Does anybody rent to cat owners?

Question

Hello all,

So I have a few qualified applicants and one gentleman asked if I would allow a cat. Now I hate cats, sorry if you're a cat lover but they are not for me. I have heard of them peeing every where and that they aren't rental friendly. With that being said that didn't come from anybody with a lot of experience. So any help or stories would be great.

Thank You,

Jacob Stokes

Nathan Gesner · Answer

My house has two cats. You can stick your nose within six inches of their litter box and won't smell a thing. I make sure it's constantly cleaned. In my experience, people fail to clean the litter box often enough and the cat starts peeing in other areas. Or the cat is not fixed and sprays.

There are things you can do to reduce the risk. First, you have to really screen the tenant. Good tenants are generally good pet owners. High-risk tenants are high-risk pet owners. That's true almost to a "T". Second, the pet owner should have at least one year of ownership and a Landlord reference to back it up. This allows you to see how they kept their last place while owning the pet. Third, you should be screening the animal to ensure it's fixed, at least one year old, current on vaccinations, and have a picture on file so the tenant can't pull a swap.

I recently started charging an automatic, non-refundable $300 fee for every cat because of the increased risk. Dogs and cats can both cause damage, but cats are more likely to cause damage that far exceeds the security deposit.

John Underwood · Answer

I have a couple people that have cats. I'm not a cat person either and I have heard horror stories. I just went over to a property that has 2 cats and I couldn't smell that there were cats in the house when I walked in the door.

Basil Kostaras · Answer

It’s important to be objective with your prospective tenet evaluations, but I unfortunately have been the victim of a situation where a cat contributed to around $1.5K in damage because of irresponsible pet owners (key point). We had to replace drywall, repaint floors, and change flooring throughout multiple areas of the home.

I believe this was due to a gap in our tenet screening process because we found the tenets also chose to shower without shower curtains after they had moved out. To everyone’s point above, with a good screening process and appropriate deposits in place there shouldn’t be a reason why pets (cats or dogs) wouldn’t be able to also call your rental home!

Paul Kubin · Answer

I agree with the above.  I'm not a cat person, but I got one because it was all my son wanted in the world.  I rent, so I take care to make sure there is no damage to the place or smell.  I think if the tenant looks good, an extra deposit is the way to go.  If the cat is that important to a tenant, they will be glad to put up a deposit.  And a deposit is for a purpose: if there's damage from the pet when they move out, you're compensated.

Ola Dantis · Answer

@Jacob Stokes Honestly, when it comes to Real Estate Investing, you have to try to force yourself from removing yourself emotionally from the process, meaning your love or hate for cats should not weigh towards making a decision about a tenant but more about the tenant's qualification.

I've had tenants with pets even though I am not a pet person (sacrilege, right?!!) lol. Of course, the weight of the pet should be taken into consideration. But generally, I allow pets and charge the tenant pet fees and deposit, so that way I can somewhat cover any unforeseen expenses.

Interestingly, pets playing such an important role in peoples' lives especially with everything going right now, so not allowing pets may cause you to leave some money on the table.

Max T. · Answer

@Jacob Stokes

Cats have the potential to do massive damage from urine contamination. Verifying spay/neuter goes a long way toward mitigating that risk. The risk goes up again when they are old/sick.

Tammy Mason · Answer

@Jacob Stokes If you like and trust the tenant and want to accommodate, you could ask if the cat is litter trained. You could ask if they have experience with cats. You could ask if the the cat could be kept in the garage. As for fees - non-refundable pet fee - such as $300 - yes. Extra security deposit - 50% to 100% more - whatever it would cost to replace the carpet maybe and still be secure. You could add an addendum to have the carpets professionally cleaned - pick professionals you trust so they don't go cheap. You could make provisions to check the property occasionally to check things - be specific - and a process for correcting problems you find. The worst thing you could do is not really want the cat and just say yes with no stipulations.

Waleep Alvi · Answer

It's one thing when an applicant says they have a pet - you can check out how well-behaved it is and how well the owners have trained that pet (and vice versa with respect to training of owners by the pet) before accepting them. It's quite different when a tenant without a pet brings one into the picture; you have no way to evaluate the behavior beforehand.

Michael Noto · Answer

Renting to a qualified tenant with 1 cat has never been an issue for me in my career. Responsible person, responsible pet owner has been my experience.

Guido Nunez · Answer

@Jacob Stokes I rent to cat owners. No issues. I charge pet rent, plus small deposit. Much easier than a dog plus it’s a competitive advantage.

Does anybody rent to cat owners?

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