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Updated over 4 years ago on . Most recent reply

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Jacob Stokes
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Galesburg, IL
37
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13
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Does anybody rent to cat owners?

Jacob Stokes
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Galesburg, IL
Posted

Hello all,

So I have a few qualified applicants and one gentleman asked if I would allow a cat. Now I hate cats, sorry if you're a cat lover but they are not for me. I have heard of them peeing every where and that they aren't rental friendly. With that being said that didn't come from anybody with a lot of experience. So any help or stories would be great.

Thank You,

Jacob Stokes

Most Popular Reply

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28,237
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Nathan Gesner
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Cody, WY
41,391
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28,237
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Nathan Gesner
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Cody, WY
ModeratorReplied

My house has two cats. You can stick your nose within six inches of their litter box and won't smell a thing. I make sure it's constantly cleaned. In my experience, people fail to clean the litter box often enough and the cat starts peeing in other areas. Or the cat is not fixed and sprays.

There are things you can do to reduce the risk. First, you have to really screen the tenant. Good tenants are generally good pet owners. High-risk tenants are high-risk pet owners. That's true almost to a "T". Second, the pet owner should have at least one year of ownership and a Landlord reference to back it up. This allows you to see how they kept their last place while owning the pet. Third, you should be screening the animal to ensure it's fixed, at least one year old, current on vaccinations, and have a picture on file so the tenant can't pull a swap.

I recently started charging an automatic, non-refundable $300 fee for every cat because of the increased risk. Dogs and cats can both cause damage, but cats are more likely to cause damage that far exceeds the security deposit.

  • Nathan Gesner
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