We are talking today about the importance of setting a pet policy for your rental property. At Real Estate Eight Three One, we work with a lot of landlords who do allow pets because they are pet lovers themselves and they want to attract a broader pool of potential tenants. To get a greater number of potential tenants interested in your property, you should remain open to the idea of allowing pets into your home.
While we do allow pets in our properties, we also recognize that there is typically an increased risk involved. Either the pet could possibly damage the interior of the property, or somebody could have an injury related to the pet, such as a dog bite. So, when we do approve a tenant for a property with a pet, we always make sure our pet policy is reviewed and accepted. Having a consistent pet policy in place will help you balance out your desire and ability to bring tenants with pets into your rental home.
When a tenant with a pet signs a lease, we also have a pet agreement which needs to be signed. This agreement stipulates that the pet owner will abide by all the relevant city and county laws and regulations regarding domestic animals. They are required to keep their animals registered and current on all vaccinations with the pet’s vet. We also ask for an increased deposit at the time of move in to cover any potential damage that could occur to the property because of the animal that will be living there.
The majority of our experiences with pets have been positive. We have found that when we allow pets in our properties, we often appeal to tenants who take good care of their pets and good care of the properties they are living in. Because of our past experience and the solid pet policies that we have in place, we are able to stay open to the idea of tenants who want to move their cherished animals with them.
Hopefully, we answered some of your initial questions about whether you should allow pets and the importance of having a pet policy in place. If you have any additional questions about pet policies or property management in general, please contact us at Real Estate Eight Three One, and we would be happy to talk about your property.
