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....Just like a child, or per person charge, demanding additional pay for a pet is unethical.
When they made laws to protect public from such land lord practices, no one would have guessed that, one day, LLs would stoop so low as to charge people an additional rent for their pets, so the laws as they are now, only apply to people.
Of course LL have their excuses, but the truth is, anything beyond a deposit is exploitation of pet owners.
I own two cats and a dog. When I rented, I was perfectly happy to pay pet rent. My animals added pet hair to the carpets, and the dog did some damage as well. Not much in my case, but I can certainly see how some animals can cause a huge amount of damage. Pet rent simply compensates for the additional cleaning, flea bombing, yard-work, and damage that animals cause.
We only charge a non-refundable deposit. No pet rent and I hate saying it as a dog owner and always threatening our dogs as a family member.... but under the law they are considered property and not on the same page as a child.
Sorry I wish the law would change so owners could be charged with higher penalties if they abuse or not treat them well!
Deposit cover damage.
An additional person could possibly cause damage right? So, why don't LL charge per-person?
The answer is because it's illegal!
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishbrains
I completely disagree.
I own two cats and a dog. When I rented, I was perfectly happy to pay pet rent. My animals added pet hair to the carpets, and the dog did some damage as well. Not much in my case, but I can certainly see how some animals can cause a huge amount of damage. Pet rent simply compensates for the additional cleaning, flea bombing, yard-work, and damage that animals cause.
Damage is what a deposit is for.
An additional person could possibly cause damage right? So, why don't LL not charge per-person?
The answer is because it's illegal!
LL do charge for more people. If you live in a 2bed/2br house and you have a friend move in with you the LL will tell you to pay more rent.......
Pet's cause damage, there is no guarantee that a pet won't. Some have bad odors, some shed a lot, some might be aggressive or scratch stuff etc.
I only see it as fair to charge maybe a non refundable pet fee and thats about it. If the dog is like a tiny poodle, yorkie or something most people won't charge additional rent per month and want only a small deposit and not even a big one.
A non - refundable deposit is an unethical scam, and illegal, unless you're in WA, Wyoming, Arizona & Nevada.
Any fee, charge or payment made with the fundamental purpose of protecting a landlord against damage to the property (including a so-called pet deposit) is treated as a security deposit. The landlord is therefore obligated to conform to the security-deposit rules, which state that non-refundable deposits are not allowed (except of the above mentioned states).
So, if you are charging a non-refundable pet deposit, you are a scammer who's breaking the law.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishbrains
I completely disagree.
I own two cats and a dog. When I rented, I was perfectly happy to pay pet rent. My animals added pet hair to the carpets, and the dog did some damage as well. Not much in my case, but I can certainly see how some animals can cause a huge amount of damage. Pet rent simply compensates for the additional cleaning, flea bombing, yard-work, and damage that animals cause.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentlebee
We only charge a non-refundable deposit. No pet rent and I hate saying it as a dog owner and always threatening our dogs as a family member.... but under the law they are considered property and not on the same page as a child.
Sorry I wish the law would change so owners could be charged with higher penalties if they abuse or not treat them well!
As I said before, deposits are meant to cover damage caused by tenancy, as apposed to rent, which is in exchange for occupancy of the property.
The cost of regular wear and tear maintenance is the responsibility of the LL as the property is their investment.
This is not my opinion, but fact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterCLT
LL do charge for more people. If you live in a 2bed/2br house and you have a friend move in with you the LL will tell you to pay more rent.......
Pet's cause damage, there is no guarantee that a pet won't. Some have bad odors, some shed a lot, some might be aggressive or scratch stuff etc.
I only see it as fair to charge maybe a non refundable pet fee and thats about it. If the dog is like a tiny poodle, yorkie or something most people won't charge additional rent per month and want only a small deposit and not even a big one.
....Just like a child, or per person charge, demanding additional pay for a pet is unethical.
When they made laws to protect public from such land lord practices, no one would have guessed that, one day, LLs would stoop so low as to charge people an additional rent for their pets, so the laws as they are now, only apply to people.
Of course LL have their excuses, but the truth is, anything beyond a deposit is exploitation of pet owners.
Once you become a landlord and do not charge extra for a pet and end up paying for all of the damage to the property out of your profits your attitude just might change.
As I said before, deposits are meant to cover damage caused by tenancy, as apposed to rent, which is in exchange for occupancy of the property.
The cost of regular wear and tear maintainence is the responcablity of the LL as the property is their investment.
This is not my opinion, but fact.
The rent is based on the size of the unit so rent is based on how many people will be in the unit but if you add a person. Unless your rental unit is covered by rent control -- or if the landlord is using a big rent increase as a not-so-subtle way to discriminate against you for an illegal reason -- your landlord can ask for as much extra money as the market will bear.
The landlord also has the legal right to change other conditions of your tenancy when you add a roommate and sign a new agreement. One change that is particularly likely is an increase in the security deposit. However, this is one area where the sky is not the limit, because many states limit the amount of security deposits. Usually the limit is a multiple of the monthly rent, typically twice the monthly rent. Keep in mind that if the deposit is already at the maximum, but the landlord raises the rent for the new occupant, the maximum security deposit goes up, too.
As I said before, deposits are meant to cover damage caused by tenancy, as apposed to rent, which is in exchange for occupancy of the property.
The cost of regular wear and tear maintainence is the responcablity of the LL as the property is their investment.
This is not my opinion, but fact.
Adding rent per person is NOT illegal. I don't know where you got that notion. Also, telling a landlord that it is illegal to charge a pet fee or pet rent would simply force ALL landlords to stop accepting pets...yours included. Then where would you live furry friends.
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