schaumburg, IL · Member since 2018 · 17 posts · 2 votes
As a landlord, I've never rented out to families with pets. My listing says that as well. However I had a family apply to see the house and they mentioned that they have a 20lb pug that's 11 years old. My listing has been up for more than a month and hasn't been getting a lot of traction. I am now considering if it's really such a bad idea to rent it out to this family. They have no kids and it's just the husband, wife and the dog.
I never had any pets and am not sure what to expect. Is it a good idea to start allowing pets? Are pugs well behaved (they said it's old, blind and just lays on the couch). How much pet fee and/or pet rent do you suggest I charge?
Contractor · Pottstown, PA · Member since 2018 · 216 posts · 160 votes
7y
Hi Bob!
Pugs are pretty low-key dogs. You will risk dog smells later, but to offset that risk you can charge a pet deposit on top of the security deposit and pet rent!
In my area, I'd do $25/month for pet rent and an extra $200 pet deposit. That's for a c-class neighborhood.
I would think about this from an opportunity cost perspective: let's say the unit rents for $1k/month. If you don't get it rented this month, maybe it'll sit for another month. Then you'll lose $1k from lost rent. What are the chances the dog will cause a thousand dollars in damages?
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2017 · 142 posts · 125 votes
7y
@Bob Drew The only downside of pugs is they are generally barkers. Other than that they are short haired, not aggressive and being 20lbs and blind not going to be much of a problem except maybe accidents. If they are clean people they fit your other criteria and you think they will clean up after the dog maybe give them a shot. Good luck
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ and Rehoboth Beach DE · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
68% of Americans own pets, including me, so I allow them in my rental. Otherwise, you’re excluding a huge part of the population from your rental.
I require a $350 deposit for one pet, $100 more for a second pet. No monthly pet rent.
My current renters with a dog have been there 3 years. We just did an inspection of the house, no damage that I can see. We did have one couple with a dog that scratched up the wooden front door. After they left, we had the door refinished, cost $250, which we kept from their deposit. We have carpet in the 3 bedrooms, tile in the rest of the house. I haven’t had any carpet ruined by peeing so far.
Chicago, IL · Member since 2019 · 91 posts · 21 votes
7y
I don’t accept tenant with a pet. This is not only because pets sometimes will damage the furniture. What’s worse is the smell. It is not easy to get rid off the smell. But you can charge a pet deposit if you want to accept them.