Flipper/Rehabber · Albuquerque, NM · Member since 2019 · 61 posts · 64 votes
6y
Quan, I have about 65 doors and have a strict policy against dogs or cats with the exception of a service dog. I have found that allowing pets is a recipe for a headache. They will eventually cost you money at some point in the process. The additional pet deposit and/or rent is never enough to cover the damage. I am a pet lover and have animals myself, I just cannot rely on others to be responsible enough to allow them. 9 out of 10 animal owners are great and responsible but it only takes 1 to make you regret it.
Rental Property Investor · Edmond, OK · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
It's not really a black and white answer. We have a pet addendum that spells out that the tenant is responsible for the actions of their pets, but at the end of the day a court could choose to hold a landlord responsible for renting to a tenant with that pet.
We mitigate our risk by requiring each tenant with a pet to hold a renter's insurance policy that covers said pet. We also have a pretty extensive pet addendum that spells out expectations of pet ownership and places responsibility on the tenant to ensure they are taking actions to prevent pet from being in a position to bite/attack someone. (Never allowing pet outside unleashed, maintaining fences and yards to contain pet, monitoring pet behavior, etc). We also have them sign off that their pet has never had aggressive behavior.
Rental Property Investor · New York City · Member since 2019 · 703 posts · 538 votes
6y
Hopefully, the renter has pet insurance and the landlord has an attorney written document signed by the renter indicating that the tenant is responsible. If there is a no pet policy and the tenant ignored it then hope the no pet policy is documented in the lease agreement. However, as in all property related lawsuits the landlord is Always dragged into it and the courts decide.