by Amanda Giannaros

Created on: July 28, 2009

As landlords, my husband and I always cringe when people put pets down on apartment applications. We do not dislike pets, as a matter of fact my house has been referred to as "wild kingdom" on several occasions. We love animals and own many, it's the animal owners who make us think twice about renting to them. We are not worried about dogs attacking other tenants or viscously barking at the mailman. There are three main things that concern us when it comes to renting to people with pets.

The damage. Whenever you move into an apartment or rental house with a pet, you will have to pay a damage deposit for your pet on top of a standard damage deposit. This can be a small amount or a large amount and sadly that is often determined by the landlords previous experience with pet owning tenants. Carpet is a big issue. If a cat urinates on the carpet, and it is not cleaned immediately, chances are the carpet will have to be replaced before it can be rented out to someone else. Dogs, cats, ferrets and any other animal with claws can tear up carpet, causing the need for it to be replaced before the next tenant can move in. If you are moving into an apartment with pets, make sure they are box trained, or pick up after them if they go outside. If they still have accidents, kennel them while you are away and clean up after them immediately if it happens while you are home.

Noise is another thing that landlords have to consider when renting to a person with pets. Cats, ferrets, rabbits and fish are all quiet animals which makes them much more appealing to a landlord. Chances are, it will be the landlord, not the tenant, who gets called when there are dogs barking all night or howling from their kennels all day. We don't say no dogs to be mean, we are just trying to, literally, keep the peace between our tenants.

Other tenants are another thing we have to consider when thinking about renting to pet owners. We may have other tenants with extreme fear of dogs, or severe allergies. This wouldn't necessarily be a deciding factor, rather just something to consider. We wouldn't want one tenants moving in to cause another one to leave.

There are a few things you can do to make yourself and your pets more desirable as renters. Clean up after your pet, both inside and out. Landlords want to keep their places looking nice for you and the other people renting there. Assure your landlord that your pet is quite and very well behaved, it helps if this is actually true, you don't want to deal with eviction because you lied about your pets. It also helps if you are willing to sign a longer lease. A landlord will be more willing to replace the carpet, paint and fix any other damage left by your pet if you have been there for a long time. We are more likely to rent to someone who has cats and is looking for somewhere to live for years versus someone who does not have pets but is only looking for something for six months. If you have pets that are clean quiet and well behaved, chances are you are going to be able to find a place that will allow them. Stay on your landlords good side, be honest and friendly and you can have a good relationship between you your pet and your landlord for a very long time.

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