How to Rent to Pet Owners

You might think that renting to pet owners is a bad idea, but if you rent to the right pet owners under the right terms, it can be a very positive experience. Here are some tips for renting to pet owners.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Limit the types of pets you will allow in your rental unit. Pets under 25 or 30 lbs. tend to be less destructive than larger pets. Besides that you can make decisions on a case by case basis and some dogs of larger breeds and over a certain age are not very destructive. You may also want to not allow large fish tanks which can cause a small flood, snakes, and rodents and your rental property.
2. Write a lease clause for pets and make sure tenants abide by them. Landlords who rent to pets need to charge a non-refundable pet deposit as well as a small monthly pet rent. A person who is not willing to pay for having a pet in the unit may also not be responsible with the pet.
3. Do not ignore it when people get pets without permission. As soon as you notice a pet that violates rental terms, you should demand that the tenant gets rid of the offending pet or move. If you let a tenant break one rule in regards to pets, they are likely to break many others and you will end up with extensive damage.
4. Let it be publicly known that you accept pets in your rental properties. In fact, you should put it in all of your newspaper and other advertisements. This will bring the best tenants with pets to your door step and create competition that will allow you to chose the best of the bunch for your properties. I once worked for a property manager of many units who did this and every spring we had high quality tenants competing for an apartment.