RHJ Blog

The Pros And Cons Of Having A Pet Friendly Apartment Or Rental Property

November 26, 2018

To have a pet friendly apartment, or not, is the maintenance checkup this week provided by Keepe.

As a landlord, one of the important decisions you have to make is outlining a pet policy for your property and whether you want to have a pet friendly apartment or rental.

Pets can cause damage to a property and disturb neighboring tenants, but are the pros worth it?

Here are the top pros and cons landlords should review when developing a pet policy.

4 pros for having a pet friendly apartment

Charge Higher Rent: If other rental properties in your area are not pet-friendly, you might be able to charge more for pet fees. Higher rent premiums can work in your favor long-term.

Happier Tenants: Animals can help reduce stress and be a great companion for people of all ages. Having a pet around can make your property feel more like a home for tenants.

Increase Renewals: Decrease tenant turnover and vacancy by investing in a pet-friendly property. Due to the scarcity of pet-friendly rentals, your property can remain competitive by choosing to allow pets.

Larger Tenant Pool: If you make your property pet-friendly, you will have more interested tenants interested due to demand for pet-friendly rental housing. Similarly, responsible pet owners often make suitable tenants.

3 cons of having a pet friendly apartment

Property Damage: Animals may damage wood flooring and carpets. Pet owners may not be very responsible at cleaning up after their pets which can lead to property damage throughout the building. Prevent this by screening pets for behavior prior to accepting a pet-owning tenants.

Odor: Pets that are not properly groomed or clean can spread unwanted pet odors throughout the building. Other tenants in the building might be allergic or move when an animal odor becomes overpowering and unpleasant.

Liability: Unauthorized pets at your property can cause a huge amount of damage towards your property and other tenants on your property if the pet bites or attacks others. With a pet policy, pet damage is covered through a pet deposit and liability coverage is covered through renter’s insurance. Without a clear pet policy, all of these potential issues will be the property owners’ responsibility.

Know the laws on assistance animals, service and emotional support animals

Remember know the law and stay out of trouble as assistance animals, service and emotional support animals are not “pets” and do not fall under a typical pet policy. Landlords are required to make reasonable accommodation for tenants with these animals.

Three laws relate to rental housing and service and assistance animals:

The Fair Housing Act (FHA)
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA

The FHA and Section 504 use “assistance animal” as a broad term to describe any animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability.

Under the FHA and Section 504, service animals, emotional support animals, and companion animals are all considered assistance animals. An assistance animal may be any type of animal and is not required to have specific training.

4 pros for having a pet friendly apartment

3 cons of having a pet friendly apartment

Know the laws on assistance animals, service and emotional support animals

Other recent rental property maintenance Keepe posts you may have missed:

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