0
0

Allowing pets in Rentals, what major problems are there?


 invite response                
2012 Sep 24, 9:42am   34,424 views  87 comments

by pkennedy   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

Most complexes simply deny pets. Those that allow them, often charge pet premiums which I assume is just a money grab because they know pet owners have limited choices. Then there are those that ask for larger deposits ($250-$500 per pet). Or those asking for cleaning deposits when they move out($150-300).

So far, I've let people own pets and not really worried about it. I'm renting to premium people. These units are very nice and the quality of tenant has been very strong so far.

I figure if they leave and the animal has done damage, they won't make me go through a small claims case, and if it's over their deposit amount, the $500 extra isn't going to do anything anyway because their rents are already in the $2000 range. I could see asking for $500 extra if they were renting for say $1000, but in the $2000 range, I have a decent amount held anyway.

Is there anything I am missing? Dogs could scratch up the floors or stain it with pee/crap that is left there for hours while someone is at work. Possibly redoing part of the floor. Repainting, some touch up work.

Cats spraying, that concerns me. I've never dealt with it, but I suspect it's not that easy to clean up.

I see pet owners are generally being abused by the system, so they're happy to not be screwed by someone and will actually pay slightly higher rents because of their limited choices.

Are there other reasons not to accept pets? Any major horror stories?

« First        Comments 75 - 87 of 87        Search these comments

75   JG1   2012 Sep 25, 4:13pm  

Mea culpa re: your post.

The tenants should clean at moveout however - some leases specify this (where allowed by law). And my comments about the lifespan of renter paint and carpet vs owner paint and carpet stand.

76   ELC   2012 Sep 25, 9:59pm  

New Renter says

The carpets were then cleaned using ordinary methods (hot water extraction, spot cleaning etc.) The results were pretty impressive, at least what can be seen on the videos.

My friend had four cats and the management finally changed the carpet after seven years. The padding almost fused into the concrete. They had to use a shovel to scrape the padding up. We sprayed enzyme deoderizer on the stained concrete. The smell was so bad the worker almost passed out. We found him on the lawn on his knees puking. But once the new carpet was in you would never have know there were cats.

78   freak80   2012 Sep 25, 11:23pm  

zzyzzx,

I can haz image re-size?

79   New Renter   2012 Sep 26, 1:18am  

ELC says

New Renter says

The carpets were then cleaned using ordinary methods (hot water extraction, spot cleaning etc.) The results were pretty impressive, at least what can be seen on the videos.

My friend had four cats and the management finally changed the carpet after seven years. The padding almost fused into the concrete. They had to use a shovel to scrape the padding up. We sprayed enzyme deoderizer on the stained concrete. The smell was so bad the worker almost passed out. We found him on the lawn on his knees puking. But once the new carpet was in you would never have know there were cats.

That sucks. Hopefully the management company took some precautions this time by sealing the concrete and using a quality carpet pad.

80   New Renter   2012 Sep 26, 1:25am  

JG1 says

Mea culpa re: your post.

The tenants should clean at moveout however - some leases specify this (where allowed by law). And my comments about the lifespan of renter paint and carpet vs owner paint and carpet stand.

Which is also why most SFRs demand a substantial cleaning deposit.

Your post implies I had said the carpet should be replaced between renters which I did not. Of course carpet - properly installed and maintained - should have a useful lifetime of many years with the length of that lifetime proportional to the quality of the carpet, pad, install, maintenance and degree of use.

82   freak80   2012 Sep 26, 1:38am  

A box is all he can afford in San Fran.

All those homeless people you see in SF are investment bankers making six figures.

83   pkennedy   2012 Sep 26, 3:01am  

Before people started getting abusive and discussing one off situations, it seems that allowing pets isn't terrible. What I would call "cheap" damage is that around doors where they might scrape things. That isn't horrendous, and their deposit will cover that.

The carpet/flooring issues are a little troubling, but it appears that the limited supply and higher rents for these places will attract many extra good tenants, allowing for higher possible rents and at the very least, a larger pool of people to select from. Over all it is probably worth it.

I will avoid large dogs that might cause death, that could be a costly law suit, even though extremely unlikely. These places aren't suitable for large dogs anyways, so it's partially moot. But smaller pets and cats seem ok. There are decent ways to repair the damages a cat/dog might cause.

The comments regarding children doing similar underfloor damage, that was some extreme one off case. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone else making those complaints. Those are just things to deal with in life, not something to worry about. There are plenty of odd people out there, but I'm just interested in the cases I'm likely to run into.

84   JG1   2012 Sep 26, 3:11am  

pkennedy says

I will avoid large dogs that might cause death

While a large dog might be inherently more dangerous due to size, strength, bigger teeth, it is really the breed and the way the dog has been socialized and trained that determines how dangerous it is. Pitbulls aren't that large, but they are probably more dangerous on average than a giant Newfoundland, a breed known as the gentle giant.

New Renter - I addressed my error in a follow-up post. If you want an apology, here it is: Sorry for misreading your post.

85   New Renter   2012 Sep 26, 3:39am  

JG1 says

New Renter - I addressed my error in a follow-up post. If you want an apology, here it is: Sorry for misreading your post.

My apologies, my Latin is sorely lacking as you may have already gathered :)

86   New Renter   2012 Sep 28, 5:46pm  

JodyChunder says

New Renter says

You still wear pants? Why?

I have a buffalo sofa and I'd chafe like hell sitting on that without some sansabelts. Sometimes I can get away with just a Kimono.

Lose the sofa, you can thank me later.

87   curious2   2012 Oct 24, 4:53pm  

Romnesia might tie them to the roof of a car and drive off to Canada.

« First        Comments 75 - 87 of 87        Search these comments

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions