Re: pet fee vs pet deposit - Landlord Forum thread 355061

Re: pet fee vs pet deposit by Stephen (Washington) on November 13, 2017 @09:54

Can the pet deposit be treated as part of the regular deposit? I’ve seen posts on-line regarding keeping those separate. I.e. pet deposit being available for only pet related damages. For example, there is damage that exceeds the regular deposit but obviously is not pet damage. So it was argued that those costs could not be charged against the pet deposit. This sets up the situation where the LL has to refund the excess pet deposit while trying to collect additional expenses for that other damage from the tenant.
So, while I normally don’t allow pets, when I have I increase the regular deposit (no separate pet deposit). One time I also charged a fee up front for getting the vacant unit treated for fleas. That worked fine for us.

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