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Re: Pet Deposit, How Much - Landlord Forum thread 234385

Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous on September 13, 2011 @22:12

                              
I would like to all the landlord's who are reading this forum to take the time to understand the situation from another perspective. I am a volunteer at the Humane Society in the town that I live. Because of the price of the Pet deposits I get phone calls all day every day from people trying to get rid of their animals because they either cannot afford the exorbitant pet deposit or the places they can afford the rent to won't accept pets. This has led to overcrowding. We have ceased taking in animals because we are completely full. Our strict policies at the shelter mandates that a person who is applying to adopt must live in a place that accepts animals, and we do call and verify with the landlords that pets are welcome. We respect and work with you but unfortunately it isn't a two way street. Whether you like it or not you are contributing to all the social issues surrounding pet ownership in a very significant way. This situation doesn't have to be this way.

Having been a renter as well as a landlord I can offer several suggestions to protect your property as well as be apart of the overall solution. First and foremost check rental references first to see if your would be tenants we responsible and took care of their other properties. Next ditch carpet in properties tile or laminate is better overall and in the long run cheaper too.

In rental agreements always require that they have renters insurance, responsible renters have that already knowing your homeowners won't cover their things. If they don't then they don't have common sense. As for pet deposits, set the deposit at around $200 for 2 pets $125 for one then give discounts off the deposit if the pet was adopted from a shelter. Shelters are glad to provide you with the adoption paperwork information, the byproduct is you will then be helping your area shelters and discourage them from purchasing pets. Give another discount if they are spayed or neutered or just require that they are before they rent your property. Most shelter dogs and cats already are spayed or neutered already. This will keep you from having rented to backyard breeders which is a scourge to shelter animals as well as landlords. Require that cats be de-clawed as well as spayed or neutered and be litter trained this will keep from any damage in that department. Ask for current Vet paperwork to see that they are current on the required shots and are on heart-worm preventative require they give copies every year. If they aren't it is a good indicator to their financial position if they provide basic care for the members of their own family you cannot expect they will spend any money for minor upkeep on your property. Also put in a disclaimer that any evidence of animal cruelty witnessed by the landlord or employees will be reported to the police as well as eviction, keeping all deposits etc. This will keep dog fighting rings from using your rental as a fighting pit, abandonment at the time of departure, mistreatment and malnourishment of animals, mentally ill hoarders from taking in stray after stray and again the backyard breeders. These situations will no doubt end in your property being trashed.

Rather than charging exorbitant deposits and extra rent simply take the renters to court you will have a comprehensive rental contract that they would have agreed to to back you up. Remember that not all owners will allow their pets to destroy things and it would be wrong to punish all for a few bad apples also you may lose folks who might have been good renters not to mention money.

As for the outside of your property if you are renting a home that has a yard include an expectation on yard maintenance in the agreement which besides mowing and watering, filling any holes dug in the yard with dirt and seed, that every three months they apply seven dust or any other comprehensive insect killer that you may specify (it takes care of fleas and ticks and other insects that kill yards, it's wonderful and it's inexpensive and require proof of receipt with the rent) the by product is that the dog or cat if confined to their yard won't infect your house with fleas and the pets don't suffer as well. If your an apartment owner just apply it on your grass yourself every three months and it will work just as well to keep fleas and ticks out of your units.

Lastly require that all pets have their collars with proper identification, license and rabies tags on at all times. Again pet licenses cost money every year as well as proving rabies vaccination. Again require that they give you copies of the documentation when the tags are renewed. If you require that the tenants be very responsible as pet parents you will be assured that they will take care of your property as well. All the rules will surely scare away the riff-raffsas well criminals and will provide you with all you need to know about how the animals will be in your house. Good pet parents will already have most of this taken care of.

In summation the thing that hurts the shelters is the money issue. Exorbitant deposits and extra rent only give people incentive to release their dogs and cats to be strays, dump them in already over crowded shelters or take them to be put to sleep. The put to sleep issue just breaks my heart given that it was a life that could have been spared if you understood what the consequences are.

My list might seem like a lot but the types of renters who you would be glad to have will be okay with this stuff and you as the landlord will be apart of the solution not the problem. Encourage your friends to do the same with their properties and slowly we can all do our part to turn this situation around.
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Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous on October 26, 2011 @00:44 [ Reply ]
Hi,

I'm one of the many "traumatized" landlords who promised to never rent my house to tenants with pets again after loosing more than 4K in dog related damages in one year. At the same time, I'm also an animal lover who would like to help animals when possible.

I found your post to be very informative and interesting. The only thing that I'm not so sure about is the idea of relying on the local court system for damage cost recovery. From personal experience and from talking with some other landlords, taking a tenant to court seems to be a very stressful and time consuming process that comes with no guarantees whatsoever. As with many small court cases, the final outcomes depends largely on the judge's personal beliefs. Do you disagree with that?

In any case, I would be very interested to know if you could provide a sample rental contract agreement with the clauses you suggested. Who knows, it may help me get the guts to try it again...

Thanks!

Gus
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymour (CT) on February 12, 2012 @08:04 [ Reply ]
Thanks for being one of the first people to state what should be obvious.
We have been Landlords/Property Managers for years and have always been concerned about pushing out tenants' animals. LLs are in a tough position when animals are brought in. Many of us PMs care greatly about the animals but we also have a responsibility to the property. A system of incentives for good behaviour by pet owners is a good solution.
Thank You.
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Lois (Arizona) on February 13, 2012 @18:53 [ Reply ]
I totally agree with you. It's wonderful to hear you volunteer at the Humane Society. You have wonderful suggestions and everything you wrote was well said. I Have 2 rescued dogs and have always taken great care of them as well as the place I rent. I have known people that have rented places with animals and have left damage from them, but why should I be punished for people like that? I am a good tenant and I expect my deposit back if I left the premise in clean & good condition and no damages were done by my a]animals.
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous on March 21, 2012 @20:00 [ Reply ]
Wow, the irate guy who does not like pet deposits....hmmm, don't think I'd want to rent to him!

I am trying to figure out what to do for pet deposit myself. We personally have had dogs, birds, and fish over the years. Our pets are well trained (except the fish, of course ;-) -- I have done plenty of clean-up and repair for our own pets.

From risk perspective, pet deposit really needs to be around $5000 on a good size property (carpet replacement alone will cost that much). But of course we can't charge renters that much deposit.

Am I thinking correctly that the "non-refundable" pet deposits are to help cover costs of that person who's pet will eventually do serious damage?
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous (NC) on May 10, 2012 @14:43 [ Reply ]
I liked this post until you said to require cats to be de-clawed. I have 7 cats. One is de-clawed (I was ten at the time and didn't have any say in it), the rest aren't. I don't have ANY problem with them scratching furniture or carpet. If the owner provides enough places for the cat to scratch (I have a floor to ceiling cat tree, three shelves I built and applied carpet tiles, two small scratching posts, and two scratchers that hang on the door knobs - this is because of the number of cats, so the average person with one or two cats could probably be fine with just a few scratchers), then the cats will behave.

De-clawing is actually the amputation of the toes and "Unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of the paws or feet, cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes. Their back, shoulder, paw and leg joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves are naturally designed to support and distribute the cat's weight across its toes as it walks, runs and climbs."

This means that declawing will ALWAYS cause severe pain in the joints and muscles. It also contributes to behavior problems in cats. It makes them more aggressive and more likely to mark their territory by spraying - male or female, altered or not. It also makes them more likely to bite. My cat who is de-clawed is the ONLY one who bites - not often, but still. And sadly you can see that she does have a lot of joint pain and doesn't want certain areas pet because of it.

I'm not saying my cats have never misbehaved. They certainly have. But it was always my own fault for not knowing enough to properly care for them. Even vets are not behavior specialists. They can only really rule out medical issues.

Whatever you do DON'T de-claw (in many countries it is illegal, as it should be - it is mutilation). And DON'T require tenants to.

I'd say, have a pet deposit that is refundable (at least partially). If damage exceeds the deposit, go to court like you would for people without pets. Otherwise you're risking people abandoning pets or sneaking them (I know I would sneak my pets if I had to because I'm NOT going abandon them. I'd risk eviction before giving up my cats.) As a landlord I think you're better off allowing pets with a refundable deposit. I find it far more unethical to abandon a pet than to sneak it. I have no problem pay for damages, but to disallow pets completely or charge ridiculous amounts that cannot be refunded is annoying for renters trying to find a place. I know I can't afford a $300 non-refundable deposit, PLUS $40 PER PET every month. That's just crazy. I'd rather sneak them for a while and if they find out then I'll say I got rid of them, but really take them to a friend's for a bit.

Sorry if it makes landlords mad, but that's how it is. If they charged a reasonable deposit then everything would be fine and I'd be straight forward with them. But NO ONE charges a reasonable, refundable deposit without charging a monthly per pet fee and reasonable rent and security deposit. If I was an owner renting a place out that's what I would do because I would not want to be responsible for an animal being killed because I was being greedy.


Also, I totally disagree with spraying with pesticides. This wrecks havoc on our farms and water. I don't want to drink insecticides. When I flea treat I use Advantage or Frontline. It's expensive, but works great. Two of my cats are pure white and I haven't seen a flea on them since I started using these flea products because it kills fleas, eggs, and larvae unlike many that only kills fleas. Heartworm prevention is mainly only important if your pet goes outside or you live in an area with a lot of mosquitoes. I know in NC I have to flea treat all year, but in MD if it's a normal winter you don't need to treat if you did during warmer months.
    Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by landlord (CA) on June 16, 2013 @14:29 [ Reply ]
    To all tenants. When you buy a place you can do what you want. When you rent something that does not belong to you, either go with the program or sleep in your car. As a landlord I don't owe you anything. If "you're" an animal lover and would rather sleep in the streets than give your animal to a shelter, enjoy the pavement. It's your decision. Don't say you would rather sleep in the streets than give up you cat, but then complain that you don't want to sleep in the street. The problem is that foolish animal lovers, like smokers, or drinkers, want the world to support their pathetic habits. As long as the market will bear a fair price for my rental unit, you will always be out a large pet deposist. Forcing me to take you to court is a sucker bet. The same immature animal lover that rather go to court, is the same immature adult that never appears at court dates, or makes any effort to clean up after their animals. Their goal is to defer the costs to a future date and then skip town. That's why theu don't want an upfront pet deposit. I've been renting for over 20 years. NO PETS ALLOWED! WHEN YOU SIGN MY CONTRACT, IF A PET IS IN THE HOUSE (YOURS OR NOT) YOU WILL BE EVICTED WITHIN 21 DAYS.
      Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous (Oklahoma) on June 25, 2013 @20:57 [ Reply ]
      Landlord,
      There are some instances where you will be FORCED to deal with a pet on your property. May it be a service animal or a companion animal. If you attempt to charge a tenant any sort of deposit on these kind of animals or attempt to deny them their animal or housing the DISCRIMINATION against a DISABILITY law suit you will recive will make you hurt for YEARS to come.
      Trust me any little old lady can get a companion animal based on it makes her feel safe.

      Have a nice day. Calm down. Deal with the fact that you could have pets in your places.
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous on September 11, 2012 @08:49 [ Reply ]
You can lecture people when you rent a house, let them have a dog... their dog costs thousands in damages, then they disappear and you are not even able to get them to court.
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anon (VA) on December 5, 2012 @19:26 [ Reply ]
I agree, my landlords pet deposit is preventing me from getting a pet, and that is unfair on the children. Although it would be refundable, so the landlord says, how would I ever prove the damage was there before and not done by the pet? The house is a mess, stained, smelly carpets, with frayed edges, old, old, paintwork, and scratched up woodwork. I would have to take photos of every inch. I do not believe I would ever get the money back. With this cost and the shelter cost for adopting a kitty or two we are looking at $500 by the time we actually have the pet come home. The landlords rental agent even wants a pet addendum for a betta fish!
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Anonymous on May 6, 2013 @01:07 [ Reply ]
Hey good samaritan: thank you for your volunteer work, but don't quit your day job. Unless YOU are going to pay the cost for me to rip the carpet out of my entire condo and replace it with tile or laminate, why would I ever do something like that? That statement alone tells me in no uncertain terms that you have never been a landlord in your life.

Let me tell you something else: even if a tenant takes good care of his or her rental places, there is no guarantee the pet is not going to have accidents, or dig up the floor, or chew on the baseboards - particularly if it is a new pet. One of my closest friends falls into that category: she is fastidious - a much better housekeeper than I - but she cannot keep her dog from wetting or throwing up on the carpet. I would not rent to her in a million years, no matter how well she cleans it up, because you cannot ever truly remove those stains.

Finally, contrary to your opinion, apparently, pet ownership is NOT a right: it is a priviledge. If you do not own the dwelling in which you reside, you have absolutely no right to demand pet ownership. I spent five years in apartments just waiting for the day I could own a pet, and it took me less than four months after I bought my first house to adopt a dog. And just in case you think I don't support pet adoptions, notice I did NOT say I bought a dog. I know the problem exists, but I am also a realist: I cannot afford to save them all, and I am not about to lose everything because of a pet, especially someone else's pet.

Maybe, you should start with pet owners who get pets they can't afford and then have to get rid of them (which is where my dog came from) before you start picking on us landlords.
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Blazer (Michigan) on February 11, 2016 @04:09 [ Reply ]
These folks who say take the tenant to court are really out of touch with reality. A court judgment in my favor that I can not collect on is of no use to me. More often than not it just ends up in the collection agency and I get 10 cents on the dollar if anything at all. You can not understand what it is like to manage property until you do it yourself.
Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by AK (MD) on May 10, 2016 @17:08 [ Reply ]
I'm a landlord. To all those who are recommending to take the tenant in court as opposed to refundable/non-refundable deposit.
There are two kinds of tenants - ones who care about what goes in their record and ones who don't care. You don't know upfront before leasing whether you're getting a tenant who cares or not. Sure, credit history and past record helps.
My point - you can take the person to court and court may rule judgement in favor of landlord BUT what if Tenant decides not to abide by the judgement and decides not to pay the judgement charges?
This happens all the time. In the end, it is the Landlords loss.
SO...I say do the agreement before - Monthly pet fee / deposit - refudable / non-refundable whatever is agreed upon. (has to be a reasonable amount ofcourse).

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