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We are renting our 2400 sq. ft. house out in the Houston area. We got new, upgraded carpet 2 years ago, with a nice pad. Now, we have a potential renter with 2 dogs, each 30 pounds. Do most landlords of houses charge a pet deposit and a monthly fee? If so, what is a reasonable fee per pet? Thanks.
Dogs a lot of times = kiss your carpet goodbye! My family has tenants and every single one that has had dogs have moved out with the carpet completely destroyed.
Now, I did once have a poodle that was really well behaved, so not all dogs destroy carpet. If the two dogs in question are expensive breeds like that then they're usually not quite so bad. It really depends upon the dog and the owner.
Standard pet deposit I've seen is $200 (usually nonrefundable) and $25/month pet rent for dogs.
Maybe others can answer this question, what does the pet fee cover? If there was damage from the pet, is that covered by the pet fee AND security deposit? Or just the security deposit?
I never paid a pet fee that I can remember and was curious what exactly is it for?
Back to OP's question: Check to see if your state allows pet fees and making it non-refundable at that. The state laws are in the first post of this forum. Also there's a cap usually on how much monies you can request in deposit upfront. Instead of specifying a pet fee/deposit, I would just charge the maximum amount in security deposit.
Pet fees cover nothing technically speaking, you take/pay the fee and still charge/get charged for damages. I take a non-refundable pet deposit, some states don't allow non-refundable fees like CA, and don't charge monthly. Best case you have to clean carpets with pet odor cleaners which cost more and worst case you have to replace carpets, fill holes (in walls, doors and the yard), and fix/replace many other things. I have a judgement that never got paid for $6,000 in damages from 5 years ago that I will never see a dime on.
I still allow pets though, pet owners stay in units longer.
Mind You cant charge Pet Deposits nor Fees IF its a Service Dog. & even with a No Pets Allowed .. Service Dogs don't count. So check your state laws on Service Animals & Proper paper work the Tenant has to supply you.
PETS! You need to check with your Home owner ins co as to Band Breeds
& You need to say up front Weight Size of dogs you will allow. Check local laws also, how many they allow!
I have one property where I allow pets. I simply charge a deposit. I do not charge any additional rent. I make the deposit pretty hefty. $200 IMO is a pittance.
We have a pet. Every place we've ever rented had a pet deposit. The deposits ranged from $100 (nonrefundable) to $200 (at one place, up to 100$ was refundable). This is the first place I've lived that has ever changed a pet "rent" - $25 extra per month per pet.
I've always gotten the entire (or majority) of refundable deposit back. I don't know what all these pet owners are doing?
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