Should you allow pets in your rental property? That answer depends on a lot of factors, but I would recommend is having a clear stance on the issue when advertising your property for rent. Here are some pros and cons to consider when deciding which way to go….

Pros

Tenants Stay Longer

I am going to go under the assumption that you provide a clean and safe rental property for your tenants. With that said, a tenant with pets can kiss a lot of frogs before they find that prince landlord that will consider pets. Because of that the tenants are much more likely to stay longer just because of the fact that it is a daunting task to find a nice place to live that will accept pets. Longer tenancies reduce vacancy/turnover costs both of which are the kryptonite to any properties financial performance over time.

Bigger Pool of Tenants to Pick From

If you are just eliminating pet owners as tenants, that is a pretty big swath of the renter pool that goes by the wayside. Wait and see, at least 40-50% of the people who inquire about our rentals have pets. As a non pet owner this is something I didn’t realize until I started in rental real estate. Theoretically the bigger the renter pool you have to pick from you should end up with a qualified tenant and a short vacancy period. Nothing wrong with that.

Cons

Pet Related Damage to the Unit

This primarily comes in the form of scratches to the walls, flooring, and trim and/or pet odors as a result of the pet owner not keeping a close enough eye on where the pet does their business. The damage can be mitigated to a certain extent if you collect a pet deposit of some kind, but if the damage is serious enough or the odor seeps into your hard wood floors there is no deposit that will save you.

Disturbance to Other Tenants

Allowing pets in a multi unit building can turn into a disaster if you have the wrong kind of pets being guided by the wrong type of owners. The fact is that tenants have rights to quiet enjoyment of their apartment during certain hours and pets can put a damper on that enjoyment in some cases. Loud pets could be the direct reason a quiet, good paying tenant decides to vacate one of your apartments. Is allowing pets worth the risk in this case?