Pet policy - advice please

[Mary Joe]

Hi All,  

Anything that I should be aware of before renting my condo to a tenant with pet?  It is a small dog, and he has all the shots and immunization papers.

The tenant is willing to add another month of security deposit in order to move in.

I always have a NO PET policy but now thinking of being a little flexible this time,  bad idea?

My concerns:

1) My condo has always been treated with pesticides over the years, I am worried his dog maybe allergic to the pesticides used in the apartment. 

2) Accidents do happen and the pet may release herself  on the floor, I have very basic laminate floors and I am worried the whole apartment will smell like pet urine one day.

3) My insurance policy has a pet exclusion clause, so maybe that is another sign to say NO to the tenant with pet?    I don't want the dog to bite others in the building and then there will be 3rd party liability exposure attribute back to the landlord in case there is a lawsuit.

These are my concerns, am I worrying too much?    Other than the fact that he has a pet, the tenant looks EXCELLENT on paper.  Hate to let go of a good tenant. 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Marcia Maynard]

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, oh my! There are many BP forum threads about the pros and cons of allowing pets. There are also many suggestions in those threads as to how to write your policy and enforce it. I suggest using the "Search the Site" function and exploring previous BP wisdom.