the risk here?

[Matt C.]

@Rachel C. First off, thanks for going through the super long read.

You can tell I have been through pet hell - as recently as March 2020 with cat pee that went to the joists!! They were under the bed and not easily seen/smelt as the entire place had a bit of a funky smell! We had to remove/replace entire sections of good quality hardwood, refinish the rest of the hardwood that remained, stained it all to have consistency. It cost over $10,000. And that was because I knew the contractor and got a deal on the wood.

I would just like landlords to do the math:

Even if I could charge them (which I can’t) and did charge them $300 upfront non refundable, and $100 per month more. Even then, I would net $2700 (taxable income, mind you) over their 2 years with us. It would take me more than 4 such tenants/8 years just to break even on one bad experience. Not to mention I lost the rental revenue for the 1 month it took to fix the place that I couldn’t rent it out for.

To your point, spoke to some landlord lawyers and it’s really no go. What I mentioned in my long post is all there is to it. The tenants rule in Ontario... the best they can do is help with the LTB (government) and with eviction paperwork. Sigh.

One of the many reasons not to invest in residential rentals in Ontario!

[Rachel C.]

Originally posted by @Lisa Tiedgen:

How do you protect from liability to the landlord in the event the pet bites a neighbor or neighbors dog etc...? Wouldn't the landlord take the risk here?

Hi Lisa,

You can see my previous post on this topic on the top of page two. (Link for your convenience.)

You need to look really carefully at your landlord insurance policy to see what is covered. Many policies have dangerous breed exclusions. If a person is fatally mauled or maimed or another pet is fatally mauled or maimed on your property and the breed is excluded by your insurance, you are liable for damages.

[Garrett Culpepper]

I have a rental in Colorado; if you know anything about CO, you know everyone has a pet. I started off not allowing pets, even though I have two large dogs and two cats. Quickly I found I was cutting my tenant pool in half. Here is what I ended up doing: 

Pet fee $200 per dog, $100 per cat.

Pet deposit $500 flat for up to two pets.

Larger dogs (150 lbs and up) required a larger deposit.  

No size restriction but breed restrictions due to insurance policy, I found my tenants that have pets tend to sign longer leases.

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Rachel C.:

"Click bait" is pretty harsh. That person is in a rare situation where animals can't be discriminated against, but that doesn't make the suggestion wrong for everyone else and it certainly doesn't mean my advice is not sound. Why would you apply his situation to the rest of the world but consider my consider my experience with 10,000 leases as unsound advice? 

I'll try to see if BP can give me a demographic break-down of members. I would venture to guess over 90% of members are American and over 90% of all members are in areas that allow pet fees or increased rent.

No rule is applicable to every situation. My advice is sound and the vast majority of Landlords would be wise to learn how to market themselves as pet-friendly, develop a process for screening both tenants and animals, and then learning how to monetize that. This is a website specifically designed for people to become better investors, which (gasp!) includes making a profit. The average Landlord could increase their return by 10% - 20% through reasonable measures without negatively increasing risk.

But, it's still (mostly) a free country and you're welcome to take my advice or ignore it.

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Lisa Tiedgen:

How do you protect from liability to the landlord in the event the pet bites a neighbor or neighbors dog etc...? Wouldn't the landlord take the risk here?

Excellent question! First, you should have proper insurance. Second, you can require the tenant to purchase renters insurance, which will normally cover their animal. I recommend the Tenant include the Landlord or Property Manager as "additional insured" or "additional interest" on the liability policy. If the animal bites someone, the injured party may sue the Tenant and the Landlord. IF you're labeled on the insurance policy, the renter's insurance will cover you without taking a ding on your own insurance policy. The other benefit is that the insurance company will send you a declaration page showing proof of coverage. If the tenant attempts to cancel their policy or allows it to lapse, you'll be notified of that, as well.

Another recommendation: consider requiring the tenant to pay up front for renters insurance for the full term of the lease. This is another method of preventing them from letting the policy lapse. However, it's expensive and isn't fool-proof.

[Rachel C.]

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

Originally posted by @Rachel C.:

"Click bait" is pretty harsh. That person is in a rare situation where animals can't be discriminated against, but that doesn't make the suggestion wrong for everyone else and it certainly doesn't mean my advice is not sound. Why would you apply his situation to the rest of the world but consider my consider my experience with 10,000 leases as unsound advice? 

I'll try to see if BP can give me a demographic break-down of members. I would venture to guess over 90% of members are American and over 90% of all members are in areas that allow pet fees or increased rent.

No rule is applicable to every situation. My advice is sound and the vast majority of Landlords would be wise to learn how to market themselves as pet-friendly, develop a process for screening both tenants and animals, and then learning how to monetize that. This is a website specifically designed for people to become better investors, which (gasp!) includes making a profit. The average Landlord could increase their return by 10% - 20% through reasonable measures without negatively increasing risk.

But, it's still (mostly) a free country and you're welcome to take my advice or ignore it

Hi Nathan! Sorry! I didn't realize you would feel that the term 'click bait' would be harsh. Maybe just a different view on the topic? I do think I've seen many posts in this thread that anecdotally demonstrate that allowing pets have had some serious financial drawbacks for many landlords. Please don't take it personally if I point out additional aspects of this topic. It's an internet forum so this will happen sometimes and my views are not a statement about whether or not your advice is sound! It seems like you've taken a defensive tone and my intentions were not at all to make you feel bad or dismiss your advice. It's clear you've offered a lot of insightful and actionable advice for how someone might be able to mitigate risks of allowing pets and I agree that it might be an important way to increase profits. Or allowing pets could have financial repercussions as described by @IrenaBelkofer. (Ouch!) There are pros and cons to all strategies and allowing pets will work for many and not great for others. I know you like to keep mentioning how experienced you are and how many leases you have. (AWESOME!) So you are able to spread out risks in ways that help keep your ROI stable. Many members here don't have 400 doors. So if you only 5 doors and you run into a big pet problem, you simply may not have the reserves to necessarily recover in a financially beneficial way.

(PS- The 'it's a free country" made me happy. Hadn't heard that in an argument since I was a kid! Really brought me back to simpler times. Thank you.)

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Matt C.:

@Rachel C. First off, thanks for going through the super long read.

You can tell I have been through pet hell - as recently as March 2020 with cat pee that went to the joists!! They were under the bed and not easily seen/smelt as the entire place had a bit of a funky smell! We had to remove/replace entire sections of good quality hardwood, refinish the rest of the hardwood that remained, stained it all to have consistency. It cost over $10,000. And that was because I knew the contractor and got a deal on the wood.

I would just like landlords to do the math:

Even if I could charge them (which I can’t) and did charge them $300 upfront non refundable, and $100 per month more. Even then, I would net $2700 (taxable income, mind you) over their 2 years with us. It would take me more than 4 such tenants/8 years just to break even on one bad experience. Not to mention I lost the rental revenue for the 1 month it took to fix the place that I couldn’t rent it out for.

Expensive hardwood is $10 a square foot. So a cat damaged 1,000 square feet of hardwood in a rental and you couldn't tell until the tenant moved out? 

Here's a real-world example that just happened.

Landlord wants to rent a house with a market value of $1,800 a month but refuses to take any pets, not even a Chihuahua. I put it on the market on March 20th and we finally found a renter for July 1st. That's $6,000 in lost rent and at least $500 in utility costs. 

I have over 10,000 leases under my belt. Do you know what the largest unpaid balance is from a renter? $3,427.90. Want to really blow your mind? She didn't have any pets or kids! It was a husband/wife that got mixed up in drugs and went downhill fast. I shared a video walk-through of that property on BP and my business YouTube page just to show how much damage a renter can cause in less than 90 days.

That's still a big loss, right? Except you have to take it in context. That same Landlord has made at least $5,000 in pet fees in the past ten years and probably almost as much in reduced turnover and vacancy. And that's one of my worst-case scenarios. Most of my Landlords make more money and never have a loss greater than what is covered by the security deposit.

[Jim Glover]

Agreed!  I do screen pretty closely, but in general people are the problem, not the pets.  I only recently started charging pet rent vs just a pet deposit.  I wish I had started that sooner!

[Jason Taliaferro]

I allow pets. I just ask for a non refundable deposit aka fee. I haven't charged a monthly fee but plenty of people do. Pets can cause damage but so can people. 

[Richard Prillerman]

yes

[Jeff Chaves]

Wow this thread blew up! Great post @Nathan Gesner

I’m new to BP but as a tenant with a Golden Retriever I found all of these posts very relevant to my current and future situations. 
When signing our current lease our landlords sprung a last minute addendum on us claiming any damage done by the dog would be considered outside the realm of “normal wear and tear”. Given the unbound scope of that language we eventually agreed to leave out the addendum. 

As tenants we’ve made a point to cover all of the high traffic hardwood flooring with area rugs so that when we eventually move out everyone is happy. I couldn’t agree more with @Allan Smith that when I buy my first rental property (which I intend to make pet friendly) I’ll be investing in some Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring. It’s practical, looks great, and provides everyone with peace of mind. 

Also big thank you to @Curtis Bidwell for the well written Animal Policy! Definitely going to tuck that away for use down the road. 
Cheers,

Jeff

[Francois G.]

@Nathan G.

Great post. A few of my clients LOVE accepting pets due to being able to charge premium rent and the lower turnover.

[Jon Shoop]

@Nathan G.

Great info! Thank you.

We accept pets. However, due to insurance requirements we have to ban certain breeds. I'm sure everyone can guess what a few of those are.

We also use a website that does the screening for us. This frees up time to do in-depth applicant reviews. It also takes the liability off of us and the owner.

Finally, we have rental home servicings throughout the year and we use this opportunity to also make sure no unauthorized pets or people are staying at the property.

[Anna Swartz-Lopez]

Considering how easy it is to get a pet certified as an "emotional support animal," I think it is better for a landlord to allow pets and put rules in place. Get in front of the pet question, rather than playing catch up when a tenant shows you a document that will force you to allow their pet on your property. 

If you as a landlord allow pets, you can collect a deposit for pet damage, and you can usually charge an additional amount per month. You can also exclude certain breeds. It's always better to stay in front of the situation, rather than try to play catch up later. 

[Hank Walter]

I've learned to accept pets as I've found it's really all about the owner of the animal. The owners are the ones responsible for making sure the animal is properly trained and taken care of. I had a former tenant who spent most of her time sleeping and at friends houses, the poor cats always had litter all over the floor, feces in box, and paw prints on the walls. She also thought putting the cats food and water on the carpet would be a good idea rather tile floor inches away... Screen for common sense. 

I had to replace all the carpet due to smells and stains and re-painted the room to further eliminate the odor, former tenant refused to pay and blocked communication from me to her to avoid the payment. 

[Account Closed]

@Matt M.

Ever smell a grade 8 kid Matt? Man, now THEY stink.

[Donald Hale]

Cut from my agreement....

1. Pets. No pets shall be brought on the premises without the prior written consent of Lessor.

Number of pets______________Amount Paid______________________Date___________

With the written consent of Lessor, a pet fee of one hundred dollars, ($100.00) is required for each pet. Limit is two pets or a combined weight of 150lbs.

From what I'm reading though, I need to look at just increasing monthly rent. 

[Andrew Thomas]

Getting a lot of ideas from this thread. 

Thank you for the suggestions and ideas. My investments are going to be primarily blue-collar residences, so I plan to allow dogs in my SFH rentals, when possible. (I don't yet own any investment properties, aside from my personal residence, which I plan to turn into a rental, and planning to purchase my first investment property this year).

I'm not really an "animal" person, but having a wife and kids, we have three dogs, a 12 y.o. cocker spaniel, and two 2 month old mutt puppies. Since I can't "evict"... I'm beginning to think I need to install LVP, and charge my wife and kids pet rent.  :) lol 

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Andrew Thomas:

Getting a lot of ideas from this thread. 

Thank you for the suggestions and ideas. My investments are going to be primarily blue-collar residences, so I plan to allow dogs in my SFH rentals, when possible. (I don't yet own any investment properties, aside from my personal residence, which I plan to turn into a rental, and planning to purchase my first investment property this year).

I'm not really an "animal" person, but having a wife and kids, we have three dogs, a 12 y.o. cocker spaniel, and two 2 month old mutt puppies. Since I can't "evict"... I'm beginning to think I need to install LVP, and charge my wife and kids pet rent.  :) lol 

LOL! Good luck in divorce court!

[Allana Alex]

I’ll pass.  Inherited a tenant with two cats as soon as you enter the lobby the smell From her litter box hits you.  Despite discussion about the issue the smell resurfaces every now and then it’s like she is immune to the terrible smell.