Why Are Pittsburgh Area Landlords so Pet Unfriendly? (Troy: hardwood floors, apartments)

[Sealtite]

Any ideas as to why this is? I've lived in several other cities and not allowing pets is the exception rather than the rule. What's ironic too, at last speaking in terms of the available mid-range priced apts & town houses in Pittsburgh, it's not like they're the Taj or anything. I've passed on plenty of places over the years in and around the area due to a number of things like old woodwork and awesome hardwood floors DESTROYED by coat after coat of white paint on everything and tacky gray office carpet that allegedly "goes with everything".

As for pets go, yeah I could see how a loud, large dog that might crap on the floor or tear things up...But a declawed, fixed cat? Seriously? I've even seen ads on CL from time to time prohibiting pets of ANY kind, including fish. Wacky. Thoughts anyone?

[Hopes]

Declawed, fixed cats can still spray. I know first hand when my Persian decided to pee on my pillow (just once) to let me know she was mad at me.

As a mother who has had almost every single pet imaginable in my house, I know that they all bring hassles of some kind. We've had birds, rats-- you name it. Caged animals can stink if the cages aren't cleaned daily. Even then, they make a mess everywhere. Birds kick their seeds behind the furniture and all over the floor. Rats tear up newspaper and toss it everywhere. Then there's those damn gypsy moths that come into the house with the pet food. The least stinky pet we ever owned was a lizard. I've been to a house where the fish tank wasn't properly maintained and the entire house stunk to high heaven.

There's no guarantees that a tenant will be meticulous about this stuff. With a tight rental market, landlords can do what they want. I suspect many landlords started out allowing pets and a former tenant ruined it for everyone else. They walk into their properties and see the damage done and they never want it to happen again.

My girlfriend got her dog via a tenant abandoning the dog in her rental. The tenants vacated without notice and it was three months before she discovered this poor dog in there. The house was destroyed.

[stburr91]

With the low vacancy rates, landlords don't have to take on that kind of liability.

Also, with many people having allergies, there is a market for apartments that don't allow pets or smokers.

[Herodotus]

As someone in the business, these are the reasons for no pets.

Odor. You'd be surprised how many people can detect dog and cat odor, and won't rent a place that has it. Everyone is not an animal lover. It can be very hard to get the odor out of a place.

Dogs in apartment buildings. Too many dogs bark. In a rented house, it's not a problem. In an apartment, it's a huge problem. People don't want to hear your dog barking. We recently took over management of a two unit building, where the previous management allowed the second floor tenants to have two big dogs. Since they are already there, we're stuck with them. Every time I show the other apartment, these beasts make enough noise to raise the dead, and the potential tenants lose interest.

Bad pet owners. There are legions of bad pet owners. Everyone claims to be a good owner. Owners who let their dogs defecate on the property. Owners who have aggressive dogs. Owners who let their dogs run loose.

As a property owner, or manager, who wants to deal with this? It's just easier to avoid the headache by not allowing pets. In a market where rentals are in short supply, you can afford to do this. If the market were soft, you might have to bend a little bit.

[Retiredcoach]

As a younger landlord, I rented my homes often to pet owners. I learned- it was/is just not worth the cost, nor aggravation, especially when the rental market is as strong as it is today. Whenever my pet owning tenants moved out, I was always losing valuable rental months due to what I consider residual pet maintenance. Cats are, by far, are the absolute worst (regardless of whether they are declawed). I cannot tell you how many prospective tenants could not rent from me due to allergies to cat dander. To get one of my units ready for any/all prospective tenants, "white glove" cleaning was absolutely necessary- every nook & crany was thoroughly scrubbed, ducts cleaned, carpets deep cleaned and deodorized, walls scrubbed, and interior needed to be totally painted. This was just for the dander alone. Never mind that cat odor is nearly impossible to eradicate.

Currently, just one of my duplexes is occupied by the owners of a dog (golden retriever). This family explained that their dog was "the perfect pet" (Aren't they all?). Unfortunately, what they consider to be acceptable pet behavior does not translate to reality. The dog is an inside dog and barks whenever the owners are frequently out. The neighbors must be saints- this dog is unnerving to me as the barking is constant with any movement outside. Dog toys plus dog feces are always present in some capacity in the yard (I do the lawn maintenance). The inside walls are filthy from dog rub. The glass doors are covered with dirty paw prints. The family has been renters of mine for four years, and when they move, this home will not be rented to pet owners. I will have significant time and money invested to get this pet worn property ready for rent- regardless of the security deposit.

There are good pet owners (every renter that I have ever had considers himself/herself to be in this category) and bad pet owners . As a landlord, I will no longer need to predetermine whether my next tenant will be a bad/neglectful/responsible pet owner. I simply will no longer take the chance... none of my rental homes will be available to pets. It is the only common sense way to do business....

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

As a younger landlord, I rented my homes often to pet owners. I learned- it was/is just not worth the cost, nor aggravation, especially when the rental market is as strong as it is today. Whenever my pet owning tenants moved out, I was always losing valuable rental months due to what I consider residual pet maintenance. Cats are, by far, are the absolute worst (regardless of whether they are declawed). I cannot tell you how many prospective tenants could not rent from me due to allergies to cat dander. To get one of my units ready for any/all prospective tenants, "white glove" cleaning was absolutely necessary- every nook & crany was thoroughly scrubbed, ducts cleaned, carpets deep cleaned and deodorized, walls scrubbed, and interior needed to be totally painted. This was just for the dander alone. Never mind that cat odor is nearly impossible to eradicate.

Currently, just one of my duplexes is occupied by the owners of a dog (golden retriever). This family explained that their dog was "the perfect pet" (Aren't they all?). Unfortunately, what they consider to be acceptable pet behavior does not translate to reality. The dog is an inside dog and barks whenever the owners are frequently out. The neighbors must be saints- this dog is unnerving to me as the barking is constant with any movement outside. Dog toys plus dog feces are always present in some capacity in the yard (I do the lawn maintenance). The inside walls are filthy from dog rub. The glass doors are covered with dirty paw prints. The family has been renters of mine for four years, and when they move, this home will not be rented to pet owners. I will have significant time and money invested to get this pet worn property ready for rent- regardless of the security deposit.

There are good pet owners (every renter that I have ever had considers himself/herself to be in this category) and bad pet owners . As a landlord, I will no longer need to predetermine whether my next tenant will be a bad/neglectful/responsible pet owner. I simply will no longer take the chance... none of my rental homes will be available to pets. It is the only common sense way to do business....

You hit the nail on the head.

[selltheburgh]

Basically what people mentioned above.

I had a tenant with a dog and when she moved out and we were selling the place, it was filled with fleas. We had to pay hundreds of dollars to get rid of them and unfortunately she used her security deposit as her last month's rent.

What I learned from that was:
- No pets.
- Get first month, last month and security deposit upon signing the lease.

With a 0% vacancy for the past 3 years (except after we buy something new), we don't need to reach out to others.

I have one apartment with dogs, but the tenant is a doctor and has a dog walker. They are well behaved, get exercise and it is working out. The ad on CL said "no pets" but she pays a higher rent and is a good tenant.

[Copanut]

I agree with Retiredcoach. It makes no sense to allow pets in a rental property.

[Bong477]

Cats pee all over the place. It stinks and is very difficult to get rid of. Sure you tell me YOUR cat doesn't do this which is exactly what I'd expect an owner of a cat who pisses all over the place to say as well. In addition to that, some people have very sensitive cat allergies and its very hard to get rid of the dander after a cat has lived in a home.

Allowing pets adds extra risk for the liability and damage they cause, from a business standpoint why take it on if you don't have to? The Pittsburgh rental market is generally strong enough a landlord doesn't have to rent to pet owners if they don't want to.

That said, I do allow pets (on a case by case basis, not as a blanket policy) in my rental home because I'm a (somewhat) nice guy and I understand that a lot of people who want to rent a SFH with a yard have pets. I vet my renters pretty carefully, but I am relieved to hear there are no pets involved. If I ever get burned bad, I will probably never rent to pet owners again.

[XRiteMA98]

Correction: cat pee all over the place if the litter box is dirty or if there is a problem. Either they are sick, or in distress or mad etc. I am a landlord and a cat owner and yes, cat pee stinks like hell and you can;t get rid of it. The cats might sharpen their nails on the carpet if the owner doesn;t buy a scratching post for him (one of mine does this). Thirdly, cats vomit on the carpet and that stains like crazy. All the colorants they put in dry cat food nowadays stain the carpet. They are pretty much like Fruit loops; it colors the milk.
Cats can scratch furniture (doors for example). So can dogs.
I basically had every kind of pet except dogs. Guinea pigs peed on my sofa becasue they were afraid. Rabits sprayed like crazy, jumping in the air. Hamspsers dug holes in the carpet under the bedroom door. Parakeets used to sit on the top of the curtains and pooped all over the place. At that time I was married and I had fights with my ex because he was allowing pets to roam around free.
I reluctantly allowed my tenants to have a dog -golden retriever - but when they leave it will be no pets allowed in my house. I mean, if you have pets, buy your own house. It is way too much work for a landlord to clean after a tenant with a pet and honestly, why would I work more?