Should You Allow Pets In Your Rental Property?

YES, PETS WILL CREATE DAMAGE BUT IS NOT ALLOWING THEM YOUR BEST OPTION?

There’s no doubt about it, Americans love their pets. And more and more people are renting in recent years. That inevitably means more and more people with pets are looking to rent, so what are you to do if you’re a landlord? What is the best approach when it comes to renting your property and having a sound approach toward tenants’ pets?

YES, IT’S SUBJECTIVE

Different people have different experiences that will inform how they want to approach pets. If you’re someone who is 100% against having a dog or cat in your rental property, there’s no need to read any further. If you’re someone who is 100% in favor of providing warmth and comfort for four legged “children”, again, you already know where you stand. But for most, it’s worth taking the extra moment to think about the challenges and benefits that can come with pets.

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THE CHALLENGES

There’s a fair chance that pets will cause some damage to your property. They’ve got twice as many feet to scuff things up, lack fingers and thumbs to safely transport things, and are a bit mouthy in general. Animals can scratch and bite things. They can annoy neighbors. They can create odors. They can ruin carpets. They can attract pests. In our experience we certainly wouldn’t say this is the norm, but all of these are within the realm of possibility when animals live in a rental property, especially a multi-family in a more urban setting.

That being said, there’s a whole list of damages that humans can create as well and those are in fact much more common and can be much more costly. For example, very few dogs have been caught flushing baby wipes down toilets and being the cause of $1,000 plumbing bills. The reality is that when you rent out your property you are inheriting risk as a tradeoff for financial gain. So when there is risk you want to think about how best to mitigate it. In theory, not allowing pets is the strongest play you can make to defend against additional damage to your property (since you can’t disallow humans).

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THE BENEFITS

So why would anyone allow pets in the first place? The obvious reason is that it greatly increases your marketability. As mentioned, more and more rental candidates have pets these days so by allowing pets you’re greatly increasing the potential pool of renters. Additionally, those potential renters are willing to pay more so they can bring their pets with them.

At Nexus, we recommend allowing pets and charging pet rent. Very often we recommend a set monthly rate of $35 per pet, although some owners ask for more depending on the size of the animals (a St. Bernard in a 2 bedroom home we had last winter comes to mind). Others suggest a pet deposit, but unlike a deposit, the pet rent is non-refundable. A pet deposit of $300 is common and feels good up front, but if there is no damage from that pet, that $300 goes back to the owner. If you instead charge pet rent of $35, you’ve got $420 dollars at the end of the day that you can keep or apply to any pet damage IF the security deposit doesn’t already cover it!

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CONCLUSIONS

Allowing pets with a monthly pet rent charge is the best approach most often. So much of real estate investment success begins with placing the right tenants and being able to pick from a larger candidate pool is a huge added benefit. Pet rent can then be stored as a reserve if you’re really concerned about damage caused by the pet, but more likely than not, pet-caused damage will be covered by the security deposit and you’ll have that extra money as added income. Additionally, you could create language that allows for check-ins and communicate effectively to ensure tenants are aware of your concerns so they can best protect your property.

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Mick Lefort is the General Manager of Nexus' New Haven County Franchise Office and the Vice President of Operations for Nexus Property Management®, a National Property Management Franchise that manages all types of rental property from single family homes or condos to large apartment buildings and complexes.

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