BiggerPockets

Hi,

I need advice regarding dogs in the rental apt. One of the tenants moved out and she left such a mess behind especially of the dogs she had. I just bought the place and inherited the tenants.

I don't want to accept pets anymore but it seems hard to find somebody to rent to. It looks like everybody has at least one dog. Should I still wait for a tenants who doesn't own pets?

Thanks

I have allowed cats when I first buy a property that has carpet I probably would replace already and make it clear I won't be putting new carpet in. Cats destroy carpet worse than dogs.

In my situation thought I have to be more careful on dogs as I had a dog bite on one of my properties 4 years ago that still creates an exclusion in my policies wherever I go for any animal "with a history of biting people" and yes - it extends to all my rentals. So be ready that if a dog bite occurs on any of your properties, all of your properties (including your private residence) could get hit with a similar type of exclusion for 5-7 years.

Yes, you are right.

I just think that you have to be prepared to give up a big share of the rental market since a lot of people own dogs. But right now, especially after the mess the tenant left, I think it is worth.

Maybe I will change my opinon in a few months if the apartment doesn't rent.

And you are right with the smell. The apt. was cleaned, deep cleaned, after she left but it still has a strong smell.

Really, it just depends on the specific animal.

We have three cats, four now that my sons is staying with us. They have a scratching post and wreck that, but don't tear up anything else. We use covered litter boxes, so they can't miss. Once in a great while one of them does their duty somewhere else, but its almost always because we've made them mad somehow or another.

My sister's cats, on the other hand, have totally wrecked her couch. No damage to her house, but he couch is toast.

We have a small dog, a cairn terrier. No problem with tearing up anything inside, but he's a digging fiend outside. He has a big run, but there's always something more interesting outside. So, for about two feet inside the fence, the ground is covered with 2x4 fencing to keep him from doing a great escape.

Some friends used to have great danes in their rental house. One day they got to chewing and pulling on the hose, which was hooked up to the bib. You see where this is going, right? Anyway, they pulled the pipes out of the wall and flooded the place. Good thing this was Houston where there are no basements or they would have had an indoor swimming pool.

For a random animal you know nothing about, its a total crap shoot.

Often you will find that the pet urine and smells have penetrated into the wood flooring. At my local REIA, a guy recommended using a product called Odor X-it in accordance with the product instructions, and then to apply an oil-based sealer.

If your insurance company doesn't have a vicious dog list and allows all breeds, then you don't need to worry about it (unless there are local laws that address the issue). Just be sure that your landlord insurance will cover any liability you have if a tenant's dog bites someone.

You can ask or even require the owner to have insurance for the dog, but they usually don't comply.

The insurance doesn't have a vicious dog list but they don't cover any damage/injury made by tenants' dogs.