I use Smartbnb and it alerts me when I get a booking and the calendar can’t be synced so I can manually block dates until it is resolved.

Ultimately the landlord is going to come after you for any damages and rent and that is not a responsibility I would feel comfortable taking. 

Fannie/Freddie and HUD will not buy loans with Environmental Hazards because Environmental problems are a far greater source of loss to lenders than fire or title risks because when the property becomes hazardous, its value plummets and if the borrower defaults, the lender could be responsible for costly clean-up fees, third party damages, or legal fees from town violations.

(I just raised rents from $2700 to $2995 and from $1395 to $1850 on long term tenants who quickly renewed.)Hopefully they didn’t really do $3-$5k in damage in 3 years or you probably want them out anyway.

In California at least Earnest money can be kept only if the seller can prove actual damages.

. $150/night average nightly rates in the area), and I assume that they are trying to block certain dates on the calendar.

-I’d consider using a move in/move out checklist to ensure no damages were done and a periodic walk through-keep good records for expenses and rental income/find a good application for this-read Brandon Turners book on managing rental properties and Craig Curelops house hacking strategies-they both rockGood luck and feel free to DM me with any questions!

If that's the case, I suppose all you could do is withhold a portion of deposit to repair any damage from the animals.

The first is, in the event of a partial loss, the claim is reduced by depreciation of the area damaged. 

Depending on when the property was built it could have a block or red brick foundation.