And for tenants who really need a well-behaved ESA that's not a 100 pound gorilla, treat them well and fairly and you probably won't have any issues at all.

I'd just add that I would limit the size of the animal to under 25 pounds. 

It will cost you a few pounds in weight though - lol.

I've always had terrier-type dogs around 20 - 25 pounds.  

I have a few more that have made small payments or had small wage garnishments of $20 - $50.An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.The best thing you can do to protect yourself is to have solid policies in place and enforce them.

But, it drove her nuts.So, one night she's pounding on my door hysterical. 

Now the buyer is trying to re-trade the seller on price to make the cash flow numbers work and the seller says pound sand that's not my problem and the deal falls out.Now the buyer has thousands to tens of thousands in sunk costs all because they did not verify ahead of time.

Most people who rent a unit with all hardwood floors bring their own area rugs anyway, which should deaden most of the most obnoxious pounding. 

They can weigh 50 pounds and sound like an elephant to me.Funny story - the building I last managed had 10 foot ceilings and was an old very solidly built building with carpets. 

I Sh*t 25 pounds!!!