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Re: Pet Deposit, How Much - Landlord Forum thread 304015

Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Landlord in Minnesota. (Minnesota) on September 19, 2013 @18:15

                              
I Charge $300.00 Non-Refundable. Most damage, some don't damage much.
Pet owners are like moms and dads. Its just part of life that messes/accidents/damages happen and you cant avoid every incident every time. With that said, Moms and dads have to take their children to daycare and PAY way more every week to have them watched over while they are not home. Pet owners leave their pets unattended all the time inside the unit. MY Property. A property I still owe the bank for for the next 18 years. As a renter you tend to move around and do a little damage here and a little damage there and you do not see that if you stayed in one place long enough you will have trashed the place.

No, you move yet again into a place that has been freshly cleaned from top to bottom and you leave with dog/cat hair, dander, urine smells, maybe the pet got sick a couple of times. Water dish spills often cause damage, Cat hair is found on top of cabinets, inside cabinets, just everywhere. You do not see it, but you also don't seem to notice the large amount of it the or cat hair that is on the jacket you are wearing either.
Carpet cleaning alone is a minimum of $129.00 plus so much per sq. ft to remove urine smells. (they are also adding on a water dump charge and a fuel surcharge) Sometimes you cant see all the stains unless you pull up the carpet and look at the padding. Not easy! Sometimes we clean the carpets and you don't smell anything for several days or weeks when things stir up again or until it gets hot. (Usually just after you have returned any remaining deposit back to tenant). Then you have to replace the carpet even after having paid for having it cleaned.
YOU Tenants think, oh just replace it, its that easy, a few hundred bucks. (When the last time you bought carpet)? You do not stop to think what that entails. Its the pain of getting the old carpet ripped out, hauled out and disposed of. Then go shopping for new carpet, spend gas and time picking up, loading, unloading, hauling this into the house and THAN install it. The expenses can be enormous and tenants just do not realize this. They think the $300 pet deposit should cover this. This house was built in 1909. The woodwork alone is priceless. I once had a dog pee so much in one area that it ruined the hardwood altogether, hence the carpet. We put in Pergo floors and dogs manage to find a way to destroy that. Or people leave windows open and rainwater sits on the floor and causes damage. Tenants do no take care of homes as a homeowner would. Having rental property can be like running an adult daycare. Tenants also move around a lot, you cause a little damage here, a little damage there and you don't see what damage is done over time. It is impossible to replace everything tenants damage, especially woodwork/wood floors,and over time my property does not bring in the rents it should because it starts to look beat up. Most of the time, your regular deposit barely covers cleaning costs let alone any damages. Tenants almost always cause damage just moving your furniture in and out and you do not realize this or just don't care.
Pet owners are used to the smell of having pets, you don't smell it but non pet owners do. It is hard to convince some people that their unit has an odor and will be hard to show to future tenants. It is not easy to remove the smell of a cat or dog even after all of their belongs are removed.

Like I said, most damage, some don't damage much. As a landlord I simply cannot absorb all of the cost and headache involved for those who wish to be pet owners. I honestly do not now why I continue to allow pets. Its so much easier not to. I think $300 non refundable is a small price to pay for keeping a beloved pet. It is a one time charge and would be a pittance if you stayed there for several years. Chances are, even if you are a good tenant and a great pet owner, your dog/cat will do more damage than you will.
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Re: Pet Deposit, How Much by Renter (North Carolina) on July 6, 2017 @11:00 [ Reply ]
I hope in the 4 years since this was posted, you've calmed down and stopped renting since you're obviously seriously uncomfortable with it.

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