have you ever had pets that didn't cause any damage?

Question

I've sometimes wondered if a pet deposit is even enough to cover potential damage a pet may cause. Scratching, peeing pooping...

Have you ever rented to pet owners whose pets didn't actually cause any damage?

What's the worst damage a pet has caused? I'm imagining scratched up kitchen cabinets, bedroom doors.

I have carpet in my rental, so I think no matter what, there's gonna be some damage. However, if I could use a pet deposit to cover replacement of carpet to vinyl plank.

Alex Howard · Answer

You can mitigate the costs by installing certain things on your rental properties. If you plan on renting to pet owners, don't keep carpet in the house. Porcelain tile or LVP for the whole house/ area. If they want carpet, they can buy a rug for the rooms. Steel doors for the backyard/ area where they plan to take the pet. Our dogs always barreled into our back door and would jump when they heard us coming, thus scratching at the door. Drywall is cheap, unless they chew up a whole lot. Other than that, our pups never messed up anything in the house that wasn't a cheap fix.

Lauren Kormylo · Answer

I’ve had 3 separate renters with pets. One had a dog that scratched up the wooden front door. $250 to have refinished, which the pet deposit paid for. The other two renters had no damage.

I rent to pet owners because the majority of people have pets, and you’re eliminating a lot of good renters if you don’t allow them.  And I hate to hear of people giving up pets to a rescue organization because they’re moving somewhere that wont allow them.

Lora P. · Answer

A renter of mine with a dog just moved out. No damage at all. There was a slight dog odor (not urine), but cleaning the carpets fixed that. Same deal with a previous tenant who had a dog. I think a great deal depends on the owner.

Jennifer T. · Answer

I've had tenants with pets 4 times and had little to no issues with all of them.  Three of those tenants with pets had no damage or odor whatsoever after they moved out.  For the fourth one, the dog had scratched up the molding around the front door.  But I gave the tenant permission to fix it before the walk through.  I was SO pleasantly surprised when, not only did she do a great job fixing that damage, but "while she was at it (she told me)", she also fixed all the dings/damage on the rest of the molding that was pre-existing.  The front door/molding came out looking nicer and more refreshed than before she'd moved in.

However, I will give the caveat that only one of my rental houses has carpeting.  I've only had one tenant in that home with a pet, but they got the dog only about 6 months before they moved out, so it wasn't there long.

Bonnie Low · Answer

Carpet and pets don't mix. But I would say that for rentals, in general. We had a rental with a clause that allowed for one pet. The owner stated she had a cat. She paid the deposit up front. A year later when we went to sell, the property management company did an evaluation and found she had 2 cats. That might not seem like a big difference, but in her 875 sq ft section of the duplex, it was. Double the cats, double the odors. We had hard wood floors and there was no damage, but there's just this lingering at odor from litter boxes that doesn't go away without a thorough cleaning and possibly re-painting. I'm glad we discovered this after only year 1. Deep cleaning and re-painting (which we would have done anyway) took care of it. But any longer and I think we would have had to do something more drastic and, who knows, she may have accumulated more cats.

Thomas Dougherty · Answer

At the beginning of my career in this industry, pets always leave their mark, our $300/pet deposit and $25/month/pet fee are not enough to make up for the loss.

Chew the external dryer vents. The carpet is usually dirty and unbearable.

Mike Franco · Answer

"depends on the owner"

yeah.

I never rent to pet owners, but today just for the hell of it, I had one come and see the house.

I asked about who would babysit the dog when everyone was out? What happens when dog has poop emergency?

it was a 2 year old dog. Basically the prospect wife said they would leave the dog unattended alone in the house if they go out. It gets to roam freely

There isn't a room in the house where they can just barricade the dog and there are no doggy doors.

Ages ago, a dog pissed on the central a/c condenser unit outside, and the coils corroded . The dog piss created a big hole.

I just have no way to evaluate a dog.

Also, I have asbestos in the drywall joint compound, so if a dog scratches it up, it would be releasing asbestos.

Anthony Brancato · Answer

I had dogs for 13 years and rented the entire time in multiple houses. If there was any damage, I would always repair before moving out. But I might be the exception.I agree with Alex, remove all carpeting in houses that you plan on renting out.

If there is somehow substantial damage (replacing drywall or flooring) you can take it out of the original security deposit.

Pat L. · Answer

In my 30 years pets have always left their mark & our $375/pet deposit plus the $25/month/pet fee doesn't come close to covering damages. Duct work & a/c evaporation coils need cleaning, carpets & padding are usually toast as is most of the door trim the animal uses to exit/enter. Not to mention chewed off outside dryer vents & the exterior Hi Efficiency PVC externals. If they have pets get a substantial security deposit.

have you ever had pets that didn't cause any damage?

Most Popular Reply