RANT- Pet Rent

[Britster]

Most places around here (Annapolis, MD) are pet-friendly but they do require deposits and sometimes extra fees every month. I think the apartments I was looking into required a $150 pet deposit and then $10 extra per month or something. Rental homes, however, I've never noticed them asking for a deposit... they usually just say "dogs on case by case basis" or "dogs under 25lbs" or something.

[kdhawks]

Most apartments in Charlotte are pet-friendly, but require a deposit and/or pet rent. The total deposit for our two dogs was a total of $300. We don't have any pet rent, but we did decide on our apartment based on that fact. Several places would have required a $400 deposit and $25/month for Levi and my brother/roommate's dog Dallas. They are both small (5 and 25 pounds), housebroken, and well-behaved. I think most kids do more damage than Levi and Dallas could do to the apartment! I do think it is a bit ridiculous.

[Dianab28]

Most apartments where I live allow pets, which is surprising since it's a college town.

[orlnurse]

I can understand your point...I would feel the same way. Private landlords here charge a deposit...some apt complexes have deposits, weight and breed requirements. I can also understand a landlord's point of view. Not everyone are good pet owners like us. For example, some simply don't care about their pets enough to provide flea and tick treatment and in some areas this can quickly become an infestation that the landlord would have to deal with once they move out. What if someone has a destructive pet? Sometimes the deposit of a few hundred dollars isn't enough to cover the damage. Just a thought.

[Patti]

My DD recently moved out to an apartment and her roommate has a cat. He had to pay a 200 or 300 pet deposit and a 20 monthly fee. I remember before owning our own house trying to find places that would let me have my yorkie, Zorro at the time. It was really hard.

[boopster]

Actually, wanting to own pets gave me good incentive to work hard (as much overtime as I could) to earn a down payment to buy my first house. But that was back in the stone ages when caves weren't so expensive and it was pretty easy to find a job. I feel bad for my nieces and nephews who are struggling to support themselves right now.

[kdhawks]

The pet rent would drive me insane, but another thing that irks me is that our pet deposit was nonrefundable (unlike our security deposit). My boys are on flea/tick/HW prevention all year, they don't have bad potty manners or carpet-chewing habits, they don't scratch on doors or walls. I can see them keeping the deposit, or charging for damages upon move-out, if they caused any damage...but they keep the deposit regardless. I don't mind the deposit so much because I love Levi and my brother's dog and they are totally worth it, but I don't quite understand why the pet deposit is nonrefundable (they repaint and replace carpet after every tenant anyway).

[misslissa]

I lived in a rental house that should have been condemned well we paid a $500 pet deposit a $500 security deposit and we needed first and last months rent ($500 a piece) then we wear told we would not have to pay pet rent for our two dogs and three cats but every additional 20 lbs was $25 (this included water in the fish tank we soon discovered) but the landlord was a jerk face anyway he agreed to give back the $1000 in deposits but only if we filled out a card saying where we wear moving to.
(we moved out because we caught him letting himself in the house with a key he was not supposes to have and stealing) this is still in court because he declared bankruptcy

[Buster Brown]

I did not realize how lucky I was to be able to keep Buster in my apartment. My landlord was not going to allow pets after a bad tenant left his dogs alone all the time and they pooped and peed all over the carpets. I felt so bad for them you could hear them howl with loneliness. Lucky for me and Buster my landlord allowed pets to stay. Besides Buster there are 2 pomeranians and a St Bernard in the 8 unit building.

[LuvTaycieGirl]

I rent a basement apt . A few months after I moved in I asked if I could get a cat, they immedietly told me no! I was sad and upset but I had only been living there a few months.

A year later, I still wanted a pet. I live alone and sometimes its just lonely. Right out of beauty school, I moved to southern oregon with a roomate. Her mom was obsessed with yorkies! She had a little boy and a mix part yorkie/pom that they had rescued from the animal shelter. Many years prior she also had a male and female and sadly another female that she lost to a severe case of parvo. I grew to LOVE the breed and promised myself someday I would have a little friend of my very own.


So I decided to ask again, this time being a yorkie, because in my heart this is truly what I wanted. So, I drew up a pet proposal. I went off the current rates of pet friendly apartements in my area. I offered a 200 pet deposit and an additional 25 pet rent. I also included facts about the breed and how I planned on taking care of my new little girl. The next day she said YES! I was so excited!!!!!!!

Yes, I truly do understand your frustration when it comes to pet rent/ deposit. But I also can see why in the begining when I asked point blank without offering anything she said no. She still really didn't know me and I am sure she was being cautious to not be taken advantage of. This is bottom line her home. And she will continue to live here when I move on someday. I offered out of kindess and fairness. I do see why landlords are NOT pet friendly. Because so many abuse that privilege, which sucks for the responsible pet owners out there! But like you it is worth it to me to have Taycie in my life. No dollar amount can compare with that.

A few months later.... guess who got a yorkie??? Yes! She did! And She did do away with my monthly pet rent! So even though it sucks, I am also thankful she was able to work with me.

[gracieanna]

That is a very upbeat story with a surprise ending, I'm glad you shared it. We don't all have that kind of luck all the time, but your pet proposal is an excellent idea.

[CouversMom]

When I lived in an apartment, I paid $200/pet for up to two pets. We now own, and do not miss renting one bit!

[LuvTaycieGirl]

Originally Posted by gracieanna

That is a very upbeat story with a surprise ending, I'm glad you shared it. We don't all have that kind of luck all the time, but your pet proposal is an excellent idea.

Thanks! And I have NO LUCK at all so I got extra lucky

[concretegurl]

Yeah well try being a senior in a retirement community! My grandma moved to a retirement community-not a nursing home-retirement community, they encourage older people to have pets for their health...then they charge $75 extra for the cleaning lady, $75 a month more on the rent and something like a $500 pet deposit-she has a cat. I get deposits-not everyone is a responsible pet owner-but pet rent! Let alone to seniors where pets are almost a requirement for their overall well being-it's just plain rude!
Off topic, I'm so annoyed with the anti pet hotels too-seriously I have hypoallergenic dog because of my own allergies,Yorkies and Mini Schnauzers don't shed, fleas are parasites I'm phobic of them. My dogs are cleaner than most people and I have a super hard time finding a decent (as opposed to the rinky-dinks that are gross) hotel that allows dogs, whenever we go anywhere, it takes twice as long in hotel research-let alone the rate hike.

[sugarmamma]

Originally Posted by 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

I agree....a deposit is just that. A DEPOSIT in case of damage done. Non refundable deposits are a fee. Period. My condo required a $250 "fee". When I viewed the unit I asked the realtor about the fee. He looked at Sugar and laughed. What damage can SHE do? THe unit is all tile floors. Chew the baseboards?? lol No fee required