advice on pet pricing (security deposit and pet rent)

[Daria B.]

Hi all,

I'm "considering" renting to someone who has a cat. This going against my strict policy of no pets to forego the rental sitting on the market longer than normal.

My PM says that I can charge a SD for the cat and a monthly rental OR a fee that is one time. IF I do this I'm leaning toward the SD and the monthly rent.

They (PM) couldn't give me a range since they don't rent to pet owners as they also have a strict policy for their properties as do their clients - go figure. Having had bad experiences it's just not worth it - but again I'm now faced with the rental sitting unoccupied.

Back to the $.

I didn't see anything in the FLa Statute about pets - quick read so I may have to go back. For a tenant it's one month rent or two as I have see other owners charge for a tenant SD.

Throwing out some numbers: $250 SD $35 rent? 

Since SD is for damages, $250 may not be enough depending on what the cat did to the walls or floors (all laminate throughout).

What is considered a reasonable SD and monthly for a cat?

Thank you

Daria

[Mark Radford]

@Daria B. We do $250 non-refundable deposit (per pet) + up to $50 per month additional rent with a 25lb max weight for dogs. Prefer no cats but will take. TWO pets max. No aquariums without approval. $10 per fish. (The fish part's a joke.) You will find tenants will sneak in pets, add additional pets, claim they're "pet sitting" for a few days, etc. It's important to check up on the property regularly we've found. Any pet waste in yard we encounter gets one warning and then up to $50 per hour for removal. We used to have a no pet policy but to remain competitive in our area we had to start allowing. Haven't had any major issues.