Should You Follow the Trend to Ban Pets in Your Rentals?

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There is a growing movement amongst property owners to blanket ban pets in their rentals. The reasons cited mainly center on avoiding damage that costs more than the renter’s security deposit will cover and the fact that damage – even when covered – is too much trouble.

The avoidance makes sense from a landlord’s point of view. If a dog chews up a baseboard or a cat destroys a section of the carpet from frequent clawing, it takes time and energy to fix the problem, even when you can deduct the cost from a tenant’s security deposit. The only way to prevent the inconvenience is to ban pets, but that limits your pool of renters and sometimes forces people to give up their pets who are family to them, simply because they can’t find another place to rent.

Should you follow this trend and blanket ban pets? Here are some points to consider before making that choice.

1. Hiring a property manager will relieve your burden

If the only reason you don’t want to allow pets in your rentals is to avoid dealing with the damage, you need a property manager. When you have a professional handling your rentals, you don’t have to be the one to do the work, whether it’s collecting rent, filling vacancies, marketing, or scheduling repairs.

Professional real estate investors know the value of hiring outside help. For instance, Houston property management companies, like Green Residential, take on all the landlord duties for their clients, which helps investors focus on more important tasks. Having a property manager frees up investors to search for additional properties to acquire and allows them to have more time to themselves.

If you don’t want to deal with repairs after a tenant’s pet causes damage, all you need is a property management company, and they’ll coordinate all the repairs needed at the end of a tenancy.

2. Pets are family

It might be difficult to grasp if you don’t own pets, but to those who do, pets are family. It’s extremely difficult for people to have to give up their pets just to rent an apartment or house, and it’s also hard on the pet. Dogs and cats, for example, become extremely attached to their owners and anyone they’re connected to in the house. They are capable of forming deep bonds and will feel abandoned and traumatized if they have to be rehomed. Some dogs and cats get depressed and stop eating when they get separated from their families.

By banning pets completely, you might be forcing someone to give up a beloved family member just to have a roof over their head.

3. You can ask for a larger security deposit

When a tenant has pets, you have the option of requiring a pet security deposit in most cases. However, you can’t collect a security deposit for service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs), nor can you charge pet rent. Although service animals are supposed to be well-trained and well-behaved, they can still cause accidental damage. ESAs require no training, so there’s a chance they might cause damage just like any other pet.

Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit some landlords from collecting pet rent and pet deposits for service animals and ESAs, but some landlords are exempt. If you can’t collect a specific pet deposit for service animals and ESAs, just increase the amount of your standard security deposit for all of your tenants and you won’t have to worry. In most states, there is a limit to what you can charge, but use your best judgment. Don’t go overboard. Be realistic about the amount you charge for your security deposits because if it’s too high, you’ll scare off a lot of good potential tenants.

4. Not allowing pets limits your options

Finding good tenants is already hard enough. If you don’t allow pets, you’re going to have a much narrower selection of potential tenants. Many people who have pets, like dogs, cats, and even birds, have amazing rental histories, reliable income, and strong references. They will be some of the best tenants you’ve ever had, and if you don’t allow pets they won’t even bother applying for your rental.

Consider allowing pets

There are many pros and cons to allowing v. banning pets, but it will work more in your favor to allow pets in your rentals. Pet-friendly rentals can be hard to find, and when you rent to tenants with pets, they’ll be grateful and are more likely to be great long-term tenants.