how do you deal with tenant dog poop?

General Landlording & Rental Properties
11yFollow

how do you deal with tenant dog poop?

Carol Venolia
Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes

Howdy,

I'm happy to allow approved pets in my rental properties, and it's all been fine until lately...

I use a Pet Agreement form offered by Leigh Robinson, in his (wonderful) book, Landlording. It includes the clause "Tenants agree to clean up after their pet and to dispose of their pet's waste properly and quickly." Wow, I had no idea how many ways there were to interpret those words!

I have a half-acre property with 3 rental units. Currently two dogs live there, one for each of two tenants. I see dog poop in various places around the property, and sometimes have to be careful not to step in it. I've had more than one conversation with each dog-owning tenant, gently reminding them of the "pet waste" agreement, and saying that I basically don't want to see, smell, or step in dog poop anywhere on the property, pointing out that it's a health-and-safety issue, not just about pleasing me.

Still, I see dog poop when I'm visiting the property--and I don't go looking for it. It doesn't seem worth kicking out tenants who are otherwise good. But I'd love to hear how you enforce dog-poop rules without creating bad blood. In particular, how do you deal with it when there are two dog owners, each saying it's all the other guy's dog's poop?

Thanks!

0Reply
208 views

Most Popular Reply

Derek B.
Greensboro, NC · Member since 2014 · 212 posts · 143 votes
11y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Poop DNA!  Charge the offending party the costs of the testing.

http://mrdogpoop.com/crimelab.html

A friend with a large multi took this concept one step further. He did the dna program but installed bags and depositories around the property. Residents who spotted poop could write their apt # on a bag, clean up the poop and deposit it. He had them tested and charged the offending party the cost of testing plus $25 for first offense, + $40 second offense, etc.  My friend didn't keep any of the fines above his dna cost and passed them on to the resident who picked up the poop. Within a few weeks all of the kids that lived there were cleaning poop as soon as the owner left it behind and the place was spotless. 

5Reply
See this reply in the discussion

32 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Jean BolgerPro Member
    Aurora, CO · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Oh yeah, it's ALWAYS the other dog's poo.

    Perhaps you could look in to a pooper scooper service. Tell the tenants that if they can't fix the  situation on their own then you'll have to hire someone and the cost of the service will be spilt evenly between them.

    Don't get pulled into the "not my dog" thing. 

    2Reply
  • Jean BolgerPro Member
    Aurora, CO · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Look at this! hysterical, yet practical...

    http://www.pooprints.com/dog-poop-management

    4Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Poop DNA!  Charge the offending party the costs of the testing.

    http://mrdogpoop.com/crimelab.html

    0Reply
  • Ashley St. Gelais
    Specialist · Essex Junction, VT · Member since 2015 · 279 posts · 67 votes
    11y

    @Jean Bolger I love that idea!

    Or maybe whomever mows the lawn can scoop it and forward that charge to the tenants split in half.

    In qualifying tenants in the future, perhaps you can ask past landlords if scooping the poop was ever an issue?

    Ashley

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Jean Bolger:

    Oh yeah, it's ALWAYS the other dog's poo.

    Don't get pulled into the "not my dog" thing. 

     Innocent until proven guilty.  Don't punish a responsible dog guardian. You big *****....cat!  Click and it right sizes?

    0Reply
  • Steve Vaughan
    Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    11y

    I went to a pick up all poop day.  One does it on Monday.  The other does it on Thursday.  Hearing the 'it's not my dog's poop' argument gets old fast.  Having a pet is a privilege.  Said privilege can be taken away with a 10-day notice here.  Get firm if you have to @Carol Venolia!

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    If it's their sh*t you will not acquit.

    2Reply
  • Jamal White
    Real Estate Investor · Chino, CA · Member since 2015 · 147 posts · 18 votes
    11y

    Charge them for picking up the poop.

    0Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    11y

    Jean, Bob, Ashley, and Steve, all great input! And humor even! Love it. Thank you!

    And WHY does BP use a complicated tagging feature that I can never remember??

    0Reply
  • Derek B.
    Greensboro, NC · Member since 2014 · 212 posts · 143 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    Poop DNA!  Charge the offending party the costs of the testing.

    http://mrdogpoop.com/crimelab.html

    A friend with a large multi took this concept one step further. He did the dna program but installed bags and depositories around the property. Residents who spotted poop could write their apt # on a bag, clean up the poop and deposit it. He had them tested and charged the offending party the cost of testing plus $25 for first offense, + $40 second offense, etc.  My friend didn't keep any of the fines above his dna cost and passed them on to the resident who picked up the poop. Within a few weeks all of the kids that lived there were cleaning poop as soon as the owner left it behind and the place was spotless. 

    5Reply
  • Derek B.
    Greensboro, NC · Member since 2014 · 212 posts · 143 votes
    11y

    @Carol Venolia  "@?" To tag someone. In most browsers, type the "@?" Then wait and alist of users on that topic will show up underneath the dialouge box. I intended to tag you in my post immediately above but forgot. 

    0Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    11y

    @Derek B. (by jove, I think I've got it--thanks!), that's a brilliant concept about the dna and rewards! It might work better with more units, though. Right now, I have only two tenants (rehabbing the 3rd unit now), so I'd basically be pitting them against each other. Prolly best not to enhance their current tendency to blame each other. But I'll keep it in mind!

    For now, I've handed those two tenants a bunch of T-posts and tools, and suggested that they work together on installing the posts for a fenced dog yard. When the posts are in, I'll buy a roll of no-climb fence and install that with their help. I hope this turns into a community-building activity, and it just might concentrate most of the dog poop in one area. That or they'll kill each other, and I'll be posting a different question.  :-)

    3Reply
  • Kelly B.
    Investor · Wausau, WI · Member since 2014 · 115 posts · 26 votes
    11y

    Suspect there may be rules in your municipality about dodo required to be picked up DAILY, also there are probably leash laws.  Simply require that dogs are allowed out only on a leash and the owners pick up as things happen, or was that, sh¥t happens.  Lol

    0Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    11y

    Good points, @Kelly B.--thanks! A little humor helps, too.  ;-)

    0Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    11y

    Some of y'all's replies have me seeing something anew, which leads to a sub-question: How long do you think it's appropriate to leave the dog poop on the ground? In my case, it's one big open yard (until we get the dog yard finished), and the dog poop is right there where anyone might be walking--on the driveway, in the grass. I'm wanting them to pick up the poop soon after it drops, the way one might if walking the dog on a public street or in a park. But it sounds like some folks think every few days is okay? Maybe it depends on what the yard is like?

    0Reply
  • Brad Carrier
    Lexington, MI · Member since 2014 · 92 posts · 29 votes
    11y

    Have the lawn people run a bagger sweeper over the property. It picks up the crap for a few minutes more work in bagging. Otherwise just say no pets. 

    0Reply
  • Derek B.
    Greensboro, NC · Member since 2014 · 212 posts · 143 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Carol Venolia:

    How long do you think it's appropriate to leave the dog poop on the ground? 

    30 seconds...long enough for them to put the little baggie on their hand and pick it up.  It's one thing in a private yard...they can leave it there and attract flies and disease as long as they want (it's still gross) but if there are other people around, it should be cleaned up asap, no exceptions imo.

    1Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    11y

    @Derek B., you nailed it again! My tenants seem to think that cleaning up once or twice a week is good. I had to think it through to realize that, as you say, if this were one house with a fenced backyard, I wouldn't be complaining. But it's a shared property with no fenced yards. I just sent my tenants an email, saying:

    "I’ve been asked to further clarify what “quickly” means in item 5 on your Pet Agreement, “Tenant agrees to clean up after the pet and to dispose of pet’s waste properly and quickly.”

    "One measure of “quickly” is that nobody encounters any dog poop anywhere on the property. Because this is a shared property, and will soon have another tenant (with or without a pet), picking up the dog poop while it’s fresh seems like the best way to avoid anyone stepping in it, smelling it, etc. You can think of it as if you were in a public park, where folks carry their plastic bags and/or scoopers with them when taking their dogs out, and pick it up right after it drops. I think this makes your job easier, too, because you don’t have to go hunting later, trying to find where the poop landed.

    "If there’s still some old, dry dog poop where your dog has been known to hang out, please make a clean slate by picking that up and disposing of it safely, too.

    "I was also asked about item 13, “If the approved pet is a dog, Tenant agrees to obtain Dog-Bite insurance and to provide Owner with a copy of the policy.” Bottom line, my insurance company for the property requires it, for everyone’s protection. The nicest dogs have been known to be triggered by unpredictable things. Please get a copy of your policy to me as soon as possible, by September 30, 2015, at the latest.

    "Please print this email and attach it to your Pet Agreement. Let me know if you have any further questions, and thanks for your cooperation!"

    I hope that works! I'll let y'all know...  ;-)

    0Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    11y

    For the tenants I have that have dogs I have an addendum that says yard must be picked up twice weekly at a minimum. The houses are SFH with fenced yards, and the tenants are both nice, single women who have done a good job keeping the yard picked up. Not perfect, but I am not going to go over and inspect every day looking for dog crap. I have had dogs all my life, and I know that it is unlikely that every single time, without exception, will the dog go and the tenant will be ready with a bag underneath its ***. So I create what I think is a reasonable minimum policy.

    Podcast Guest on Show #243
    Skyline Properties
    View Page
    0Reply
  • Derek B.
    Greensboro, NC · Member since 2014 · 212 posts · 143 votes
    11y

    @JD Martin  i agree with you that its unlikely someone will clean up immediately every time. I also don't expect timely cleanup in the fenced backyard of an sfr.  But in a multi where kids run and other people are around, i expect it to be cleaned up timely. If they can't handle that, they need to move to an sfr. 

    1Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    11y

    ^^I agree, in a MFH you have to have people cleaning up immediately. It's a different dynamic. 

    Podcast Guest on Show #243
    Skyline Properties
    View Page
    0Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    11y

    @Derek B. and @JD Martin, thank you for helping me see the important difference between multi-family and SFRs in this matter. It really helps!

    0Reply
  • Anthony Joseph Kendall II
    Avon, IN · Member since 2015 · 30 posts · 12 votes
    11y
    Can't say that I have a good answer I'm the kind of guy that would get those little pink flags and the pink construction spray and identify every place I seen poop. It would look like a poop crime scene I would then ask the tenants to walk with me to discover my findings. If the poop didn't disappear I might try to find a way to make dogs disappear (just kidding, kind of) hopefully your patience will help you find resolve but this one is unique.
    0Reply
  • Mace Matthew Colodny
    Canaan, NY · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes
    9y

    I asked my tenants to please clean up after their dogs after noticing my property covered in dog shyte. I put it in a nice note and wrote if it wasn't your dog accept my apology but to please clean up afterwards. They Still aren't picking it up and my blood pressure is increasing.!

    Any suggestions ?

    Btw I'm a good landlord.

    0Reply
  • Carol Venolia
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Monterey, CA · Member since 2014 · 193 posts · 117 votes
    9y

    Hi @Mace Matthew Colodny,

    My apologies for taking so long to respond! I've been swamped and off Bigger Pockets for too long.

    I totally feel your pain! How is that poop situation going now? I'm right in the middle of the same kind of problem, in spite of many eye-to-eye chats with tenants about their responsibilities as dog owners. 

    As suggested by some helpful folks here, I've been looking into dog DNA testing, but I'm feeling annoyed about having to go to that hassle (I live a few hours from the property) and expense just because my tenants aren't careful.

    At this point, I'm considering giving the biggest offenders notice (the dogs have to move), and gradually turning the property into a no-dog property. Sigh.

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free