All Forum Posts by: Chris Guinn

Appreciate your thoughts. 

For additional context, the tenant has been paying their rent late, after our designated grace period, with an additional late fee as specified in the lease agreement. They're definitely clear on our late rent policy and have been subject to fees already as a result of their tardiness. 

Regarding the "what does the dog have to do with late rent?" question, my thinking was in line with John's - that if the tenant is already struggling to pay rent, adding a new dog to the equation could lead to increased financial strain - a pet fee up front and monthly pet rent moving forward, plus food, veterinary care, etc. - all of which can add up quickly.

Hello BP Forums,

Two months ago one of our tenants expressed interest in adopting a dog and inquired about our pet policy. We are a pet-friendly property, so I shared our Pet Addendum doc with the tenant, outlining pet fee, pet rent, etc. After sharing the addendum, we didn't heard anything else from the tenant about their desire to move forward with getting a dog.

Fast forward two months, and today we received a message from our tenant expressing their desire to move forward with a pet adoption. However, since the date of their initial inquiry, this tenant has paid their rent late for the past two months.

Given that the tenant's payment history as of late has been a little rockier, I'm hesitant to give this tenant the go-ahead to adopt a dog - however we have already made it clear to the tenant that we are a pet-friendly property.

Given the above context, some questions I have are:

(1) Could I tell this tenant that they cannot get a dog after I've already established that we do allow pets? Any tips on how to do so tactfully? Could I site their history of late rent as a reason to say "no" to a pet? 

(2) What would you do in this situation? For additional context, we inherited this tenant in June and aside from the past two months where they paid rent a few days late, they have otherwise always paid on time and have generally been an ideal tenant: quiet, clean, polite, etc. 

Any input would be appreciated, thank you!

I would just screen them like you would anyone else. I don't think it'd be fair to make assumptions about an applicant based on their line of work being a bit unorthodox. Assumptions based on prejudiced stereotypes could mean missing out on a great tenant - one with some real financial stability!

Dancers have a real job, pay taxes, have a solid income, etc. What we see in movies and TV isn't always the most equitable portrayal of this work. Screen them objectively, don't make assumptions, don't miss out on a great tenant!