My tenant is asking for permission to have her boyfriends "relatively small" dog stay in the apartment "a couple of times a month" at night. Lease says no pets unless I agree and they sign an addendum. The three other tenants have cats and pay rent of $10 and a $1000 deposit. I don't want a dog pooping in backyard or scratching up the floors or barking all the time, but I also want to be accommodating as I want this tenant to stay. What should I do?
We always set a weight and breed limit on dogs. The breed limits are as per generally accepted insurance company guidelines.
After that, of course lease addendum (covered smartly by previous posters), and you could also require vaccination record and dog license proof.
I once had a tenant that wanted to bring in here 2 Cain Corso dogs. Almost freaked out about these often aggressive dogs.
But instead of denying them out of hand, I decided to meet the dogs. These two were older (10+ years), and were the most gentle, well behaved giant dogs I've met to that time! The tenant paid on time, took good care of the unity, and stayed an additional 5 years after she was reunited with her pups.
If it’s not allowed in the lease I wouldn’t permit it. If you decide to allow it, I would add an addendum to the lease stating the rules and possibly getting a pet deposit.
I'm fine with pets that haven't bitten or attacked a person or another animal but would definitely add lease addendum including that she will need to immediately pick up dog waste and with a reasonable monthly fee.
We always set a weight and breed limit on dogs. The breed limits are as per generally accepted insurance company guidelines.
After that, of course lease addendum (covered smartly by previous posters), and you could also require vaccination record and dog license proof.
I once had a tenant that wanted to bring in here 2 Cain Corso dogs. Almost freaked out about these often aggressive dogs.
But instead of denying them out of hand, I decided to meet the dogs. These two were older (10+ years), and were the most gentle, well behaved giant dogs I've met to that time! The tenant paid on time, took good care of the unity, and stayed an additional 5 years after she was reunited with her pups.
Hey Emily, it sounds like you’re trying to balance being a good landlord while protecting your property, which is smart. One approach could be to allow the dog with a short-term pet addendum and a small pet deposit or monthly pet fee, making clear rules about behavior, cleanup, and noise. You could also set limits on how often the dog can stay overnight or require supervision. This way, you accommodate your tenant but protect your investment and keep other tenants comfortable. It’s all about setting clear expectations upfront.