The apartment advertisements read “Pets Welcome!” but Cindy and Butch Zeddies, who are relocating to Chicago from St. Louis, are having a doggone difficult time finding a place that will accept their golden retriever, Fleas, as a tenant. It’s not that Fleas is a mischievous dog; rather, landlords consider her a disapproving “large size.”
Carol Troutt’s two dogs, Faith, a 12-pound greyhound, and Cocoa, a 48-pound mixed breed, met the approval of their Carol Stream apartment landlord, but Troutt had to pay a $200 pet deposit when she signed her lease.
The Zeddies and Troutt, as well as other apartment-seeking pet owners, know that it’s not so easy to put a leash around a lease. That’s because two common policies come into play before pets truly are “welcome” in most Chicago-area apartments: a weight limit for dogs and a fee for pets.
“Ninety-nine percent of pet-friendly apartment buildings throughout the Chicago area charge some sort of fee for cats and dogs,” says Kathryn Romanelli, director of referral services of RELCON Apartment Finders, an Oak Brook-based rental service. The three types of fees are a pet deposit, a pet fee and a pet rent, with each residential community determining its own price and policy.
A pet deposit is an amount added to your security deposit and is refundable when you vacate the unit; a pet fee is a nonrefundable charge. Both pet deposits and pet fees, which are paid when you commit to a lease, generally range from $100 to $1,000 for cats and dogs at city and suburban properties. Pet rent is a monthly charge, usually ranging between $10 to $30, that is added to your monthly rent.
Apartment buildings charge fees for pets to cover any damage or wear and tear the animals might inflict on the building, both inside and outside, including clawing or chewing on carpeting, wooden trims, floors and walls. Fees for dogs are more common than for cats because dogs create additional costs associated with outside property maintenance, says Romanelli. Outside maintenance includes keeping shrubs and grass alive where dogs tread and where owners don’t use pooper scoopers.
Caged or contained pets, such as birds, iguanas and fish, are usually excluded from fees because landlords don’t worry about their roaming freely about the apartment or property.
Chesapeake Landing, an apartment complex in Aurora, requires a $200 pet deposit and a $100 nonrefundable fee for both cats and dogs. “The $100 covers carpet cleaning required over time, and the $200 deposit to maintain the property,” says Joe Polizzi, assistant manager of the 600-unit complex. Greenbriar Place, a Glen Ellyn high-rise that welcomes cats and dogs, requests a $250 pet fee to reimburse management for future carpet cleaning and for any damage a scratching cat or a rambunctious dog might do.
As pet fees allow tenants the privilege of living with their pets, some buildings avoid the costly upkeep by having a “no pet” policy. For instance, Brittany Woods, a 377-unit apartment complex in University Park, used to allow cats and dogs but reneged on the policy when cleaning up after Fido and repairing kitten scratches on cabinets became time-consuming for its staff.
How do apartment residents feel about paying fees for their beloved pets? Out of seven Chicago pet owners taking their dogs for a morning walk, all agreed that paying a fee for their pets wasn’t an issue; the biggest pet peeve in apartment renting was finding a place where their dogs’ weight was acceptable.
Surprisingly, dog owners don’t necessarily have their pick of the litter when it comes to choosing apartments. That’s because the majority of landlords throughout the Chicago area place weight limitations on dogs, favoring small-sized canines over large ones.
Landlords distinguish dogs by three sizes: small, medium and large. The perception of these sizes lies in the landlords’ eyes, with small to medium averaging up to 39 pounds, and large dogs weighing in at 40 pounds or more.
“A heavier pet is the toughest to place so be prepared for a longer apartment search,” says David Bergstein, owner of the Apartment Department, a Chicago-based rental service.
“We often say to apartment searchers with a large dog, `We will find an apartment for your dog, and we hope you like it too,’ ” adds Romanelli.
It’s important to note that the U.S. government-mandated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees a person with a guide or signal dog–or any other animal trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability–the right to apply for any apartment in Illinois despite pet restrictions.
Small pets are favored by apartment buildings because the theory is the bigger the dog, the bigger the risk to other tenants. Landlords worry that tenants might feel intimidated by a large-sized dog; therefore, a weight limit, such as “25 pounds or less,” is enforced to protect tenants in the hallways, stairwells and elevators from interacting with an animal they might fear.
Fleas, a friendly and well-behaved member of the Zeddies family, is considered a large dog at 60-plus pounds, a size that is difficult to match with an apartment. “I had no idea that renting with a large pet would be such a problem,” says Cindy. “We can’t find a place anywhere because of her weight. Fleas’ personality doesn’t count–just her pounds.”
One location where Fleas would tip the scales against the Zeddies is 420 East Ohio, a Chicago high-rise that enforces a $200 cat fee and, for a dog, a $500 fee and a 39-pound weight limit. There, not only is the prospective tenant interviewed, so is the dog: the leasing agent will weigh the pet on a scale to verify size and then take a picture to ensure that the tenant won’t switch dogs on moving day, arriving with an 80-pound Doberman instead of a 30-pound beagle.
Apartment buildings do have weight limits and fee regulations that come in all shapes and sizes. Therefore, Bergstein stresses that if you’re seeking an apartment for both you and your pet, or if you’re renting an apartment and want to adopt one, investigate the building’s specific pet policies before signing a lease. “Make sure you obtain all pet costs in writing by signing a pet rider, an addendum to your lease that states the exact fees and pet regulations.”
Chicago-area building owners also warn that sneaking a pet into an apartment to avoid paying fees or to hide the dog’s weight will be detrimental to both you and your pet. “A number of cats and dogs are turned into our shelter because people sneaked pets into buildings,” says Laura Weinman, manager of community relations for the Anti-Cruelty Society, a nonprofit humane shelter in Chicago for stray and unwanted pets. “Once an unauthorized pet is discovered, the tenant has to make amends, move out or give the pet away. Unfortunately, it’s more the latter.”
Fleas, though, is one lucky dog. Her owners have put their move on hold, because they won’t commit to an apartment unless Fleas is welcome. So, as the Zeddies frantically scour Chicago and the suburbs for a place, Fleas is in St. Louis peacefully taking a nap, unaware of the havoc that a large, but loved, dog breeds in a “pets welcome” world.
GETTING THE LANDLORD ON YOUR PET’S GOOD SIDE
Industry experts say apartment landlords will feel more confident about renting to a pet owner if they are shown that you and your pet will be responsible tenants.
Here are some tips on how to put landlords’ minds at ease about accepting you and your pets’ leasing application:
-Bring medical records from a veterinarian to show the animal has its required shots and has been spayed, declawed or neutered.
-Bring a letter of recommendation from a previous landlord, obedience school or veterinarian.
-Bring a picture of your pet to verify size.
-Have your landlord meet the pet.
-If a landlord doesn’t have a pet rider, provide a signed one to prove responsible pet ownership.
