Hello,

My tenants(husband and wife) have been model tenants for 8 months now.

-They get a $50 discount for rent paid on or before the first of the month. They have only missed out on this discount one time because they were one day late. In fact, she sends me a screen shot of her online payment every time.

-She lets us know when she plans to have a house party.

-They never complain and they offer to do minor things like change their furnace filter and put weatherstripping around their doors(it's a SFH).

-I performed a walk-through of the house to mark the 6 month mark and the place is immaculate. They are very clean.

I advertised “pets negotiable” because i believe:

1) Pets are a very common member of stable families and vetting the pet is as possible as vetting the tenants

2) As Michael Swan said in episode #238, kids can do more damage than pets and you can charge per pet(try charging per kid!)

3) In my market, it gives me an advantage over many other rentals

I selected them knowing they had two dogs. After vetting the pets(saw their current living conditions, met the pets, etc), I charged them only $50/pet. As it is, I'm charging $949(after early payment discount) for a 2bd/1bath SFR in a small town. I didn't want to push it with high pet rent.

My question is what would you do when this same tenant asks “What would you charge for a third dog? We are house sitting a 6 wk/old black lab for my nephew while the army relocates his family, and he may not be able to take back the puppy.”

1) The fact that she is already house sitting a third dog seems like a red flag. She didn’t notify me

2) I don’t love the idea of a third dog, but this tenant has been a breeze. I already know the first two dogs aren’t an issue.

3) I’m coming up on the end of the lease, so worst case, dog is only in there until May. Best case, I get to keep these great tenants another year after checking on them at the next lease signing.

Thanks in advance for the input!

What I charge for patches $200 nonrefundable and $25 per animal that does not live in a cage. Me personally I would be happy that they told me that they have the dog and came to me. I add $25 a month for the rent and say that will go away when the dog does

@Micah Watson

I should clarify. The $50/pet I charged initially was a one time fee to pay for carpet cleaning after they vacate. They are already paying a top-of-market rent rate.

@Micah Watson   I allow pets, but I don't allow new puppies.  Most people don't train or take care of them properly, and they're often at their most destructive phase while young.  They're going to pee, poop and chew on everything.   

If you're going to allow it, I'd make it a steep fee + monthly charge.  

So you have a great tenant that takes care of the place and their current 2 dogs have been controlled and not damaged anything. I wouldn't worry too much about adding a third dog, even a puppy, as it sounds like they are responsible people and didn't try to hide anything from you.

Personally, I'd send them a note stating something like: I'm not thrilled with the idea of a third dog living there, but I understand the situation. If you can send me info on the dog (spay/neuter, vaccine, license # - whatever you normally require) and a copy of your nephews relocation orders, you can keep the dog. Always happy to help out a military family! PS: As you know, any damage any of the dogs does will need to be repaired at your cost.

Better to have a good tenant with pets than a bad tenant without pets.

@Robert Biggerstaff

$25/pet is not unreasonable. How many rentals do you have with pet owners?

@Michael Ablan

I’m concerned about the age of the dog, too. She claims it’s already house broken. She has been more than forth-coming up to this point, aside from house-sitting the puppy for a couple weeks.

@Greg M.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write up a suggested note. That’s well written.

Side note: I’m sure you’ve heard this, but it’s much easier to take advice from someone with a profile photo and a little bit of a bio.

@Russell Brazil

Exactly.

However, I also want to cover my bases. Should I draft an addendum specifically stating their obligation to pay for any damage caused by this or either of the other two dogs.

Seven out of my 11 rental properties have pets

Originally posted by @Micah Watson :

@Robert Biggerstaff

$25/pet is not unreasonable. How many rentals do you have with pet owners?

I haven't read all the other responses so forgive me if I'm repeating what they've said.

1. Do you have a limit to the number of animals you will allow or are you OK with running a zoo? It's OK to be pet-friendly but to allow tenants to keep adding animals is bad policy. It's too late in this situation but in the future you should set a limit of no more than XX pets or something to that affect.

2. If you are willing to allow it, make the increase significant enough to mitigate the increased risk and provide a little proffit. If  you increased rent $100 for the first two dogs, I would do another $100 for the third dog. Again, this should be spelled out in the lease.

If the tenant moved the animal in without your permission, they are not "good tenants" by definition. They willingly violated the lease and are now asking for forgiveness.

Also, they mention the dog is a puppy. As most people know, puppies are notorious for chewing things up, peeing and pooping everywhere, digging, etc. They are also more active than a 14-year-old lab that just lays around all day. I don't even allow puppies without a significant non-refundable fee of $500 and then an increase to the rent.

I would tell them it's not allowed and even pet-sitting is not allowed. Have them get rid of it and inspect within 72 hours of removal.

Definitely keep them as tenants since they have proven to be good for you. But work out deal that you are comfortable with knowing that it is a puppy and that there the odds of repairs to be made are now higher. I'd go with tacking on a an appropriate ($25-30?) monthly pet rent for this third pet for as long as they are caring for it.

I like what @Greg M. said. The letter seems like a good idea. Also, @Russell Brazil makes a good point as well.

I have 4 dogs and they cause no more damage than having one did. It's about being a responsible pet owner, which your tenants seem to be. 

Your post appears as though you are promoting this tennat as a 5* and have already decided you are going to allow the 3rd dog. You do not appear to want to take any risks in losing this tennat making the 3rd dog a fait du complies.

I would only point out that there is something wrong with the info you have received from your tenant. Although at 6 weeks you can separate a pup from it's mother 8 weeks is better, she says the dog is house broken, sorry but that is most likely a lie. At 6 weeks it is extremely unlikely it has even started it's training.

I would strongly advise you do inspections at most 2 months apart, make repairs immediately and bill back to the tenant. Three dogs, one a new pup, will do damage regardless of how great your tenant may be. 

Since they have been great tenants, I would just charge extra pet rent! Maybe another $25/mo. If things don't go well with the puppy, you can always not renew their lease. 

Hi @Micah Watson

Sorry I did not notice this earlier.  Yes charge them pet rent!!!

Swanny

Sounds like they are starting a petting zoo I think I’d be unhappy about adding the mongrel without my knowledge . 2 dogs is a lot 3 is too much in my view for a rental . Seems If your going to keep these people atleast make it profitable and cover the risk ..id add 50$ to the rent each month . If you don’t do this  - you may  end up with dog number 4 next year !