What do you charge for pet fees?

Rental Property Investor · West Caldwell, NJ · Member since 2014 · 66 posts · 18 votes

Looking to see what other property owners charge for pet fees and how they structure the fee? Lump sum upfront for the year, monthly payment etc…

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

Deposits are refundable, fees are not.

We charge a traditional deposit, then a monthly increase to the rent based on type of animal and size. Our highest rate is $100 a month which adds up to $1,200 a year. We rarely get a complaint.

We only allow two animals per rental. There are some exceptions, like a 3,000 sq.ft. house on 100 acres.

The only time we charge an up-front fee is if they have owned the animal for less than one year (rescue, puppy, or whatever) or they have a cat. These are high-risk situations so we want to limit them as much as possible. We charge a $300 fee up front and then the monthly rent increase.

Our Animal Addendum makes it clear that the increase is for the full term of the lease. If the pet dies or is given away after three months, the fee remains until the end of the lease and then we can drop it at renewal. Even if a cat is only in the house for three months, the damage may be done, so we charge the full year of increase to protect against that.

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Member since 2020 · 41 posts · 56 votes
4y
$150/month for 1 dog
1 Reply
Dmitriy P.
OP
Rental Property Investor · West Caldwell, NJ · Member since 2014 · 66 posts · 18 votes
4y
@Kevin Manafi I’m also in Jersey and I know pet deposits are not allowed. Basically you cannot charge anything over 1.5mo rent so the pet deposit is out the window here. The up front pet fee idea I’ve been kicking around. I’m thinking in the future of charging $1/lb. So if the dog is let’s say 40lbs, that would be $40/mo.
0 Reply
Frank McGovern
Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2021 · 32 posts · 32 votes
4y
I have a love/hate relationship with the "aggressive breed" ban as I've lived with animals typically listed as "aggressive", such as German Shepherds and Pitbulls, that have been some of the best dogs I've ever known. Meanwhile, everyone allows a chihuahua and I've had them be extremely aggressive and I've even seen the opposite of one that was very content and sweet to everyone. I've found the mantra of "there are no bad dogs, there are just bad dog owners" to be very true in every case.

I've discovered that it's hard to find residences that will rent out to many of these breeds, as seen here, so it can actually be a lucrative offering to charge more since you are one of few that will allow it.

I plan to charge an up-front fee of $350 and then $100/month increase in rent if total pets are larger than 50lbs.

I will only do breed restrictions if my insurance requires it.

For those of you that do pet limits, what does it apply to? If you have a two-pet limit, can someone do 2 dogs and a hamster? What about 2 spiders and 1 cat? Curious where the line is, is it always cats and dogs vs everything else?

2 Reply
Zachary Collins
Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 15 votes
4y
Denver co

$300 non-refundable
$30 a month additionally

ALSO in our state ESA's do not qualify for not paying an additional fee. If someone mentions they have a service animal you're allowed to ask 2 questions:

1) What service has the animal been trained to provide
2) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability

Very much all for people having Service animals when or where required, and they absolutely shouldn't pay an additional fee. Very much against people trying to pass off pets without paying a pet fee (which will definitely always be required to repair inevitable damage)
2 Reply
Richard ApplebyPro Member
Investor · Hutchinson, MN · Member since 2017 · 19 posts · 4 votes
4y
@Nathan G. Brilliant
2 Reply
Curtis Mears
Property Manager · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2014 · 728 posts · 596 votes
4y
@Dmitriy P.
One time Nonrefundable $450 per pet.
2 Reply
Dwayne Poster
Investor · Van Isle · Member since 2021 · 455 posts · 226 votes
4y
I charge 100/month for pet, no deposit. Court case in my area determined that a landlord cannot holdback on returning 'pet deposit', as a pet allowance implies typical pet consumption.
1 Reply
Dmitriy P.
OP
Rental Property Investor · West Caldwell, NJ · Member since 2014 · 66 posts · 18 votes
4y
@Frank McGovern like you, we’ve also owned a pitbull from when he was a pup. Both my kids grew up around him and we raised him to be a family dog. I don’t ever think twice about leave him alone with the kids. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, people raise some of these breeds wrong and that’s when bad things happen. With that said, even though I love pitbulls, have raised one, I know my dog but I don’t know how others have raised their pitbulls so I’m always rather cautious around them when I meet them until I know the dogs temperament. I had a great pit but I wouldn’t rent to someone with 1 simply because my insurance company would not allow these breeds.
0 Reply
Greg M.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
4y
I charge $0 in pet rent, $0 in pet fees, and collect $0 extra security deposit. I set my rent and security deposit assuming that the tenant will have a pet.
Explicit extra costs for pets is just going to turn off a large percentage of potential renters. It's also going to cause a lot of renters to no longer have a pet, but they now have an ESA as it's cheaper to get ESA paperwork than pay your extra fees.
2 Reply
Jeremy Komer
Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2020 · 84 posts · 81 votes
4y
@Dmitriy P.
$25 a month and $200 per pet
0 Reply
Andrew Bresee
Rental Property Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2015 · 23 posts · 12 votes
4y
@Dmitriy P. I do 300 refundable pet deposit for up to 2 animals, assuming nothing out of the ordinary.
0 Reply
Dmitriy P.
OP
Rental Property Investor · West Caldwell, NJ · Member since 2014 · 66 posts · 18 votes
4y
@Greg M. This, I like!
0 Reply
Luka Milicevic
Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
$300 NON refundable deposit on top of the regular refundable deposit
$25/month extra rent
Pet has to be approved too
0 Reply
Chris HenryPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Cottonwood, AZ · Member since 2020 · 22 posts · 7 votes
4y
I charge $50/month for each pet that the tenant has.
0 Reply
Chris Viola
Flipper/Rehabber · Irvine, CA · Member since 2015 · 49 posts · 4 votes
4y
Hi Dmitriy:
Yes, pet fees are charged on my properties. Generally speaking, a $250 security deposit for each pet and $30-40 per pet per month. As you know, pets can cause a lot of damage internally and externally (think killing the grass or stinking the turf). Hope this helps.
Chris
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John MorganPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
Nothing. They all say they don’t have any. Then the next thing you know, there’s a dog and a couple cats living in there. Lol
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Sheri FluellenBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Cheyenne, WY · Member since 2020 · 122 posts · 64 votes
4y
I charge a $300 non refundable pet fee per pet at lease start (don't call it deposit or it has some legal consequences on my state, such as having to pay it forward when you sell property). Then I also charge $50 per month per pet as pet rent.
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Deanna O.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2010 · 366 posts · 314 votes
4y
No extra charge for pets, but they have to disclose them, and they are listed on the rental agreement. The "pets" section takes up one entire page of the rental agreement. I can and have kicked out tenants for lying on the number/breed of dogs. That said, the tenants with problem dogs have almost always been problem tenants. Sometimes I would have gladly kept the animals and gotten rid of the people. I now require front/side pics of animals, and if possible meet them in person, or have a NON-animal person meet them-- if she's comfortable with them they tend to be OK. All my current tenants have dogs, and I have animal-resistant flooring in all my rentals. Works out fine. Animal owners tend to stay forever rather than looking for a new place.
1 Reply
Laura MarksBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Independence, MO · Member since 2020 · 127 posts · 111 votes
4y
Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:
Deposits are refundable, fees are not.
We charge a traditional deposit, then a monthly increase to the rent based on type of animal and size. Our highest rate is $100 a month which adds up to $1,200 a year. We rarely get a complaint.
We only allow two animals per rental. There are some exceptions, like a 3,000 sq.ft. house on 100 acres.
The only time we charge an up-front fee is if they have owned the animal for less than one year (rescue, puppy, or whatever) or they have a cat. These are high-risk situations so we want to limit them as much as possible. We charge a $300 fee up front and then the monthly rent increase.

Our Animal Addendum makes it clear that the increase is for the full term of the lease. If the pet dies or is given away after three months, the fee remains until the end of the lease and then we can drop it at renewal. Even if a cat is only in the house for three months, the damage may be done, so we charge the full year of increase to protect against that.

That's smart on the Addendum! I'm always removing a, pet but we do charge 25% of the rent to change the lease.

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0 Reply
Ron Brady
Rental Property Investor · Burlington County, NJ · Member since 2019 · 540 posts · 771 votes
4y
@Dmitriy P. We looked at BP Forum posts to see what others were charging and determined that a) $45 was within the range of what others are doing, b) this was an amount that made having pets in some residences "worth it" to us, and c) we wanted a single pet rent amount that made it easy for us to manage, that is we did not want to manage/remember/determine different pet rent amounts for dogs v cats, different sized pets, etc. This said, we understand why a different landlord may choose to make that differentiation.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
Quote from @John Morgan:

Nothing. They all say they don’t have any. Then the next thing you know, there’s a dog and a couple cats living in there. Lol
When you inspect and discover an unapproved animal, what do you do about it? Nothing? If that's the case, why even have a rental agreement with rules?

I require all animals be approved. If a Tenant sneaks one in, they are hit with a written notice of the violation, $200 fine, and I inspect within 72 hours to confirm the animal is removed or the Tenant will be evicted. I inspect all 400 rentals at least once a year and I only caught one unauthorized animal in 2021. That tenant removed the animal, paid the fine, passed inspection, and my contractors have been in the house a few times and confirmed there are no signs of a pet. She was also notified we won't be renewing her lease.

When you set rules, there need to be consequences and you must be swift and consistent in enforcing them. It really cuts down on problems.
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0 Reply
Todor Ialamov
Real Estate Agent · Burlington MA · Member since 2018 · 113 posts · 142 votes
4y
I charge $25 a month for a cat, $50 for smaller dog breeds (less than 30 lb) and $75 for larger breeds. I don't ask for a deposit upfront.
0 Reply
Lawrence BriggsPro Member
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 366 posts · 377 votes
4y
Hello All, great information thus far. I will be closing on my first single family rental at the end of the month. The property is 600sqf / 2 bedroom & 1 bath / single family / huge front and back yard without fencing. I am debating if I should allow a pet or pets into the property. Properties in my area that allow pets rent very fast. In my market, I have seen pet fees consist of $300 non-refundable pet deposit and $25 pet rent per animal. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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Jacob Graham
Rental Property Investor · OH · Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 1 vote
4y
Originally like many others I had intentions of not allowing any pets at all. After taking applications and having 2 dogs of my own it was a no brainer to just tack on $25/month (my market probably not as strong as others) and pocket the extra profit.
1 Reply
Chris G.
Member since 2021 · 132 posts · 37 votes
4y
@Dmitriy P.
For us it's pretty reasonable for the owners that don't mind pets an additional charge of $25 per month.
1 Reply

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