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It seems that many owners/investors associate pets with damaging units and leaving animal waste in the yard. As a result, many owners/investors decline to allow pets in their units. This decision totally makes sense if owners are simply wanting peace of mind. However, does this actually make sense financially?!
Allowing pets could actually improve your bottom line! Many times, Landlords charge a non-refundable Pet Fee in addition to a monthly Pet Rent. These two added up over time more than cover any pet damage. Believe it or not, we see more damage to units with young children than we do with units with pets. To protect you from having to replace carpets, consider putting a waterproof luxury vinyl wood planking in your units. You have now just upgraded your property and virtually eliminated the biggest fear landlords have about allowing pets. Consider installing a pet waste station in multi-family properties to help reduce the pet waste in the yard.
Allowing pets also improves the rentability of your properties. Studies and Data show that 68% of tenants have pets. 76% of millennial renters own pets. If you do not allow pets, you have just cut your pool of potential owners down by at least 68%. National data/studies also show that tenants with Pets stay an average of 23 months compared to the 15 months that tenants without pets stay.
Allowing or not allowing pets is your right as an owner investor. However, allowing or not allowing Service and/or Companion Animals is not. Not only are you required to allow them, you are not able to charge anything for them. The only thing you can do is charge the tenant for any damage caused by the service/companion animal. This reason alone is worth considering allowing pets in your rentals.