by Charles Johnson

Created on: February 11, 2009

When I first wanted a pet of some kind I did not realize how much trouble they could be. When I wanted to rent my own place and get me a dog, it was a lot of trouble. I could not understand how there could be so many people who did not like pets. After I looked at the landlord's point of view I had a different idea about a dog or a cat living inside. Anyone who has ever had a puppy knows how they like to chew on anything they can get in their mouth. Most of the time they will destroy more than the rent deposit will cover and then the landlord will have to cover the rest of the cost. After the landlord has been to court a few times to recoup the added cost, they may stop renting to anyone with pets.

I have seen some people who rent houses put things in their leases that would cover the cost of carpet for the whole house. I know that some people treat their pets like a member of their family. These people would be willing to pay a lot of extra money just to have their pets inside. I have a lot of friends who pay extra every month because they have to repair things that their cat had damaged. This is a big reason why it is better to have your own house if you want a pet to have the run of a house. I have met some landlords who will never replace the carpet, and they still charge extra for a pet.

When a landlord has a rental place a few years that has always been rented to people with pets, they have to redo the whole house before the house can be sold. Sometimes the landlord will save the extra money and not list it as income until sells the house. If you are renting a apartment the landlord is taking a big responsibly if your dog bites another tenant. The extra fee may have to be used for extra insurance on the apartment building.

If a tenant just has a bird they are sometimes worst than a cat or a dog. A bird can do more damage because a bird has droppings which may not be found until the apartment is empty. I have seen cases where the extra fee was more for a bird. I knew a landlord who was going to charge a bigger fee because the dog had pups. The tenant had to move because he could not afford the extra fee. The landlord told me the tenant still had five pups four months after they were born. The landlord also told me it cost more to repair what damage the pups did than what the extra fee was.

A lot of tenants think that some fees are so high just so the landlord can make more money. In some cases I know this to be true because some do not care if a pet does do damage because the landlord will never do the repairs.

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