If you’re a prospective landlord, one burning question you need to ask yourself before proceeding to rent your property is—should I rent my property to pet owners? To be realistic, pets cause damage to your property hence they need more care if you wish to get along well.
Now, according to a report released by Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends, over 46% of tenants live with their pets. Another 2015 report released by Trulia concluded that nearly 18% of renters allowed small dogs, 20% allowed cats while just 4% allowed tenants with large breed dogs.
Allowing tenants with pets to live in your rentals has some benefits and setbacks. One huge advantage is that you’ll have access to a broader pool of potential tenants who can stay in your residence for longer without relocating.
On the negative side, so many side effects are involved such as damages; meaning you need to plan ahead to avoid shouldering the loss by yourself.
So, if you’re a renter looking to rent your residence to tenants with pets, here are some factors you’ll need to consider. These factors will also try to answer the question why you should or shouldn’t rent your property to people with pets.
Yes. It Widens Your Tenant Pool
One reason why you should allow tenants with pets to rent your residence is that it increases your odds of finding quality people to rent your place. According to National Pet Owners Survey, about 70% of US households own a pet. This figure may shoot even higher as the number of millennials who are renters and own pets has been increasing steadily.
Another survey released by the Apartments.com concluded that nearly 60% of renters with pets are really struggling to find pet-friendly apartments. So, if you’re a landlord with pet-friendly apartments, then your property will be the first in the search listings.
You Can Make More Cash
Pet-friendly properties are scarce. What this means is that your property will trend widening your tenant pool. As a result, you can take this as an advantage by charging an additional pet deposit or pet fee every month. At least by doing this, you’ll be able to secure your property and be on the safe side incase of pet damages.
The pet fee or deposit should be non-refundable giving you additional cash at the end of each month. In case there’s some carpeting in your property, blogs such as carpet cleaning blog can really help in providing some inspiration on how to clean the carpeted areas.
Increased Renewals
Another huge benefit of leasing your property to pet owners is increased renewals. Earlier on, we had mentioned that pet-friendly apartments and properties are very scarce. What this means is that tenant turnover will basically be higher than most pet-unfriendly properties.
This simply means that the vacancy rate will reduce while renewals increase. Something else you’ll notice is that tenants with pets will stay longer in your property than those without.
It Helps to Protect Your Property
When you rent your property to pet owners, the pet policy or pet agreement will automatically apply. As a landlord, you’ll have to consult your insurance company about which type of pet damages are covered by the insurance policy.
From there, an additional pet fee should apply to all tenants with pets to avoid shouldering expensive pet damages by yourself.
You see, if your property restricts tenants with pets, you’ll be surprised to find tenants sneaking their pets in illegally. This is very dangerous and can put you at a risk of repairing costly damages caused by illegal pets.
Responsible Tenants
Although this may vary from person to person, tenants with pets seem to be more responsible than those without. One, such tenants are high-quality people with a sense of class and luxury. Secondly, these people put all their time and energy to take care of their pets. Due to this reason, such tenants are likely to extend their responsibility to your property, which is an advantage.
Conclusion
Overall, renting your property to pet owners is conflicting and it’s like a double-edged sword. On one side, it’s risky and on the other, it comes with thick rewards that can help you add a few more dollars in your bank at the end.
If you happen to find responsible tenants, this can be another huge advantage as most of them are responsible and serious in keeping the home and environment clean.
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