[Cirlonde]

I've paid anywhere from $250.00 to $500.00 in pet deposits across three different rental places. I've never had to pay a monthly fee but a lot of places that we looked at did require that. On the one hand, I completely understand why a landlord charges a deposit. I have an aunt who owns rental property and she charged a $500 pet deposit for a house once and the renter had several large dogs that she basically just let have the run of the place. Repairs ended up costing my aunt several thousand dollars so the deposit really didn't help her much. However, few places will refund your deposit which irritates me. I figure a deposit is my guarantee that my animal will not ruin the property. If I leave and you check the place over and all is in order, I should get my pet deposit back just like I get my regular deposit back!!

On a happier note, the duplex we live in now actually takes into consideration the size of your pet. So the smaller the dog, the cheaper the deposit. This seems much more fair to me because on average, a small dog is just not going to be able to do as much damage as a larger dog could. Still...can't wait until my husband and I can finally afford to buy a house!!!
-C