Pet Deposit/Pet Rent

[Trey Mattox]

I am in the process of renting out a unit and will allow pets.  I have been back and forth about how much of a non-refundable pet fee to charge.  I have also been trying to decide whether and how much to charge for pet rent.  I have been leaning towards a $200.00 non-refundable fee and $10/month for pet rent.  I am curious what is typical for the Richmond market and what you folks are currently charging.  

[Charles M.]

I'm not sure about others but with my rehabs I make sure to use materials that won't scratch and are waterproof so I can be pet friendly. I also look for smaller homes that I can fence in the yard and I add a doggie door. I think you'd be surprised how much more money a dog owner will pay to make sure their pet has nice accommodations also. I have a rental that is $150/mo over market value simply because there is the dog door, fenced yard and is pet friendly.

When it comes to the deposit I have a $250 refundable pet deposit and no extra rent. As a customer, it absolutely pisses me off when a landlord requires me to pay more for the same amount of space, especially when their building/unit is undamageable (like my concrete flooring in my loft).

I would just charge more for the unit and if they have a pet then that's included and if not its just extra money.

One thing with pets is to make sure your landlord insurance covers it in case of bites etc.

[Mike McCarthy]

@Charles Martin I’m not in your area, but I charge $35-40/mo extra rent and no extra deposit. I’ve also been moving to LVP and other finishes that are much less likely to be damaged by pets (or their human counterparts).

[Kenneth Garrett]

@Trey Mattox

I charge a $250 pet fee (no deposit) plus an additional $35 per pet per month.  

[Austin Mountain]

I do a $300 non refundable pet fee for one pet.  $35/month for a cat and $50/month for a dog.

$500 non refundable pet fee for two pets.  $75/month for two pets.

[Trey Mattox]

Thank you all for your input, it has been very helpful.  I did factor in allowing pets and marketing above fair market rent.  Therefore, I have decided to stick with the $200.00 non-refundable pet fee and not include a pet rent clause.

[Amy H.]

@Trey Mattox I’m in Richmond and charge a $500 refundable animal deposit. If there’s no damage made by the animal, then I’m more than happy giving the money back. Gives the tenant a reason to keep good control of their animal.

[Logan Reinard]

Just talked to my insurance agent about this. He suggested to only allow animals if the tenant has renters insurance in case there were a bite.  And it’s basically a one strike your out when it comes to bites.  If there’s a report of a bite, the animal must be removed indefinitely from the residence.  

Does anyone have pet contracts?

[Anthony Wick]

@Logan Reinard. I'm not in your area, but a couple thoughts by me. First, always require renters insurance, pet or no pet. Some make sure the landlord is listed as an insured on the policy. Second, I don't charge a "pet rent". I raise their rent by $50 if they want a pet. Pet disappears? Rent stays the same. And I absolutely charge a non-refundable pet fee. And as of the last disaster, we no longer allow cats. At all. Don't care. No cats. 

[Courtney Duong]

@Anthony Wick why no cats?  Do cats cause lots of damages?  I don't know anything about pets so that's why I ask this question.  Thanks.

[Anthony Wick]

@Courtney Duong. Have you heard on the BP podcasts when certain guests walk into a place and the stench of cat urine bowls you over? Well, if you're a buyer, you say; "smells like money!", because you're about to get a great deal (and a lot of work to go with it). Well, I already owned that place, and wasn't selling. So, I just got the "lot of work" part. 

All it takes is one bad cat owner that lets their precious kitty crap and urinate everywhere. This particular cat urinated all over the drywall on a wall and the cement in the basement. I never knew how porous cement was until I had to try and get cat urine out of it. It took $700 and hours and hours worth of work. While the former tenant did pay the bill, they questioned me since; "the cat only went to the bathroom in one small area". 

[Courtney Duong]

@Anthony Wick thanks for sharing.  We had a tenant (an attorney working for an oil and gas company) moved in in August and he has 1 cat, 2 dogs.  I normally limit to 2 pets only but he said 1 of the dogs is very old can go anytime.  Both he and his wife have excellent credit scores so I accepted and charged $500 per pet.  Now I am a little nervous about the cat per what happened to you.  So my plan is that I will do routine check up on the house every few months and we'll see.