Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
After successfully deterring/denying dogs in our rental properties (we allow cats) one of our tenants brought a dog into our property. They were honest about it, called to discuss, and wanted my opinion of the situation. For context they have only lived in our rental for about 6 months.
My first thought was to say remove the dog or you're in violation of the lease, but then it dawned on me I could increase the rent, collect a pet deposit, make them sign a Pet Addendum, and require renters insurance. I weighed being vacant and finding new tenants going into the fall vs. allowing a dog.
They have accepted my terms. They already had renters insurance with a $300k policy (covers dogs). I invoiced them $200 for the deposit due by the Sept 27th. I'm changing the rent from $1325 to 1350 per month. My wife thinks I should have increased the rent more or just denied but this is where I'm at.
What should I do better next time? How do you handle pets in your rentals?
Forest Lake, MN · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 11 votes
7h
I think this is a solid approach if you're truly not super concerned about dogs, and they've been good tenants (sounds like they are). Allowing pets is a good way to keep tenants as not everywhere does. I lean more towards what you did, work with the tenants, hold them accountable, and put the proper guidelines in place. But, also don't let this be the start to them doing whatever they want, and just letting you know about it afterwards so keep an eye on that!
Forest Lake, MN · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 11 votes
7h
I think this is a solid approach if you're truly not super concerned about dogs, and they've been good tenants (sounds like they are). Allowing pets is a good way to keep tenants as not everywhere does. I lean more towards what you did, work with the tenants, hold them accountable, and put the proper guidelines in place. But, also don't let this be the start to them doing whatever they want, and just letting you know about it afterwards so keep an eye on that!
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7h
Agreed. We have allowed cats because we have two of our own and I don't want to be a hypocrite. I'm going to plan for an inspection in the next few months to see how it's going.
I'm both a dog and cat owner. I've always allowed pets with a non-refundable pet fee and haven't had any issues, knock wood. Worth noting I never have carpet and in my STRs I haven't allowed cats due to furniture scratching concerns.
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7h
We just replaced the carpet in two bedrooms (tenant turnover) which cost about $1100 so that was a concern but the rest of the property is pretty bullet proof. The fact they already had renters insurance was a nice surprise. Seems like they expected it or had it prior to moving into my property.