Let's talk pets in a rental house

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Let's talk pets in a rental house

Linda Thomas
Rental Property Investor · Allentown PA · Member since 2021 · 159 posts · 36 votes

Hi everyone,

How does everyone handle pets in their rentals. Currently in PA. 

pet deposits, non refundable pet fees, or pet rent? why or why not? and what are the fees you use for dog, cat, rabbit, ginea pig? 

I'm leaning more towards non refundable one time fee.

thanks 

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Terrell Garren
Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y

My wife's cat ignores and disrespects me daily. I don't allow cats as a form of retaliation.

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  • James Carlson
    Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    As with all things in real estate ... it depends. We do medium-term furnished rentals in Denver and Colorado Springs (as do a. lot of our investor clients) and with so many remote workers not having kids (but having fur babies), we've found that being pet-friendly is a big draw. 

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  • Jonathan Fredholm
    Rental Property Investor · White River Junction, VT · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 12 votes
    5y

    @Joe Splitrock what about the “service” dog claim? I own multiple properties in Vermont and if they claim it’s a service dog that vetos my no pets clause in the lease. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for service animals when used properly, but way too many people abuse that and make it super difficult to enforce.

    Definitely open to suggestions from others experiencing the same issues. Thoughts?

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    • Joe SplitrockPro Member
      Moderator
      Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
      5y
      Originally posted by @Jonathan Fredholm:

      @Joe Splitrock what about the “service” dog claim? I own multiple properties in Vermont and if they claim it’s a service dog that vetos my no pets clause in the lease. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for service animals when used properly, but way too many people abuse that and make it super difficult to enforce.

      Definitely open to suggestions from others experiencing the same issues. Thoughts?

      Service animal or emotional support animal are not considered pets. The pets policy doesn't apply. You cannot charge extra fees or prohibit legitimate service animals or emotional support animals.

      There is a major difference between service animals and emotional support animals. Most tenants claiming service animals are using the term wrong. A service animal is a dog that is trained to perform medical tasks. An emotional support animal can be a variety of animals and it is "prescribed" by a medical professional that is treating the patient for a mental condition (anxiety, depression, etc.) 

      Service dogs can be trained to help the blind, help diabetics and even help people with walking. They are generally professionally trained, which involved months and tens of thousands of dollars in training. An emotional support animal has no training and their only job is to provide companionship (arguably ever pet provides this service). 

      The first step when someone claims to have a service dog or emotional support animal is obtaining proper paperwork. That is not a generic form or certificate printed from the internet. That involves asking for the name of the local medical professional that is treating the tenant for their condition. That is likely a doctor or psychologist. I would send them an email form to complete and return directly to the landlord. This is preferable over taking a letter from the tenant, because letters can be forged. In the case of internet letters and certificates, they are generally bogus. These websites are not licensed professionals operating in your state and they are not treating your tenant. It would be like downloading a prescription for opioids from the internet and expecting your pharmacist to fill it. 

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  • Wale LawalBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    It depends on the risk you are willing to take. For some people, their property comes first, and allowing pets might cause damage to the property.

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  • Linda Thomas
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Allentown PA · Member since 2021 · 159 posts · 36 votes
    5y

    Thank you all for your input. Could someone please share the clauses they use for charging the one time pet non refundable fee and the pet rent charge so I can have some examples please as i'm leaning towards doing this. 

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  • Linda Thomas
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Allentown PA · Member since 2021 · 159 posts · 36 votes
    5y

    and how do you guys handle it if let's say I charge non refundable pet fee and pet rent for dog and a cat and then said cat no longer lives there (just reduce the pet rent fee right) ? and if they get another cat instead? would you just use that same non refundable pet fee towards new cat ?? 

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  • Jessie Kristie
    Member since 2021 · 60 posts · 35 votes
    5y

    So for those who are okay with pets - how many is too many? And how do you screen them? If a potential renter has one too many pet from what you would normally be comfortable with, do you bother calling references and prior landlords, or do you say no right away?

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  • Pete Krentz
    Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 59 posts · 20 votes
    5y

    I live in areas with a rate of about 50% pet ownership at the low end. I love animals so try to accommodate as much as I can. I primarily rent to families and give them a break and don't charge pet rent and just do a deposit based on the animal - usually about $200-300/animal.

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  • Max T.
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    @Linda Thomas

    20-50/month per animal

    I don’t advertise it but I’ve found that a significant % of qualified applicants have pets.

    I’ve made far more $ from the extra rent than I’ve ever spent fixing damages.

    And pet owners move less.

    0Reply
  • Loren Clive
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Paia, HI · Member since 2016 · 479 posts · 311 votes
    5y

    This is a state-specific question. Here in Hawaii you are allowed to charge DOUBLE deposit for pets, which is what I do. But different states have different laws.

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  • Account Closed
    Member since 2021 · 240 posts · 300 votes
    5y

    I rent near a military base and will advertise pet fees waived for active duty military. 

    0Reply
  • Meghan Dreher
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2021 · 12 posts · 5 votes
    5y

    @Matt M. Hi Matt, also in PA. Have you ran into any issues with emotional support animals with your “no pets” policy? I’m not 100% sure on the PA laws but I’ve heard that ultimately there’s nothing we can do as a landlord and the tenant doesn’t even have to notify us.

    I was thinking of “allowing pets” but ultimately charging some obscene monthly payment that no one would ever want to pay so if someone did have an ESD we could at least get paid a decent amount for it?

    0Reply
  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    5y

    I don't believe you can charge extra for an ESA......they're special....

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  • Matt M.
    Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Meghan Dreher

    Hey Meghan, 

    The first time I actually ran into that was a couple weeks ago. Fortunately I had it rented before she could even view the house. 
    if I am correct, you can’t charge extra for emotional support or service animals. All you can do is hope they don’t qualify or you have a better candidate. But you can’t disqualify for the pet. 

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  • Philip JosephPro Member
    Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2021 · 97 posts · 51 votes
    5y

    I had a tenant get a pig without telling me and then called me a bad landlord for telling him it had to go. The house had no fence so he was keeping the pig on the back porch. 🤷🏽‍♂️

    My pet addendum covers all the liability stuff, and I only allow dogs. I usually on do a $250 pet deposit, but I may start doing monthly rent now as it seems many of you are already doing it.

    Cajun

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  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Terrell Garren:

    My wife's cat ignores and disrespects me daily. I don't allow cats as a form of retaliation.

    OMG best post today.

    1Reply
  • Doug Spence
    Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 975 votes
    5y

    If you don't allow pets you're excluding a big chunk of renters. People are willing to pay to have their pets live with them! For example, one of my properties has a big fenced backyard. I charge $50 per month per pet with a $300 refundable pet deposit. I don't have any carpet in the home (all hardwood and tile) so I'm not as concerned about pet damage. If there is pet damage, I take it out of the pet deposit, and I will take it out of the other deposit as well if necessary. I think it's worth the extra money!

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  • Tom Scott
    Investor · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 35 votes
    5y

    Your pet policy is only as good as your tenant.

    The deposit, 100, 250, 500 or even $1000

    None of it will cover the damage from a pet if your tenant is a dud. Only god knows what they will do once they are in the property.

    The real goal is to see if they are telling the truth

    When interviewing instead of asking “do you have pets”?

    Try asking how many do you have?

    Good luck!

    0Reply
  • Ash Marie
    Member since 2021 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    When we purchased our duplex, we were tenants (with 2 dogs of our own in one of the units, thankful to the landlord for allowing them!) and we inherited tenants in the second unit that had a dog. There was no refundable pet deposit for that unit, and the dog had peed all over the carpets (that were brand new upon their move in just a year earlier...) We ended up ripping up all the carpet and replacing with LVP from Home Depot. Now that the unit has no carpet, pets are less risky, although still make me uneasy. 

    The current tenants have two dogs that we did allow after speaking with several references. We increased the rent to account for the potential additional wear and tear, AND required a $500 refundable pet deposit on top of the normal security deposit. 

    IMO, a refundable pet deposit encourages the tenants to make sure their pet doesn't damage the property. They were also required to sign a Pet Addendum to the lease which outlined the rules regarding the pet, which included: the dogs may not be tethered outside the property, the dogs may not be left in the unit for an unreasonable length of time, and all pet waste on the exterior of the property must be picked up and removed immediately or face a $25.00 per occurrence fine if the landlord (me) had to pick up poop. So far so good with these tenants...

    0Reply
  • Matt Ziegler
    Rental Property Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2020 · 433 posts · 284 votes
    5y

    We do a non refundable animal fee. Clearly identify breeds that our insurance company will not allow on the property, vicious breeds basically. These breeds are a non issue, period. 
    Then we add animal rent, per animal to the monthly bill, as outlined in the lease agreement. This has worked out well for us.

    0Reply
  • Andre Jones
    Member since 2020 · 23 posts · 5 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Julie Hartman:

    @Linda Thomas Since we are a PM, we follow the directive of the property owner regarding individual properties. The owners that permit dogs, get a quicker tenant than the ones that don't since nearly everyone in Denver has a dog. We charge anywhere from $250-500 pet deposit depending on size of the dog. We don't allow puppies and rarely allow cats; there are breed restrictions as well. We also charge pet rent ranging from $25-50 per month. We don't charge for small rodent type pets or anything else that will be caged. We had a very bad experience with a bird once, so we don't allow those at all anymore.  

    I'm curious to know what happened with the bird? 

    0Reply
  • Julie Hartman
    Property Manager · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 667 posts · 587 votes
    5y

    @Andre Jones LOL! A tenant a few years ago had a pet bird, (not sure what kind), and on a visit to change out the furnace filter, we witnessed the bird flying freely inside the large house. It left feces in several spots including one up high where we couldn't see it until after they moved out. We had to call a remediation company to do a proper cleaning since bird feces can be considered hazardous waste. So, no more birds. 

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