Should you allow Pets in your property

Deciding whether to allow pets or not in your property is not an easy decision for many of the property owners. Various factors need to be taken into consideration before taking a final decision. On one end, allowing pets can broaden the income generation sources and retain tenants for longer, however there are high risks associated with having pets in your property. As with any decision, there are pros and cons associated with the choices you make. If one is on the fence about deciding whether to allow pets in rental property, the reasons listed below can ease your decision-making process.

Reasons why you should allow pets in your property:

• Expand your market for prospective tenants: These days, a lot of people own pets. You can make your property desirable by permitting pets in your property and increasing the chances of getting more prospective tenants. It also reduces the risk of a tenant bringing unauthorized pets to the property.

• Higher Rent: If there are not many pet friendly properties in your area, then accepting pets in your property can attract more tenants and they would be glad to take up a slightly higher rent and registration fees for their pets.

• Additional sources of Income: You could also charge a monthly pet rent or arrange a dog walker and charge a certain rate from each tenant who wishes to avail this option.

• Higher Tenant Retention: Pet owners are more likely to stick to your property as many landlords are still not accommodating pets and tenants don’t want to go through the hassle of finding a property and shifting their pet around a lot and getting them accustomed to a new place. Having a tenant stay longer is way more economical than acquiring new tenants.

Reasons why property owners should not allow pets in their property:

• Chances of Property Damage: One of the apparent drawbacks of allowing pets in property is the potential chances for it to create damages. They can chew up landscapes, urinate on public areas, cause odor and more.

• Noise: Pets like dogs, birds and many others can cause noise that are disturbing to neighbors and this can often lead to complaints and being frustrated.

• Harm to other tenants: With pets, there are chances of them hurting other tenants and you would not want to be held liable for the same. It's important for tenants to purchase renters insurance to ensure it covers dog bites and other injuries.

Factors to consider before allowing pets:

After weighing the pros and cons, if you have decided to make your property a pet friendly one, there are certain factors that must be considered before accepting one. Just as selecting a tenant and signing a pet lease with them, asking questions about their pets, and signing a landlord pet policy is crucial to avoid any kind of disputes later.

Likewise, if you are not allowing pets at your property, it’s important to add a no pet clause to the agreement and possible consequences will apply if an unauthorized pet is brought into the rental.

Few questions to ask tenants with pets are:

• How many pets do you own?
• How old is the pet?
• How long have you owned the pet?
• Who is the caretaker of the pet if the owner is not at home?
• Is your pet vaccinated and have licenses?
• Is your pet trained?
• Has your pet aggressively reacted to any humans or caused any damage to property previously?

Moreover, you need to create a detailed lease for having pets in your property. This should clarify all rules regarding having pets so that tenants are well informed and there would be no surprises at the occurrence of an incident. You could specify which kind of pets are permitted in the property. By signing the lease, the tenant agrees to all your terms and violating any of the clause would be a breach to the lease with necessary implications.

Implementing tenants to have insurance and receiving a substantial advance/ registration deposit for pets could mitigate the chances to cover up for any possible damages.

With pets comes a lot of responsibility and risks. With a well described lease, insurance and higher rent, the risks and damages could be alleviated. As more people are choosing to have pets and if you want to turn your property into a desirable one, turning your property to a pet friendly one would be great. It is important to weigh the pros and cons before you make such a big decision.