…jeez, I don’t know where to begin.
In my area over 70% of rental housing is “No pets, please.” I’m willing to pay extra monthly, leave $1k deposit, ANYTHING. Why won’t they take my money? What is my 6 lbs Chihuahua going to do to the neighborhood, property or their soul that is not covered by $$?
According to APPMA “63% of U.S. households own a pet”. Why do they cut off such a large segment of their target market. Do they expect people will get rid of their pets just to get an opportunity to move into their most excellent properties? I’ve never seen a “No kids”, “No teens”, “No Type A Personalities”, and certainly a lot less “No smoking” than “No pets”. Why are people such pet nazis?
Don’t blame the landlords – blame the asshole pet owners who allow their animals to trash the place and bark their heads off at all hours. They’re the ones who ruin it for the rest of us.
That makes no sense though, since a trashed place you’re still liable for financially and I’ve never heard of anybody moving just because their neighbors dog was too loud. Cops called, certainly, but not MOVED. I mean all these arguments apply even more so to teenagers/children as well, but I have never EVER seen a “no kids”/“no teens” rental.
I’ve got three dogs. Two are sixty pounds, the other is about thirty-five pounds. That’s a lot of dog, but they’re all very well-behaved.
When I moved here last year, I was pretty worried about finding a place to live. Most of the rental ads said, “Dogs allowed”- but the fine print was usually “One dog, under twenty pounds.” Now, how many dogs are under twenty pounds, besides puppies (and, in my experience, puppies are FAR more destructive than older dogs).
In the end, though, having three dogs streamlined my rental house search.
“Hi. I’m replying to your rental house ad. Before we go any further, I’ve got three medium-sized dogs- is that a problem? Oh, it is? Thanks- have a nice day.”
I found a dog-friendly house within an hour. No problem.
Yeah, but the true assholes will do their best to stiff the landlord for the costs. Also, who wants to deal with that shit (literally) over and over again? Once burned, twice shy.
That’s because (WAG) it’s harder to discriminate against kids than pets. Obnoxious kids are permitted in lots more places than well-behaved animals are. Quite often after a day of hanging out with my noisy preschool-age niece and nephew, even though I love to see them, I’m glad to go home to my dogs, who make nowhere near the mess and noise, will eat anything I put in front of them without protest, and are up for doing anything I suggest. And I can put them in a crate to keep them out from underfoot without getting CPS on my doorstep.
Hey, I’m not saying it’s fair, and I think it sucks too. But I’m guessing that these are a good part of the reason.
Not all pet owners are considerate, and dogs and cats can cause thousands of dollars in damage in addition to irritating the hell out other renters if they (dogs) get to barking or if the owners let them crap on the grounds. It’s just less trouble to set policy upfront than try to figure out who’s going to work out and who won’t.
Most people aren’t going to leave small kids alone in the house for hours while they go to work, are they?
Most teenagers and kids are toilet trained, or so I hope.
Irresponsible pet owners (none of whom are dopers!) often don’t litter-train their pets. And they leave puppies and dogs alone in a house for hours on end. Bored animals chew and scratch and destroy fixtures. They chew on wiring, piss on the carpet and shit on the floor. They howl for hours, bark for hours on end and generally make themselves a nuisance.
Sure, kids do that too. But as lax as parenting standards seem to be today, most private rental occupants are more likely to make sure their kids aren’t absolute house-destroying shits than they are their pets.
There actually are “no kids” complexes, just so you know.
Also, a dog, cat or (worst of all) bird can cause thousands of dollars in carpet damage alone. That would eat up even a large security deposit in a hurry, and small claims court is a major PITA.
I volunteer at the local Humane Society because I can’t have pets where I live, so I understand your frustration.
However, I also work at a property management co. We let the individual owners decide if they want to allow pets. Many of them do (most of our units are single-family homes), but I can sympathize with the ones that won’t. It’s a huge hassle for zero reward: it’s easy enough in our area to find renters with no animals, so why should we bother?
Nothing can ruin a place faster than a boisterous pet, especially an indoor one, and the damage can cost a lot more than $1000 to fix - I’ve had to replace wallpaper that’s been shredded by cats, carpets that have been peed and shat on by dogs {and no amount of money ever quite gets the smell out}, repaint doors that have been scratched up…
That, and the crazies who think that “pets” means 37 incontinent cats and bogans who think it means Cerberus, Hound Of Hades.
As far as tenants being finacially liable for damage : being liable for it and being willing to pay for it - and you being able to collect it - are two different things, especially once they’ve moved out. To cover the risk I’d have to set the bond so high that it would discourage serious renters.
I’m sure there are good and responsible pet owners out there, and I’m not doubting that you’re one, but when it’s your income’s at stake it’s just too much of a lottery. For a landlord allowing pets is a financial risk a big hassle, so “no pets” it is. Except robot dogs.
In my previous state, landlords were not allowed to charge more than one month’s rent as a security deposit - no “pet deposits” etc. That meants that a lot more landlords just refused to take pets at all, since their risk of damage was significantly greater than one month’s rent. We didn’t get our cats until we had bought a house. (It was a 2-family, and we did allow our tenants to keep indoor-only cats and caged animals, but not dogs, since we wanted to be able to use our yard without worrying about stray dog poop.)
there is pet friendly housing out there. it’s just harder to find. have you tried supplying prospective landlords with a “good dog” reference from a prior landlord along with a pet resume?
many years ago i did a pet resume for my corgi, complete with a few photos of him in a halloween costume, a description of his “experience” (sleeping on the couch and so forth) complete with photos.
it went over really well with prospective landlords.
It’s “pet rent” and non-refundable deposits that grate on my nerves. I’m content to pay an extra refundable deposit for my cat (when I get another), but what’s with the rent? Is the water my cat drinks going to break them?
Our building said “no pets” in the ad. Hell, it actually said it in the lease.
But when we talked to the landlord for the first time, we asked if we could bring our two cats. She said sure, and scratched out the “no pets” line in the lease and replaced it with “tenant shall keep no animals except for two (2) cats.”
It doesn’t hurt to ask, and if you look like an otherwise good tenant, they might be willing to make an exception.
That’s just the free market at work. In a lot of places, the deposit can only be so large, and it’s still not enough to cover potential damages. The extra rent is to balance out the risk they have in accepting pets.
Also, non-refundable deposits are illegal in CA. Even if they claim to be non-refundable, you can get 'em back. Might want to check on CO law to see if that’s valid.
Also, it never hurts to ask in person. I have found that my one small indoor cat is accepted by a lot of places that otherwise say “No Pets” in the ad.
Some private landlords will look the other way on a no-pet policy if all you’ve got is one small pet.
That said, insurance plays a part. As I’ve mentioned here before, my mother is a landlord who rents out single-family houses. She must carry special homeowner’s insurance that specifically forbids her from renting to tenants with “aggressive” breeds of dogs. This includes Dobermanns, Rottweilers, pit bulls, Akitas, and German shepherds. If a dog-related injury occurs on her property, and the tenant owns one of these breeds, the insurance will not cover the injury. My understanding is that some insurance policies exclude all four-legged non-caged animals.
I don’t intend for this to be a commercial, so I’m being cute with the website name.
Forrent(dot)com will allow you to search for apartment listings by city and state. If you also click on the “amenities” button, you will be able to refine your search to include a “Pets OK” feature.
Good luck. I found forty individual listings in San Jose, CA with the search I did.
I had one landlord practically beg me and my dog to move in, because the other prospective renter had kids, which they cannot refuse. I would wager kids cause a lot more damage on average than dogs. I have used that to my advantage on occasion; when they say “no pets allowed”, I point out it could be worse, I could have children.
It’s not that I’m having trouble finding a place with a suitable pet policy, I just don’t understand how a majority of places can get away with it and stay in business. Frankly I have a dog, my parents always had dogs, but if I didn’t have a dog I woulnd’t move into a place that had a “No Pets” policy anyway. Something rubs me about it the wrong way.
I’m a white male but I wouldn’t move into a place advertising “Whites Only” or “No Women”. Those are illegal, but if it was legal, you can understand why it’d be pretty rare to see a rental nowadays that says “Whites Only” or “No Women”, it would ruin their customer base.
