I’ve never heard of landlords charging extra for pets (I’m in New Zealand) - but I think its a good idea.!When my daughter was in a student appartment, the students were allowed a small fishbowl only. & when looking for a flat, a lot of landlords said no pets.
So she left the kitten she had taken on when she had no job, money or place to live :mad: with us. Luckily for her my husband is absolutely besotted with Juno (the kitten)
Pet deposits and pet rent when I lived in Texas–I only told them about one cat, when eventually I had three, since they charged by the pet. They took money out of the deposit for the blinds Kitty #1 destroyed.
Here in West Tennessee apartment complexes charge pet deposits and rent, too.
There are good reasons we charge pet fees and deposits. I can almost guarantee that when a pet owner moves out I’m going to have to replace the carpeting and pads because of urine stains. Cats are the worst, and nothing but removal will ever get rid of the odor permanently. Between my carpet cleaner and I, we have tried every product on the market, advertised to take care of the problem without success. Black light tells all. I walk each tenant through their unit with a light prior to moving in and again when they move out.
Deposits and fees rarely cover the cost of replacement, but it does help to offset it.
On the other side of the coin, when my wife moved in with me a year after I had moved into my apartment, she brought a cat. We told them, and paid the additional pet deposit, but the paperwork for the two deposits apparently never got combined. When we moved out, I got back our regular deposit, with a note saying the apartment was clean and in good condition, but no mention of the pet deposit. I wrote them a letter reminding them of the pet deposit. Then I got a letter saying they were deducting for pet damage. :dubious:
I wrote them another letter telling them they already told me the apartment was clean, and was able to get my full deposit back, but I can only believe that they deduct for pet damage as a matter of course, not based on actual damage.
The black light sounds like a good idea.
I’m still a little sore about how much we had to pay for my cat.
I just moved into an apartment complex in Arlington, VA and there was a $500 non-refundable pet fee upfront plus an extra $50 a month.
In the Youngstown/Boardman Ohio, area, most of the places we looked at last summer were willing to waive the fee for cats, especially if they were declawed. Dogs, however they were not willing to overlook. I don’t know what they were charging, as we have a cat, and never asked. I know in my apartment I can have an aquarium, since I’m on the ground floor, but the upstairs apartments can not.
Pet rules completely choose for us where to live in Columbus, OH. The one time fees were not unreasonable compared to what I had paid in St. Louis or Athens, GA, but the vast majority of apartments would only allow two cats. My partner and I have FOUR, so things were looking grim. Our townhouse complex actually has a NO pet policy, but the leasing agent clearly stated that everything other than dogs are on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis.
I have seen one time fees and monthly fees, sometimes per pet, but I have found many places will just have me turn in paperwork for one cat and then we all pretend like that’s my only pet.
Landlord in Northern California.
We had our tenants pay a $500 refundable pet deposit and required them to have renter’s insurance that included pet damage. No extra per-month fee. They’re awesome tenants and their little bulldog is really cute.
I also manage another owner’s units, and she doesn’t allow any pets, period. There are cats and at least one dog in the next building over, though.
I’d appreciate a link to any insurance company that will insure the landords property in case of pet damage. I bet if you manage to find it it will be far more than fees and deposits you may pay.
How do you monitor that your tenants have continuous coverage?
I do require renters insurance with a rider against dog bites, but insurance companies are very picky about the breeds of dogs they will cover. Personally, I can’t imagine any insurance company insuring carpeting in a pet unit. They’d go broke in a hurry!
It’s illegal to charge such fees in Ontario (and my understanding is that “no pets allowed” clauses are not valid either). In Quebec, it is not legal to charge additional deposits such as security/damage deposits, pet deposits or last month’s rent (only first month’s rent due at time of signing, but “no pets allowed” clauses are legal.
Our landlord requested that we not have dogs, but allowed us one cat when we moved in and approved (in writing) a second cat a year later. The lease, a standard template lease with “no pets allowed” was modified at the time of signing to allow the one cat.
I’m the the Triangle area of NC, and I paid an initial $200 pet deposit (nonrefundable) and both of my little monsters have $15 rent per month. I’ve been here 4 years and they have yet to get off their fuzzy butts and pay their way. I don’t know why I continue to put up with it frankly… 
Same here. I’ve rented apartments in MD and VA since 1994, and 6 years ago I switched to renting townhouses (all in VA): in my adult life there have only been 4 years when I didn’t have a pet (first a cat, now a dog), and there has always been a pet fee of some kind. A one-time deposit (hopefully refundable, but often not) is better than a monthly fee, but I’ve done both. I’m currently renting a townhouse with hardwood floors and they asked for a $500 deposit: it’s the most I’ve paid, but it’s refundable so I sucked it up.
I keep thinking about moving to DC, possibly when my lease is up in June, but I dread trying to find a place I can afford that will allow my dog. I’d probably be willing to pay any deposit/fees for the right place. She’s just a 40-lb Beagle mix, but a dog is a dog and a LOT of places are strictly “no pets” or “no dogs.” I’m just glad she’s on the small side, because the other restriction I see a lot is “no dogs over 50 lbs.”
I hear this very frequently from landlords and property managers, and I don’t doubt you, but I always wonder whether my cat was some kind of miracle pet: I lived with her in various apartments (and one townhouse) for 10 years, and she never peed on the floor/carpet. Not once. Poop sometimes, and definitely vomit, but the former was quite easy to pick up and the latter always cleaned up nicely with my Bissell SpotLifter. But even when she was 18 years old and dying she never peed on the floor. I always got my full security deposit back, and pet deposit if there was a refundable one.
Here in Houston pet deposits are extremely common, along with weight limits on dogs and limits on the number of pets. Where I live now I paid a $450 deposit, half refundable upon move out. The weight limit for dogs is 30lbs, and there is a limit of two animals per apartment. There was a different deposit for cats, I’m thinking $250 half refundable per cat.
Major complexes in the area charge up to $650 per dog if they take dogs at all, and it is not uncommon to see weight limits as low as 15 lbs. I’ve occasionally seen pet rent for the major complexes, but it is still rare and nearly nonexistent for smaller places and leasing agencies.
My place has an $800 additional damage deposit and $30/month per cat and $50/dog.
But they have announced they are not taking any new pets, because the damage and hassle is more than they need. Not sure how that’s calculated, but they mentioned damage to the carpets, doors and cabinets, and digging and messing in the garden. Plus barking complaints.
Here’s one with a $17 monthly premium.
I don’t have a copy of their insurance paperwork in my file, so at this point it’s little more than a checkbox on the pet addendum to the rental agreement.
Interesting. What protections do the landlord have against accidental and deliberate damage to their properties?