Pet Friendly Rentals: The Pros and Cons of Allowing Pets in Your Rental Home
There are pros and cons to allowing tenants with pets in your rental home. Read more about pet friendly rentals and the advantages and disadvantages today.
Struggling to attract and retain tenants? This is incredibly frustrating as a landlord and could be significantly impacting your income from your investment. One option that is certainly worth considering is pet friendly rentals as this could give you a competitive edge while allowing you to find reliable, responsible and loyal tenants.
Allowing pets in rental home is something that many landlords will be wary of. This is understandable and there are a few drawbacks, but you will also find that there are many advantages to tenants with pets that could outweigh the cons.
So, keep reading to discover the main benefits and drawbacks of pet friendly rentals.
Pro: Fill a Gap in the Market
The main advantage of pet friendly rentals is that you are filling a gap in the market. It can be hard to find rental properties that are pet friendly, so you immediately have a competitive edge that will give you access to a larger tenant pool and help you to attract tenants that you might otherwise have struggled to attract.
Keep in mind that many people have purchased dogs and other pets during COVID-19, so there has been an increase in tenants with pets and many people are searching for “pet friendly rentals near me”.
Pro: Loyal Tenants
Following this, due to the lack of pet friendly rentals, you should also find that tenants are likely to be loyal and renew. As a landlord, the best thing that you can have is reliable and responsible tenants that stay put to deliver a constant stream of income without causing issues.
Allowing pets can also make it easier to build a stronger, trusting relationship with the tenants and allow them a higher quality of life. As a landlord, you always want your tenants to be happy and this is certainly an effective way to achieve this.
Pro: Responsible Tenants
Similarly, you are likely to find that tenants with pets will be responsible. It is a generalization, but people with pets tend to be responsible types and will be less likely to be throwing wild parties, leaving the property vacant for extended periods or mistreating the property.
As they will spend a lot of time cleaning up after the pet, you might find that they treat your property with greater respect and clean more often than a tenant without a pet.
Pro: Higher Rents
With limited availability and high demand, allowing tenants with pets can allow landlords to set higher rental prices. When this is combined with the above benefits, it is clear that offering pet friendly rentals makes a lot of sense from a financial standpoint and will give you a leg up over the competition.
Con: Property Damage
The biggest drawback to tenants with pets is property damage. Dogs, cats and other animals can certainly leave their mark whether this is scratching the floor, urinating on the carpet or chewing furniture. Additionally, bad odors and even infestations can be an issue.
The key here is to include a pet policy in your lease that outlines the rules surrounding pet ownership and who is liable in the event of property damage.
Con: Noise
Noise can be an issue when you have a rental home with pets. It can be easy enough to tell a tenant when they are making too much noise, but this is not the case when it comes to pets and this can disturb the neighbors and create conflict that can be hard to resolve.
Con: Liability
A tenant will always state that their dog or any other type of pet is well behaved, but you can never be sure and incidents can happen. If a tenant’s dog bites another tenant or neighbor, this can a nightmare situation to manage and it is a situation that is unlikely but you still need to be prepared for.
Con: Loss of Other Tenants
If it is a shared property or you have other tenants in the building, you might find that a rental home with pets can drive people away. Some people might be allergic, they could be afraid of dogs or they might find that a pet is causing too much noise and decide to move.
This is a drawback that you need to weigh up against the demand for pet friendly rentals and, generally, you will find it to be worthwhile. If you currently have tenants, you might find it worthwhile asking them what their opinion is and if it would impact their decision to renew or not.
Screening Tenants With Pets
As you can see, there are both benefits and drawbacks to pet friendly rentals. If you do decide to go ahead with it, you need to ensure that your property management company conducts a thorough screening of the pet.
In addition to all of the usual screening processes, it is recommended that you meet the tenant with their pet to make an assessment. You should see if they are able to control the pet, if it is groomed and well behaved. There are also questions that you could ask, such as:
- Is the pet trained?
- Is the pet left alone for long periods?
- Who looks after the pet when you are away?
- How often do you clean and groom the pet?
- How would you prevent property damage from being an issue?
- Is the pet house-trained?
- How noisy is the pet?
Consider Pet Friendly Rentals to Attract More Tenants to Your Property
Hopefully, this post will help you to make the best decision in regards to pet friendly rentals.
In the current climate, allowing tenants with pets make a lot of sense from a financial standpoint as you will access a much larger tenant pool, be able to charge higher rents and benefit from respectful, loyal tenants. There are drawbacks to consider, but these can often be mitigated with a pet policy outlining the rules and by thoroughly screening tenants and their pets.
Contact us today to find out about our property management services and how we can help you to maximize returns on your investment and take the stress out of managing pet friendly rentals.
