PET FRIENDLY ADDITIONAL SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RENT

PET FRIENDLY ADDITIONAL SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RENT by Jason on January 23, 2019 @02:35

I will be having a vacancy around March 1 and am considering having this unit be "pet friendly". My questions are as follows:
1. Rent is $685/mo; SD is $685 - I'd like to charge an additional SD of $685 since, as we all know, animals can be destructive. Is asking for an additional SD due to them having a pet legal in PA? (I am NOT referring to a service animal)

2a. Should I be charging additional rent per month due to the tenant(s) having dog(s) and/or cat(s)?

2b. What is a good monthly rental charge for a dog or cat? I was leaning towards an additional $50 per month for a dog and $35 per month for a cat. Does this sound reasonable, or am I better off with sticking with only requiring an additional SD (if in fact, this IS legal)?

Thanks in advance,
Jason

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Re: PET FRIENDLY ADDITIONAL SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RENT by Garry on January 23, 2019 @05:29	[ Reply ]

First, let me just say that I am in Iowa, and do not know what PA,s laws say about security deposits. Ia LL/T laws say we can charge a max of 2 times whatever the rent is, for the SD. And a pet deposit is included in that. You really need to look up PA,s LL/T laws to see what they say. That being said, to me, being "pet friendly" doesn't just mean that you allow pets, but that they are allowed at a "reasonable cost". Many LLs in my area, for that same rent, would charge $200-$400 per pet, above the 1 months worth of SD. Some charge an extra $15-$35 per month "pet rent". What it comes down to, is, what is your competition charging? If your comp. is only charging $300 as extra SD for a pet, why would a prospective tenant want give you more than double that amount for that same pet? What you could do, is call up a few apartment complexes in your area, pretend you are a prospective T, and ask what they charge for pets. This is no different that trying to figure out what you should be charging for regular rent. If your rent is way above everybody around you, you won't get any takers. But if you are "in the ballpark" you should get it rented fairly quickly.

Re: PET FRIENDLY ADDITIONAL SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RENT by AnonymousFL on January 23, 2019 @12:59	[ Reply ]

It looks like charging extra security deposit won't help you much. Evidently, PA doesn't see a difference between security deposit and pet security deposit. It is just security deposit...and they limit it to nor more than two times the rent for year one and one times the rent in year two and beyond. https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-68-ps-real-and-personal-property/pa-st-sect-68-250-511a.html Your only options look to be to charge a one-time pet fee or monthly pet rent. We charge $25.00/month with a limit of two pets per home. Certain breeds are not allowed and any pets must be pre-approved.

PET FRIENDLY ADDITIONAL SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RENT - Landlord Forum thread 358942