According to a survey conducted in 2017 by the American Pet Products Association, over 68% of American households own pets. Cats and dogs are the most common, with over 60 million households reporting that they own a dog and 47 million household reporting that they own a cat in 2017. Saying ‘No’ to pets closes off a full two-thirds of prospective tenants, making it harder to fill vacant units and attract renters. While there are concerns that come with allowing pets onto your properties, there are numerous tangible and intangible advantages as well.
Aside from drastically increasing your access to renters, renting to pet owners allows you to charge more in the form of pet deposits or non-refundable fees and extra rent. Even a small boost to the percentage of rent that you collect from a property can add up to thousands of extra dollars over the course of a year and several properties.
Beyond the financial advantages, pet owners are often more responsible tenants who have demonstrated the willingness and ability to invest time and energy into the care of a pet. Pet owners will frequently display the same attention towards the property and may be more likely to view their rental as a home. Additionally, as it can be hard to find properties willing to rent to pet owners and a challenge to move with animals in tow, pet owners are likely to stay longer and be more loyal tenants.
Naturally, there are some risks to renting to pets, including property damage (typically in the form of odors or scratch marks) and noise that might be disruptive to other tenants, but with the right screening process and tweaks to your lease, you rest easy that the financial gains will outweigh these risks.
As with other criteria, you may consider placing restrictions on the size or number of pets allowed at one time. Most households will not typically have more than two pets, so these concerns are not generally common issues. Your decisions in these areas should follow city laws and make sense for the size and location of your property. Restrictions on specific dog breeds can be a point of contention with some applicants feeling that these practices are discriminatory. This is a choice that depends on your comfort level, but being open to all breeds can be an opportunity to build a positive relationship with tenants.
Screening pets can be a simple process of asking fundamental questions about the number and type of animals, their age and history with the owner, and temperament and training. Especially with dogs, you may take the time to meet with the animal and owner and get a feel for them personally.
As with anything in property management, be sure to outline expectations and parameters in your lease clearly. At a minimum, address pet rent and deposit amounts, any non-refundable fees, and tenant responsibilities and obligations (such as clean-up and waste disposal and property damage caused by pets). This protects you and allows you to address any concerns with pets in the same way that you would any other tenant concerns.
If you need a partner in property management to help you decide if pets are a yes or no at your property, contact Raintree Property Management.
