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Smart landlords do it for one reason only. They do it to protect their investment, and to save themselves the problems and expenses that renting to pet owners cost them, and often cause other tenants which make other excellent tenants wanting to move because of someones pets.
Landlords have to determine how to get the best return on their investment they can, which is not near what most non landlords think it is. Renting to pet owners, is just looking for trouble and unneeded expense.
If that investment didn't pay off all the smart landlords would be changing those no-pet policies mighty quick.
I understand about not wanting to rent to people with pets but it screws it up for the rest of us who are responsible.
Unfortunately, a landlord has no real way to know will be responsible and who will not be responsible. They end up going by past experiences and sadly, many pet owners have handed landlords every reason in the book to never rent again to pet owners. We ca talk all we want about responsibility in pet ownership and respecting the property of the landlord, but if all the landlord sees is case after case of irresponsibility, can we blame them for adopting No Pet policies?
If you read the pet forum, you'll see I'm a very big fan of pets and I fully support pet ownership. BUT, I will always vote no when our group brings up the issue of allowing pets in any of our properties because the majority of past pet owners have taught me they can not be trusted. The place to address this isn't with the landlord, its with those who made the landlord have to say no more!
In my area, it already is. With plenty of no pets allowed apartments.
That's a pretty good indication that there is no shortage of non pet owning tenants.
The problem is that there is no identifying tag stating this is a responsible pet owning person or this is a irresponsible pet owning person. Everyone says they are the most responsible people ever. And they may very well be. I'm not arguing that. A LL is not going to know which one a person is until they are moved in and living there or they vacate and then start whining about how the LL a unfair guy and they shouldn't have to pay for the damages because Fido's playful scratching and gnawing damage is wear and tear and now they don't want to or feel they shouldn't have to pay for damages.
Why not help others and share this magical place? Your profile doesn't give us a clue.
Philadelphia, PA.
The four places that I rented in were Center City (downtown), South Philly (15 blocks from downtown), West Philly (past the ghetto, called "The Mainline", SUPER fancy and expensive area, 25 minutes from downtown) and then North East Philly (25 minutes from downtown to the other side, not a fancy area). Mind you, I have a 20 lbs AND a 75+ lbs dog, so by the sentiment of some people here, I would have been completely unable to find a rental.
So you see, not a little dinky town, but a normal large city that is not that much different from renting in any other area in the country. Nothing magical about it.
I understand about not wanting to rent to people with pets but it screws it up for the rest of us who are responsible.
It has to do with past experiences.
Insurance companies charge high rates for teens and early 20's.
That may not be fair to teens that are good drivers and won't be in accidents, but "past experiences" is why.
And, show me a pet owner who would ever admit their pet could cause odors/damages.
The building where I live with my cat has been sold and the new owner is asking tenants to leave. I have begun the search for another apartment, and have found the situation for pet owners has just gotten worse since I last looked. I would estimate that 1% of rentals accept pets of any kind.
I liken this to discrimination, in this instance against pet owners. It's a practise that cannot be fought since pets are considered "property" . I'm surprised the animal rights people haven't got a hold of this issue, after all aren't we all "animals".
Animals rights groups for what? To tell landlords they cannot protect their own property from damage caused by the pets of others who are irresponsible (possibly) pet owners?
Keep looking, someone will rent you a place with a big non refundable pet deposit.
Insurance companies charge high rates for teens and early 20's.
That may not be fair to teens that are good drivers and won't be in accidents, but "past experiences" is why.
And, show me a pet owner who would ever admit their pet could cause odors/damages.
We will admit it because we live with it and are diligent in keeping things cleaned but it happens with anyone who owns any pet.
The animal hair is everywhere and during the season it looks like chewbaka exploded in our home.
The litter box has obvious odors even though it is cleaned several times daily and the waste taken outside.
One just has to be diligent in their attempt to keep things as tidy as possible.
We manage about 170 houses and duplex units (no apartments). I've worked here for 15 years. In that time, the worst two move outs we have had, by far, have been caused by puppy damage. One was $15k, the other was about $10k. I've also seen cat damage on one we didn't manage, that was possibly worse than either of ours. THAT is why landlords don't want pets. That is the sort of damage that causes landlords to lose the house to foreclosure due to not being able to afford the repairs themselves after the tenants file bankruptcy.
We do allow pets, but strongly give preference to someone without pets. We are typically getting multiple applications right away on rentals. If we get 5 applications, and 2 have no pets, those two go straight to the top of the pile. It takes someone who is pretty perfect in every other way in order to beat someone who doesn't have pets.
People throw the word "discrimination" around like it is always a bad thing, and always illegal. That isn't true at all. I discriminate every day, against those with evictions, felonies, bounced checks, utility collections, 15 people in a 2 bedroom unit, etc. Totally legal. Most forms of discrimination ARE legal.
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