Inherited Tenants with Multiple Pets

[Hilary Graves]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are closing on our first property on March 1 (5 units.) We are inheriting 4 tenants and one vacant unit which we plan to update as soon as we close. We have been combing through the current tenant leases and have found one tenant that has a pet addendum for one cat. When we went through the property the first time, we noticed not only the cat, but a dog, a rabbit and an iguana in a large terrarium. Our appraiser also said he saw all these animals when he went through. None of these pets have addendums for the lease and we are assuming the current management company doesn't know anything about them. In the lease, there is a $250 non-refundable fee per pet and then an additional $25/month/pet charge. What we're thinking is that this tenants rent should be $75 more based on the agreement plus the additional $750 for the non-refundable pet fee. Tenant has a lease until Oct. 31 of 2021 and has always paid in full (minus what she may be hiding from current landlord) and on time. We are looking for advice on how we should proceed. If she is a good paying tenant, do we risk losing her if we call her on the additional pets? We'd like to rehab the whole place at some point, so maybe wait until her lease is up in Oct, and not renew, giving us time to put a tenant in the current vacant unit?

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Bill

[Karl B.]

I would charge them more, pet fee-wise, for the additional dog. If they're unwilling to pay, tell them they can break their lease. 

I don't accept dogs in my properties but if I did I'd be charging a pet fee of $50 per month per dog. 

If you're afraid she'll move out you can check local rental ads to get an idea as to whether or not other landlords accept dogs and if so, how much the pet fee is per month. That way you'll have an idea as to the tenants' options.